1)Emma Peel is indicative of the change that previous gender inequalities had on television programmes and the increased public role women had in 1960's Britain. Explain how? How does Emma Peel reflect the influence of social attitudes towards sexualisation on television?
Due to this increased role women had in 1960's Britain, Emma Peel had a lot more screen time or the same as John Steed which gives the men and women more equality. Not only was she pretty but she was also very smart which was a complete opposite to what women were viewed as if they were pretty back then (Pretty and dumb).Emma Peel wears a catsuit which is very sexy, especially towards the men who were either watching or directing the TV series. Due to the male gaze, women wore more attractive clothing and mini skirts were worn a lot more than before. For example Peel wears a mini skirt at the beginning of the episode and at the end. Also because of the change in gender inequalities and increased public role of women, we see at the end of the episode Emma Peel is the one riding the motorbike. 3)What does the absence of any LGBT characters reveal about social attitudes? What was the legal position towards homosexuality at that time? LGBT was still not seen as something normal and on TV these characters might not have been accepted due to their sexuality. Although LGBT was accepted and known about even more at this point, it was still taboo and people probably thought it was strange to show people like this on TV. In the series there are no people at all who were LGTB. 4)How is the underdevelopment of multiculturalism in 1960s Britain reflected in The Avengers? In the late 1960's immigration became very big, with loads of people of different races from different countries came to big cities, for example London. However because The Avengers is set in a small town, Little Bailey, there wouldn't be much immigration to small towns the most would be to big cities. The town is seen as a small British village with pure British people in it, and it would be seen to be unusual to have multicultural people in a small town like that in 1960's. In the TV series there are not multicultural people shown on television which links back to the underdevelopment of multiculturalism in 1960's as there are no black people shown probably due to how the viewers of the show would view it. 5)At this time there was a perceived “generation gap” between the traditional wartime generation and the radical youth. How is this reflected through the representation of Steed and Peel? (Mise-en-scene, actions, dialogue, etc) The "generation gap" is the difference of attitudes or thoughts between people of different generations (young/old), which may lead to a lack of understanding. The people who were older, would have most likely experienced both wars or even one so were probably used to hard going, tough conditions that were strict and 'normal'. The traditional wartime generation probably thought differently to that of the radical youth so there would have been some different attitudes to certain things. The elders would have thought the era they were living in then (1960's) was a huge change to what they were used to, as there was a change from hard war conditions (strict rules), to hippy style and more revealing clothing and party era. Steed represents the traditional wartime, hard veteran, and we see this when he has flashbacks of noises of planes and war when he is standing on the airfield in the series. Also Steed is wearing a three price suit and a bowler hat and umbrella which is typically what a man from the war time would wear. Steed's actions and dialogue are a bit slower to that os Emma's. On the other hand Emma Peel is a representation of the younger generation in the 60's. This is because she wears more revealing clothing which wouldn't have been worn back earlier in the 1900's. She is also very calm and talks back a lot when/ if she gets into any trouble with anyone, showing her confidence. Her weapon is a gun and her actions and dialogue are a lot faster. 6)How did the the social anxieties of the time, specifically in regards to the Cold War and related espionage (“reds under the bed”, etc) influence the production of this episode? In the 60's there were many social anxieties regarding the cold war and related spying. Back then, many people were worried about the threat of communism. British people were afraid of the idea of communism, and this is definitely shown in season 4 episode one in which a small British town is being taken over by communists. The undercover 'army' could have been referred to as the "reds under the bed" as all their development were working and planning underground. 7)Explain how media language (mis-en-scen, camera work, ect) is used to depict The Avengers’ point of view rather than the townspeople’s point of view. We are on the Avenger's side as they are the fist ones introduced to us. There is sinister music with other townspeople when they are shown on screen which makes us dislike them compared to us being on the side of Emma Peel and John Steed. We see the main characters on the screen the most, yet the townspeople (communists) had less screen time as they were a secret agency who were meant to be in hiding. The editing helps increase the mystery of the secrecy of the communists. For the camera angles they show the avengers to be quite powerful and strong and the camera tracks the people showing they are athletic and are hero's.
