primeval

In the clip of primeval, we are represented with two opposing groups of characters which contrast with each other as binary opposites according to Levi Strauss. Instead of using actors who are obviously one gender, they have chosen to use a combination of the two to portray a more masculine, dominate figure, as the same with a more feminine, soft personality. By using a female to represent a dominate, authoritative figure, it goes against the stereotypical conventions, however they have still l followed them as they have tried to make her look as manly as possible with the use of costume . She has short, sharp, white, slick, presteme hair which is very unusual for a women to have, she is also tall built and wearing dark colour clothing which are lose which then connotations, power, in demand, strict and mysterious. This helps to show that she may be a female however by giving her these manly appearances she appears very butch. This also shows in her character, as the second shot we see of her is a mid-shot in a digger, which would be seen as a man’s job, doing the hard work, the camera takes a quick close up towards her face so we can establish her facial features are sharp and macular. Her opposing character, a male who is dumped down to appear helpless, tries to act more of a hero and upstage her in the role to be more manly, as when the sabre-toothed enters the forest, the butch girl has to save him, showing that she is more manly, even though she is actually a girl. There are high angle shots of the boy in the ditch to show his vulnerability of being attacked by the lion. The music is also key now, as a mincing, drum, hard-hitting beat comes about when we see the girl in power. The other man, who looks more boys like, tries again to redeem himself but fails, as the butch girl once again saves him from being killed. We see this as fast cuts take us to the butch girl when defeating the sabre-toothed, and slow, long shots when the sabre-toothed is tracking down the boy. Later then a close up is also added to the boy’s face, matched with a match action shot of him looking back at the butch girl to show his relief, and also thankful that she had come to the rescue. This is abnormal as you would normally see a female showing their emotions through such a close shot, however we only get the butch girl in mid shots, but the boy in a few close ups, allowing us to see his emotions. The camera then does a lot of establishing shots of the remaining forest to show where they are, which a very urban and deserted place is. In the first ever shot we see is a medium close up of the main authoritative man talking to a women, we can tell he is in power as his face remains in most of the matched action shots between their conversation and also because of his strong stern voice, orders the lady to leave. He is standing up, while the rest of his crew sits down, waiting for his orders. The clothing they have given him also tells us, as a smart shirt with the buttons undone at the stop and his strong walk shows power. This is then shown as the camera tracks towards him directly, then outwards as we see the other characters walking slightly behind him as he is in the middle leading. Compared to them, he looks more in power as one is wearing fashionable clothing, a hat and pink shirt, while the other is old and wearing a suit. All the characters seem to then emerges and meet in a circle as the camera slowly moves around, showing each one separately then focusing on a mid-shot as each one speaks. The constant sound of birds chirping ads to the setting of them being in a open country area which is large as it echoes all around, and by using the natural lighting which comes from the sun, also makes it very realistic as to where they are. This is an unbiased area to show gender. Following the binary opposite characters, they have used an opposing male, who is seen as heterosexual and feminine. He is dressed in a pink shirt, well groomed soft features, stylish hat and scarf and waste coat, which goes against the stereotypes of being a man. When the well suited man begins to talk, the music changes with him to suit his appearance, as a serious line, of dramatic music is played non diegetic, as he is about to discuss a serious issue, showing a stereotypical trait of males. As the leading male takes orders, but the feminine one waits until he is told what to do, obey commands which are a feminine trait. The barn scene is very low key lighted to enhance that element of danger and shadowing to the audience so they are aware that something may happen. An eye lined shot is used between the well-dressed feminine looking women and the scruffy, greasy old man to show their conversation. In this scene we are told that she has all the power as her voice is strong, hair and make-up heavily done up and giving the man orders. Her facial expressions also tell us this as they seem to be sarcastic in the way she talks to the man about the problem. However it is deceiving as she seems to be wearing something black, and low cut which is covered by a while, fancy coat, we cannot tell at this moment because the shots only allow us to see are mid, but this does tell us a mixed feeling about good and evil in here, by trying to hide it with the white coat. It is not until the man then pulls out a weapon of a gun, which supports his power is she then taken down to be less dominate and authorive towards him. The only reason why he is dominate is because he has a weapon and could not be aggressive without it, to highlight the danger a deeply based violin, screeching pitch of music comes in to show the problematic situation. As being a women who does talk a lot, she trys to get out of this situation, moving the power to her by making up excesses, “You’re not a violent man” which she knows is a lie as he is breading fighting dogs, however it is a trick women use to get their way, in this case it didn’t work. It is now we see the balance of power change between the two genders as he has full control and physically pushes her to the ground where she is now exposed and we see a long shot of her black dress and her expression vulnerable, almost like a damsel waiting to be saved. The camera moves in a slower shot as it amplifies the music and barking of the dogs to highlight the danger once again, it is not until a cut to the other characters all holding guns towards the man is it when we are relived that everything is ok. He again is standing in the middle at the front dominating the group as he is a strong male figure, the second more dominate character Is the butch girl as she then asks if the well-dressed one is ok, and gives a direct question to the man who has lost his power now. The least dominate is the feminine male who picks up a shovel instead of a gun, showing him that he is weak and has no manly weapons to hide behind. The clip portrays characteristic of strong, dominate, authorive, powerful characters with the use of stereotypically traits to be the leaders as they use weak, vulnerable, soft, feminine traits to show a how girls would be compared to males, it is very conventional that we see this as it is what we expect and follows the codes and conventions to gender.