AS Level Media Summer Homework

AS level Media Summer Homework

The extract that I chose to examine was from the popular soap ‘Coronation Street.’ More specifically it is the now famous tram crash and explosion scene which originally aired on the 6^th of December 2010. While I have never watched this show before, I felt it was a good extract that had a good mix of both male and female characters and portrays each in a different way, providing a lot of material for me to compare and contrast. Because of this, expect me to jump from talking about one way a gender is represented to another, as this extract has a few variations. Because this was my first time watching even a short segment of the show, I was not familiar with any of the characters. This meant that I hadn’t grown to know who they are and could make judgements on how the creators have portrayed them through various means, in a much more natural way. However it also meant that I was unable to point out specifically which characters I am referring to when describing how they portray their gender, and so to substitute this I describe what they do in the scene, making it easy for you spot. Because of this I highly recommend you watch the extract in question, which can be found at the following URL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7GeD6K_1o. While this clip is only around 4 minutes long, I felt that it was a good extract to use, most of the reasons for this are stated above, and I felt that 55 seconds more was not worth digging through the billions of videos that now crowd YouTube. The essay will be paragraphed in order of scene, meaning new paragraph, new scene.

In our first scene a bar brawl is initiated between two men. Already this is a stereotypical action of the male gender, as many imagine that males do fight when they are drunk. However these two do not seem to be intoxicated. So this suggests that males are just a more violent gender, fighting much more often than women. Also the fight all seems to be engaged by a trip. This suggests that men are much more aggressive in general, starting fights over trivial things or simply for the thrill. As I have not watched the series building up to this extract, it is safe to assume that these two characters have a history, possible containing other hostile encounters. This says that perhaps the male gender is more likely to hold a grudge, and perhaps seek out some sort of revenge. The character who gets tripped, doesn’t just walk away either, he actively retaliates. This represents the male gender as violent and not likely to shy away from a fight when it calls for one. This action and reaction is cut very quickly, perhaps saying that the male gender is brash and quick thinking, not taking in the consequences of their actions. Once the fight is truly started, there is a close up of the two scrapping. This is perhaps to amplify and highlight how aggressive and violent these two characters are and in turn the male gender as a whole. The male character who gets tripped is wearing a black suit. Black is a colour that is often associated with evil and because of this, violence. Again, this represents the male gender as a violent one. However, compared to the smart atmosphere that surrounds the two men, the character that begins the fight, who is wearing casual clothes, appears sloppier and possibly dirtier. This then represents the male gender as a dirty, disgusting, and maybe even less civilised than women. The music in this scene is a fairly racy and fast drum track. It even includes a crash of the symbols when the man in the suit punches back. This perhaps also plays with the idea of the fast, quick thinking attitude of the male gender. When the character first begins the fight with his trip, he is placed in the centre of the shot, representing males as people who want to take centre stage and been seen separate from the crowd. In this same scene, the female bartender is at the bar where the fight takes place. Instead of stopping them herself she calls for other patrons of the bar to do so. This could possibly represent the female gender as weaker than the male gender, requiring them to come to their aid. It is also noticeable that she is ‘dressed up’, wearing makeup, earrings and a fancy dress. This displays the female gender as one that cares about its appearance. She even carefully moves around the bar in order to keep her look intact, showing that they might even sacrifice everything else for their looks.

It then cuts to some sort of party taking place in what appears to be a pub. All of the characters in the shot are women, who are dancing and singing along to a song. This could maybe represent women as a more cheerful gender than men, taking everything easier and having more of good time, seeing as not one of them has tried to start a fight with another, despite the location being similar. The shot is crammed with about 4 female characters. This could suggest that women are loud and obnoxious, always becoming the centre of attention wherever they go, intentional or not. The music playing in the background of this scene is more light hearted, compared to the more intense drum beats and cymbal clashes of the previous scene. This could again symbolise women being much more light hearted fun loving than men.

After the initial explosion, and a few reaction shots, it cuts to a man getting up out of some rubble. He immediately begins to help others escape from anything that they have been trapped under. This could be to represent males as heroic and noble, putting other people before them. This is a pretty drastic change compared to the violence and aggression that was previously portrayed. In this same scene, it also cuts to a man standing and shouting for someone. This action could be to show that men can be compassionate and caring for loved ones, possibly risking their well being for the ones they love.

We are cut to a scene in which people are rushing outside to view the devastation the explosion has caused. A female character is kept in the centre of the shot, as it slowly zooms in on her shocked and traumatized expression. This could represent women as very emotional, possibly mentally weaker than men, as she is unable to take any action, as the sight shocks her complete. In this same outside scene it cuts to a man getting up off the floor and saying “Peter’s in the there.” Of course referring to the now destroyed building. It then contrasts his calm and collected why of showing concern, by cutting to a woman, screaming, almost painfully, for someone who was in the building. This shows men as the stronger gender in generally, able to cope with more and hold it together better than women. As the characters begin to rush toward the building, the same shocked woman as before is now phoning what appears to be the emergency services. This shows that women can be strong and level headed, where men might just be solely fuelled by adrenalin, perhaps saying that women are more thinkers than fighters. The last thing we hear her say down the phone is “I think there are people still in there.” This represents women as caring and compassionate people, caring for all, wanting wants best for them. As the tram comes fly down the track, the same elderly man from earlier who showed concern for Peter, telling everyone to step back, trying to protect them from what may happen. This represents males as leaders, who will step up when they are needed to protect others.

The mother who has been trapped inside a building because of the explosion, is cradling her baby in the next shot, even turning away from the tram in an effort to protect it. This represents the female gender as a protective one, putting their children before them, even if it means they take the brunt of the force. It also cuts to the scene very quickly, showing her turning almost immediately. This could be saying that this motherly nature is almost instinct to women. Maybe even saying that they are quick and logical thinkers, able to plan what is best in almost an instant. As the tram swings around crashing into other buildings, there are various cuts of women screaming and grabbing other male characters, almost cradling themselves with them. This could be playing open the well known damsel in distress stereotype, saying that women always need saving, and that men are their protectors.