OCR The Hustle practice question

The clip focuses on a shop including the main characters in the clip of a shop keeper, rich woman and another man, however there are also other characters and scenes included in the clip. The clip starts with a rich, feminine looking woman walking up the stairs and a shop keeper walking towards a less feminine looking woman. The woman that the shop keeper first begins talking to is seen as less feminine as the other before we have even been introduced to the other woman. This is because she does not look as well looked after as her hair is not as tidy and well done as the other woman's and she is also in more casual clothes. As she is appears a lower class, weaker and less feminine woman the shop keeper talks down to her. We can also show how the shop keeper talks down to the woman because the camera angle is over the shoulder of the shop keeper showing he is higher than he although he himself is also very feminine. Although this shows femininity because she has less power than the post masculine man, she challenges the stereotype of women as it is clear to the audience that she has little care in her appearance and will not spend an awful amount of money on clothes. The music is also played when the shot is of the richer woman whereas with the poorer woman the music fades out; the music is feminine which has been used to show her femininity and because it has been faded from the poorer woman shows her lack of femininity. The shop keeper then goes to the richer woman and therefore motivates the cut to be on her. This gives the audience the intention that because he is male he has more power over her, however throughout the clip it is shown that this is not the case. The richer woman has slow camera movements when she is the focus of the shot. This has been used to show her femininity as the movements are slow and fragile, just as a stereotypical woman would be seen. She also presents herself as a sexual object because of the tone of voice she uses when trying on the dress. She talks in a very sexual and provocative way as though she wants to be seen by other men as a sexual object and that by talking in this way will get her a reputation of this. The shop keeper is also one of the main focuses in this shot as he is the motivator of the cuts and is shown throughout the whole scene. He challenges the stereotypical man as he acts in a post masculine way. This is shown through speech as he knows what type of dress the woman would like and also through his actions. The background music is calm and joyful when focusing on the shop keeper and richer woman and is used to show their femininity. It shows the equality in their femininity and represents her stereotypical femininity and his post masculinity.

The scene then quickly changes to two men sitting at a bar. Out of the two men the older man appears more feminine than the younger man. This is shown because he is well dressed showing he cares about his looks whereas the other man is in casual clothes. The difference in clothes shows the younger man's stereotypical work man attire as he looks dirtier than the other man and as though he cares more for his beer and cigarette. The richer man also appears more feminine as he is talking more and offers the other man more to drink; this shows femininity because this is often seen to be done more by women than men. The slow jazz music in the background also implies his femininity because it is slow and calm, and more of what a women would be seen as represented by rather than a man. However, their masculinity is also represented through camera movements as they are quick, just as men do not like to hesitate when doing something and they are sharp in their actions.

The next scene is set back in the shop with the rich woman and the shop keeper. As the woman is packing away her things she realises she has lost her ring and goes into a stressed and panic state. Her actions show her over-emotional trait as the is frantically running around the shop and shouting at the shop keeper to find her ring. The music which is played in the background is fast and loud representing the stress she is feeling and therefore representing her femininity. As the shop keeper steps in to help the music stops implying he can calm her down and can have control over the situation. This scene shows how his more masculine side is present in a stressful situation and how he can take control of the situation. As he is taking control and talking to the rich women about the situation he appears in control and is making it clear to the woman that he can handle the situation. The camera zooms in closer to the woman's face to show her emotion and to make her the centre of attention. As the camera has zoomed in to do this she looks into the camera and talks provocative way and also has a provocative expression. This shows how she has again been used to show how women can be seen as sexual objects by men and that the shop keeper has made her to feel this was as she is talking about him.

The next scene is of a man fixing an alarm. This scene is very quick and sharp; it is quick and sharp to show his masculinity as he just wants to get this job done quickly and does not want to waste any time. As he is fixing the alarm, the final part of the job suddenly goes wrong causing him to go into a state of shock and become aggressive. This scene shows a quick example of a stereotypical man because he is aggressive and sharp. The sound of the alarm can also show this stereotype because it is loud and hostile, which is relatable to the stereotypical man.

The shop is then shown again with the shop keeper searching for the ring on the floor. Another man then walks into the shop and is spoken to by the shop keeper, being told that the shop keeper will be one minute. This contrasts with the way he acts towards the woman earlier as he runs over to her as soon as he can, whereas with a man he acts less hospitable and cares more about finding the ring. The shop keeper is shown to have less power than the other man. When they have the first conversation the shop keeper is on the floor and the camera angle is a high angle compared to the low angle on the other man in the shop. The use of these angles show the difference in power between the two men and that the visitor in the shop has more authority, although it is not his property. The other man is also seen as more masculine than the shop keeper because he is more aggressive towards the shop keeper and talks with more authority. This shows he is more masculine because it is stereotypical of a man to have more power over the woman, so although the shop keeper is not female, he is more feminine as he has less power and eventually gives in to the visitor of the shop. The other man also knows how to manipulate the shop keeper showing his intelligence and again his power over the shop keeper. In this scene the camera also focuses more on the visitor of the shop rather than the shop keeper, meaning he has more camera time. This makes him appear more dominant because the camera focuses on his and the audience see him more than they see the shop keeper. The focus is also directly on the visitor at one point and the shop keeper is in the background. The close up of him against the medium-long shot of the shop keeper show how he has more power because he is the main focus of the shot and that the composition has been done so that the audience focus more on him than the shop keeper.