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1)Create moodboard of Britain in the 60’s Cover the various points we’ve looked at: (On other post) 2) Create a character profile for each of the leads. Explain what they reveal about 1960’s Britain: DIANA RIGG-EMMA PEEL: Emma Peel is a spy that is acted by Diana Rigg. As she acted in The Avengers, 1960’s, she became a feminist role model for people all around the world. She is most famously recognised for wearing a leather catsuit in many of the episodes. She is also the parter/sidekick to John Steed who is played by Patrick Macnee, and Rigg was a replacement for Cathy Gale, played by Honor Blackman. Emma Peel is not very often defeated in fights and a couple of her many talents are: Fencing and Martial Arts. To many people she is a heroine. She is a clear representation of gender and class. Due to the ‘Male Gaze’ theory in that time, Diana Rigg wore very provocative clothing, such as the catsuit which could bring more attention to the screen for males. The two main characters have a strange witty banter between them and they have some sort of feeling for eachother it seems. The character, Emma Peel, as she was seen as an icon, she seemed to break or decrease the stereotype that ‘pretty’ women can’t do anything because she is shown fighting against men and women in the same way a man would. This show she has a purpose and definitely inspired others! She is also capable of saving Steed when he is in trouble. PATRICK MACNEE-JOHN STEED: John steed, played by Patrick Macnee, is the other main character in The TV series Avengers. He is the central protagonist of the show. He is a secret agent that is working undercover for the British Intelligence. Steed usually wears a three piece suit with a bowler hat, which is one of his main weapons the audience see him us in season 4 episode 1. He is also a strong representation on the show of Age and Class and throughout the series some of his characteristics changed from being arrogant and noble to being very kickass and well-dressed. He and Emma Peel, work together as secret agents, however Steed can sometimes fail at doing something and then Peel has to back him up, showing her strength and power. He is very good at solving or cracking cases when they need to be especially when he has a partner to work with. Especially on Season four we also see Steed’s big collection of old fashioned cars. Steed is also definitely a very knowledgeable and well-mannered character, but who can still defeat the very worst of people. 3) Write a synopsis of the episode(season 4 episode 1): The episode begins with the main character appearing from the sea in a bag. The two main characters, Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee(John Steed and Emma Peel), went to a small town to stay for a while. They are partners in the spying industry. She went to Little Baisley to become a teacher at the school and he was just there for a few days as he was looking for any plots or land to buy, however they were their cover up stories. There was a small inn/pub they stayed at however not everything seemed normal. They then discovered that there were enemy agents trying to take over England. Everyone in the town was replaced by someone from the enemy army and were killed so the army were able to take many small towns over at a time. They went to Little Baisley as there had been many agents beforehand who were murdered by the enemy agents. The town is hard to come out alive due to the murderous enemy agents. 4) Populate the following lists with examples from the show:
WHAT WAS THE AVENGERS?:
MORE ON THE AVENGERS:
POLITICAL BRITAIN IN THE 60'S:
ROLE OF WOMEN IN 60'S:
SOCIAL HISTORY:Britain in 60's:
HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD VIEWED BRITAIN:
1:How is sound used in this extract to create meaning? Refer to at least three examples (6 marks) : At about 14.30 there is a change in music. As the Indian man, called Amit, walks into the shop there is music playing in the background that is quite cheerful and happy and this is usual music that is played in a shop on a daily basis. However as Amit goes to get his curry powder the music changes from happy, pop music to dramatic, quite sinister music. The music contrast creates a normal day atmosphere to become very dark, ominous and threatening atmosphere. This is non-diegetic sound as it is a soundtrack that makes the scene more sinister and it also makes us empathise Amit for being stabbed and venerable in that situation. In this case the music used also makes us feel that something bad is going to happen and it also has the effect to make the four guys that enter the shop seem more aggressive and frightening. There is a lot of silence within the scene and this creates a lot of meaning. This is because the silence creates an eery setting and it also creates a suspenseful atmosphere which helps us to understand that something bad is going to happen. The silence means we have to read the emotions of the characters faces to see what they are thinking at that point, which for Amit is panic and worry. In the scene there is also use of aggressive