Primeval essay

Primeval essay

 Primeval is a Sci-Fi drama, similar to Doctor Who and similar adventure TV shows. In the short clip we have just seen, there are three females, and around 8 males. Each of the female characters are represented in a different way through the way they act and the things they do. The first woman we see does not seem very courageous, this is because she wants to leave the area, we can’t tell much about this character because she is only in the scene for about 15 seconds therefore not being able to get an idea of what type of women she is trying to be represented as.

There are two other female characters; Abby, a blonde, and a brunette who works for the press who is trying to put a news story together. Both of these characters represent two different types of women. We know this by the way they act and how they dress. Abby, who is part of the ‘crime fighting’ team, is dressed in a black leather jacket, which also has a badge on it. By wearing a leather jacket, it tells us that she is rough and aggressive. The brunette is more of a lady, by wearing red lipstick, hair tied back and wearing more posh clothes creating a stereotype of the women through the mise en-scene used. You can tell she cares about the way she looks because when she is pushed down, she tells one of the men that it is her favourite coat. As well as the clothing on the women, out of the four main men, they each have their own style. The main one is wearing a blue shirt whilst another one is wearing a blue t-shirt which is covered in mud. Another one is wearing a pink t-shirt, with a waste coat and a stylish hat. Wearing these clothes whilst in the middle of a jungle is quite strange. But it tells us a lot about him.

Toward the end, a man and a women enter the barn with guns, but he comes in with a spade. This tells us that not only does he want to dress to impress, but he also is the ‘funny man’ of the group. The fourth man is the owner of the dogs, who is being questioned. He is wearing clothes that you would see a typical farmer wearing, but he also has a shotgun on hand showing us that he is powerful enough to own a gun as such. By looking on the clothing it helps tell you who is the most feminine and masculine, and also helps tell us who is brave and who isn’t. As well as the clothing sound also helps represent gender.

Throughout the whole scene, the music is quick and loud. This is also because the main instruments which are used are the trombone and drums. These instruments also make up the sound of the war, which is why they are referred to as masculine. The narrative of the story is also very manly. Throughout the whole clip, only about 20% of the script is spoken by a woman. Abby is not represented as a women as much as the brunette. Not only is this because of the costume and make-up, but also when they are fighting sabre-toothed she is the one in the digger/machine. This tells us that she is more courageous and very powerful, because at the end of the day, she saved them all by shooting the animal. This is the complete opposite to the man in pink, because he is wearing much less masculine clothes but he is also doing his work by the plants, not in the vehicle, whereas conventionally it is the other way around. There are two main editing techniques used to represent gender. They are slow motion, and fast cuts. There are no other transitions used such as fader and dissolves. The slow motion is used at the end when the breeder has got the woman on the floor. This effect is used so that you can see the strength of the main as well as the fright on the more ladylike woman.

Fast editing techniques are used when Abby is in the digger and the man in the t-shirt is running. This is to show that it is quickly paced, and that they went to show that they are running/trying to attack someone. Throughout the scene, different angles, movements and shots were used to show the different characteristics of each character, and how each of them represented gender.

They were two main close ups, one was when the man saw the large animal, and the other was when the lady was knocked to the floor. Both of these showed the expression on their face which was both scared and they were frightful. This represents gender because it shows that you do not have to be a woman to be scared, even men are. There was also two different times when two angles was used. A low angle was used when the breeder had knocked the woman to the floor, to show that he is in charge and more superior, with the woman looking more vulnerable, and when the blonde girl was is the digger it made her look more superior from the rest. The blonde girl also uses her feminine side when she asks the other woman “are you okay.” This shows that even she is courageous and that she is wearing aggressive clothes, but is also shows that she is very caring.