The final scene of the clip shows the man from the shop running into a café to meet a woman. Although he appeared more powerful and masculine in the shop he suddenly appears weaker compared to the woman. This is because it is implied that she can have him do anything she wishes and he does as she says. This challenges the stereotype of men and women because it is normally the man who is in control of the woman and she will do anything to please him.

In conclusion this clip uses clear use of editing, camera, mise en scene and sound to represent gender. The way this has been used means that multiple people can relate to this clip and how there is variation within the roles of males and females. The scenarios within the clip have been done for the audience to relate to them because they are things which could happen in everyday life. However, the clip focuses mainly on middle class people which are very rich and it is more likely that the working class will watch this. This means it is harder for the audience to relate to the situations involved.

 

How does ‘The Hustle’ Clip represent gender?

The Hustle clip immediately starts showing representation of gender through the use of the shop keeper, elderly women, the women in the grey suit, the man that comes into the shop, and the two men in the lounge bar. Who all challenge and conform to the typical gender stereotypes through their actions.

 The shop owner is immediately labelled as post masculine, this is due to the fact that he works in an upmarket, designer clothes shop, meaning he doesn’t conform to the male stereotypes of the business man. Furthermore he is not given much power in the clip, if he is the main shot and the centre composition it is only to show his conflicting emotions when he is being hustled, which quick shots flitting to the other person in order to not give him enough screen time to give him the power people thought originally thought he had or when he is being rude to the older women, where he is given the high angle shots to give him power and she is given the low angle shots, as well as that he is given the longer shots but sneakily you can see the women in the grey suit behind him so that he has power but once again it is taken away from him. Otherwise he is always shown with someone, with once again shots going to the other person. He is shown wearing a black suit with black shirt which contrasts with the white shop as it the white shows purity whereas the black in his suit makes him stand out as the villain even though the women in the grey suit and man are suspicious. There is no real music around him, only when he gets involved with the hustlers does the comical music start as if a joke is being played on him. Also when there is no music an emphasis is put on his voice showing how feminine it is. This character represents gender as the post masculine from a stereotypical males perspective that post masculine men are like women; that women are money grabbers, who only care about money and fashion and would do anything for it.

The women the grey suit, the women hustler, is given much power throughout as she is a sexual object. She is this due to the way that she dresses, as she shows more than a women should, even the dress that she was trying on was very revealing, the way she wears tightly fitted clothes, the way that she talks, she talks provocatively and makes sexual noises. Instead of head on shots she is always panned, as if the audience if the audience is checking her out, which fits in with the tight fitted clothes. This gives her the power as it means that the shots follow her, even when it’s not it’s to make her look even more sexual than before. These slow, long shots give is her power. But towards the end her role in the shop scene she looks and the camera, smiling she says ‘oh I know you will’ as if it was all a huge joke even though she had made a huge scene about it before. She is always the centre composition or in a shot in some way, even if it’s in the background. The music surrounding her is either slow as if she is going to do something or comical as if she finds this funny. Towards the end of the clip she is shown now having long, dark hair talking on the phone to the shop manager. Though frantic before her smirks tells the audience that she thinks the conversation with him was comical, much like the music before. She is meeting up the male hustler, this then puts her from the position of the sexual object to post feminism. This character represents gender as a post feminism through again a male’s perspective, this is that even though they say that they don’t need a man in order to get what they want they must make themselves as ‘sexual objects’ in order to get what they want, even if they are in charge of the operation.

The man that comes into the shop, the male hustler, is a good example of a stereotypical male. He said that he was looking for clothes for his ‘new bird’ implying that she is one of many and doesn’t care enough to name. He wears a suit which immediately labels him as a business man that has a lot of money, especially coming into this shop. He wears a necklace that makes him look feminine as it would not typically be ordinary for men to wear necklaces but in this day and age it might be more acceptable to a younger audience compared to an older one. The shots on him are either medium shots or one with him sharing the shot with the shop owner. The medium shots show him with a mischievous, smug face as if he knows something that the shop owner doesn’t which the audience can see from the way he picked up the ring. When having an argument with the shop keeper however they are both shown together to show that they are on equal grounds and that without one the other cannot win. His accent is common with contrasts with his suit, stereotypically he would be more in the working class than in a business class which makes him seem suspicious, but his medium shots are longer giving him power, as well as that he leads the shots as well.