dialogue, and this is said by the four guys who come into the shop. There is racist language said by Keegan for example he says to Amir, "You laughing at me?" and he is obviously not laughing at him, Keegan is just being racist towards Amir. This is diegetic sound because it is speech heard by the characters and said by them. 2:Explain how the audience is positioned on the side of the victim in this extract. Use specific examples to support your response. (8 marks) In this scene we are definitely meant to take the side of the victim who is Amir. We are positioned like this because before Amir goes into the shop he is speaking to his mum on the phone. This makes us feel quite sympathetic for Amir as it makes him seem more innocent because he is speaking to his mum. It makes him seem like a child who is just running an erron for his mum. The POV shot when Amir is facing the four men lets us see how innocent Amir is. It also lets us be in Amir's shoes and lets us see and maybe think what it would be like to be in that position. We see why Amir might feel petrified as it allows us to see what he might be feeling due to the POV shot. The audience are also positioned to be on the side of the victim in this extract because of the way the enemy looks. Keegan and his friends are wearing quite chavy clothes and the guy in the grey shirts is wearing clothes which makes him seem very menacing. Also the other three guys are wearing just everyday clothes but Keegan looks a bit like a nerd but his hair makes him look like a bit of a dodgy man. The clothes that they are wearing may make it more scary for Amir. We also side with Amir because he is outnumbered. There are four of them and one of him. This automatically makes us feel sorry and make us empathize/side with Amir because we know what is probably going to happen to him and we know it is going to be bad. 3:How do representations of gender differ in this extract? Consider the qualities that are attributed to each gender. (6 marks) For most of the extract there are more men in comparison to women, however there is one woman towards the end of the extract who is the detective, Jo Moffat. The men in this extract that are threatening Amir are typically shown as gangsters who want to cause a fight or who are racist. Keegan is shown as an aggressive person and this is a complete contrast to Amir who, to the audience, is shown as very innocent, maybe a bit childish or a little less manly compared to the other four men because he was on the phone to his mum. Jo Moffat who is the detective at the end of the extract who is a female and is put in a higher position to the men in the extract who are just normal citizens and she is a detective who is quite high in the police department. There are so many more male roles in this scene compared to female roles however there are two females in the police department. Jo is very calm and nice towards the child whose father owns the corner shop, this may be because the small boy may be scared or confused about what is happening or she might be being nice because she wants to get information of of the boy and his father. The man who owns the shop is shown as very hostile and not wanting to give away any information to Jo. He is not saying much or giving anything away and he is also trying to make excuses for where he was at the time of the stabbing with the screwdriver. 4:EXTENSION: Explain how stereotypes are used in the representation of ethnicity in this extract. Refer to media language to support your answer (8 marks)
MISE-EN-SCENE: An example of a representation of ethnicity in this extract is when Amir walks into to the shop, thinking its a normal day. His mum has asked him to go and buy some things from the corner store. The first thing Amir picks up is curry powder which is definitely a stereotype of an Indian, going to go buy curry, and Amir is unfortunately discriminated and stabbed for being a different ethnicity. SOUND: Keegan says to Amir "Oi, muzzy" which is very racist towards Amir as he is a muslim and is stereotypically shown as a muslim in this extract. CAMERA WORK: There is a panning shot that is also a POV shot which makes us think that Indians are venerable. Stereotypes for ethnicity are used in this scene to make it clear to us on who is who and what they characters who are maybe a different race feel at that time. The panning shot that follows where Amir walks shows the four men against him blocking off any exits that Amir could get out of. It pans through the isles and then we jump as we suddenly see Keegan's face very close to Amir, making him seem like a threat. EDITING: There is cross-cutting between the four men and Amir and this shows both of their emotions and actions and what they might be thinking at that point. Not only this but the cross-cutting between both types of race represent ethnicity. We see in the cross-cutting the contrast of the two types of people as Amir is maybe stereotypically dressed as an Indian living in Britain and the four men are definitly dressed as if they were normal white men who live in Britain/Brighton. |
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