Representation of Gender (Game of Thrones)

In this clip Gender is represented through the main character being a female. She is represented as being a mix between the 'Sexy Woman' as she uses men to get what she wants and the 'Lesbian Woman' in that she hates men and takes up the masculine role of leading an army. At the very beginning the camera looks down on the woman which could represent how she is being suppressed by men and reveals aspects of the traditional woman however this is soon shattered when she gains control of the army. once she has gained control she appears a lot more powerful than what she ever did before. One could argue that through the use of mise en scene it gives the impression that the woman is powerful and courageous through the use of the colours white and blue. These two colours can be found throughout the clip in a number of places, most notably however on the woman dress, the flags in the background and the horse that she rides on. the colour blue could have also been used in order to create an image of regality which links to the role of her leading an army. White has been used to show purity in the woman but also represents surrender which links to the fact that men are surrendering to her and are now under her control. Both women in the shot look stereotypically feminine and differ from the men in that they are wearing colourful clothing and do not have weapons. we could argue that these characters have been shaped in order to appeal to the male gaze as they appear weak and small. On the other hand, aspects of the main characters appearance such as her hair being tied back which indicates she may be ready to fight and may represent her being slightly more masculine than the other woman. This is evidence of how the woman shows aspects of the 'Lesbian Woman' in that she has taken up masculine features and masculine roles. This is furthered by the use of a birds-eye shot of the army which makes her look as if she is dominant over the men which also shows aspects of the 'Sexy Woman' as she is using me to get what she wants which is power. Her power can also be seen as she is about to address the army of men. She shows no signs of fear or being nervous which backs up the idea that she is courageous and brave. as a result of being portrayed this way she is creating a new style of woman who has more in common almost with that of the 'Traditional man' which breaks the codes and conventions of how a woman should be portrayed. This idea is supported as there is a shot-reverse-shot between the woman and a group of men as she makes her speech which has been used to represent and emphasise the shock that a woman can be powerful and take up a masculine role.

Furthermore, it could be said that she is portrayed in a way this she is almost mythical. this is due to the use of the white horse that she is riding on and the colours which she is wearing. She creates such a contrast to the dull dusty backdrop that she emits a glow which could be argued to look almost saint like. The idea of her being saint like furthers the point that she is different to anything that we already know and understand about women and almost emphasises her power over the army that surrounds her whilst also linking back to the idea of her being a 'Sexy woman' as men would worship her and bow down to her needs. Another way in which camera work has been used to show gender is because the camera is almost angled slightly upwards at her which could symbolise the fact that she is so respected that people look up to her and she is 'bigger' than everyone else which is a stark contrast to the beginning of the clip when she appears much smaller and obsolete compared to the men. This contrast shapes the clip as without the main character challenging the codes and conventions of how we we would expect a woman to be portrayed in the media, people may loose interest in it as it would be just like everything they have already seen and thus providing nothing new or innovative to the audience. It could be argued, this demonstrates one of the goals of media which is to escape real life situations as the clip itself goes against what we understand about how women should be represented according to the media which is 'Traditional Woman'. Equally Laura Mulvey's male gaze could also be applied to the clip when the woman is shown as a silhouette rising above those around her. This is due to fact that because of the contrast in colours between her (the silhouette) and the dusty back ground, it highlights her figure, Which may have been aded in order to appeal to a passive male audience. However, on closer inspection the way in echo she is rising above others creates the idea of power and dominance over those around her in a way that may not be immediately obvious.

In contrast, men have been represented in a very different way throughout this clip in that they appear to be strong and dominant in the beginning but appear much weaker towards the end of the clip. for example, at the beginning of the clip we see a bald headed man snatch a dragon out of the woman hand. through his performance we get the idea that he is angry and possibly primitive in that he would snatch from a woman. furthermore, his appearance goes with his character as h has a beard and ho hair on his head. this implies that he cares little for his appearance and further emphasises his masculinity. The spiteful tone in his dialogue and the digetic rattling of the chains create a harsh
image of him to the audience which is further developed by him swearing and using derogatory terms such as "bitch" towards the woman. These are evidence that he is represented as the traditional man who would have power over women and appear very strong and masculine.