The men in the lounge bar, are the stereotypical males in this clip. One is dressed smart casually and the other is in a suit insinuating that they are middle class working men. They seem to be having a serious conversation at first that leads to the shot, putting the emphasis on the fact that they are stereotypical men that only talk about serious matter. There is no music around them to put emphasis on the seriousness on the conversation to make them seem important, even though they do not have a lot of screen time before it cuts to the next scene where the story is taking place. Also the shot shows both men talking in a medium shot to give them more power but the man in the suit had more alone screen time to signify his importance in the story, the suit emphasising this more. This means that they are both the typical male gender.

In conclusion this clip shows that the stereotypical male and female gender types do not only apply to that sex, it can stretch through both in different variations. This is shown in this clip through the use of costumes mostly in this clip and how the character presents himself. Also the way that the men are shown to have more power in the shots and if they don’t have it is portrayed so that they think they do. Overall it shows that the older member’s society still conforms to the typical stereotypes of men having the most power, whereas a more modern view would say that this is perfect representation of how women have more power over men even when they refuse to see it.

About TV Drama Exam

Notes

 - 2 hour long exam
 - 50 marks per part - 2 parts
 - You get to see the clip 4 times
 - Each time the clip is shown
    - First time you just watch it
    - then the key areas
 - The question will ask you to focus on one area
    - e.g. Class and Status

Class Work

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of Ethnicity using the following: 

 - Camera Angles

 - Editing

 - Sound

 - Mise-En-Scene

The ethnic workers are presented as lower class workers, being cleaners, maids etc, they were all dressed in uniforms.

The English African man that was seated on the sofa was spoke to with respect, seen in the foyer, dressed in a smart suit, this shows he is respected and had a high position.

In the closet another English African was shown to be a doctor as he is shown to have a high understanding of medical knowledge.
Sit in separate groups, depending on where they were from.
Immigration officers look liked thugs/ gangsters if they weren't in there police uniform.

Composition of the shot always makes sure that the immigration officer in charge was always in the centre and the main focus.
Camera Angle shaky to show the fear in the immigrants.
Ethnic people always have more than one person in the shot with them that belittles there power.

As the immigration officers come in the music gets lower and faster to build suspense.
Waiting for something to happen/ build up.
Music stops to build an eeriness when they show the immigrant not hiding.
Music resembles a clock, ticking, waiting for something to happen.
Builds gets louder and faster as they get the immigrant not hiding.
When scenes of suspense build up the music gets louder for a second as the people on the screen pause to add an extra effect.
Sad Music to show the loss that the people feel for there friend that has been taken, even in the busy lively surroundings.
Different languages.

Revision Techniques - Things that do and don't work

Things that would work 

1.  Practicing previous questions

2.  Reading over notes

3.  Testing yourself

4.  Looking at other blogs

5.  Mindmaps

6.  Looking at your blog

       - Read over notes

7.  Revising together

8.  Revision Cards

        - Remembering Terminology

        - Remembering types of Stereotypes

9.   Looking at shared lesson

10. Simplify notes

11. Apply to your life

12. Watch tv dramas

Things that wouldn't work

1. Not revising

2. Last minute revision

3. Not making notes

4. Research

5. Books

6. Cramming 

10/12/13

Mad men advert

- women have to dress up for men

- women have to be sex objects

- women are inferior

- to do better at your job you have to be more attractive 

- men have more power - men don't have to impress the men

- other women aren't challenging stereotypes 

- voice over was male - more power again

- woman wad behind the man, less power, he was the leader 

Monarch of the glen

- old man has nice clothes, happy, lives in a castle - wealthy 

- middle class accents - shows wealth and class

- looking up from in the boot - view of what is in the car - the old men have more power 

- 'ah my beauty' - valuable 

- music suggests humour, happiness 

- younger man burst in on the older men - role reversal - younger has more power - can see this as they look scared, close up of him, showing his power - light is behind younger man (power) 

- old me are secretive about the whiskey - 30 years old (matured, better, very valuable) - scared when the younger man finds them

- younger man is The Lord of the estate - does has more power

- man2 thinks he has power but does not - 

- man in kilt comes across as stupid - referred to as Albert Einstein (sarcastic) 

- family are lower class - animal hanging on the wall 

- lord of estate meets woman - teacher 

- woman's smile when she sees him - he puts on an act and draws her attention - can tell something is going on

- man asking for help from woman - equality

- woman offers to make supper - romantic

- man on mountain - daredevil, excitable

- lord is a widower - looks at old photo

Stereotypes Lesson - Post Feminism (Action Chicks)

Clip Showing Post Feminism 

Social Class - Lesson and Activity