Primeval - Textual Analysis

In this extract, gender is represented with the presentations of femininity and masculinity. Femininity is shown through both female characters and less 'manly' males, who are stereotyped as weaker, scared and acting as 'damsels in distress', whilst masculinity is shown through the male characters and a less feminine female (Abby), who are stereotyped as strong, independent and heroes.

The camera is utilised during the clip to show the representation. During the Sabre Tooth Tiger attack, a high angled shot of Nick Cutter is used, with his character positioned in the bottom half of the frame. This shot is used to create a countertype to masculinity, with the angle and framing showing his weakness in the situation, which is unlike the stereotype of the male characters, showing the power of the tiger. Another aspect of the camerawork, later on, helped emphasise the gender divided, with panning shots being used on male characters whilst theyre talking, like the white-collar worker and Connor, however, not with the female character of Abby. This camera bias shows the stereotype of women being the second class sex, as it mimics the bias of society. Later on, a shot is used with Stephen in the foreground in the center of the frame, with the more feminine characters of Abby and Connor on either side of him, positioned in the background in the left or right third of the frame. The positioning of the characters in this shot emphasises the stereotype of the more masculine characters being the heroes and have the authority, whilst more femine characters are weaker.

Sound is also utilised for the representation, mostly in the scene between Jenny and Farmer West. Initially Jenny talks calmly despite being threatened, which shows a countertype for the feminine character, with her being level-headed and strong rather than the stereotyped weakness and fearing. When Jenny does get attacked, all the diagetic sounds are slowed down and amplified, which is done to exaggurate the danger she is in. This is done to show the stereotype of women's 'damsels in distress' role, by showing the danger she is in. After this, intense background music is played, which is used to both further exaggurate the danger again, to show the female 'damsel' role, as well as show how a man attacking a woman is wrong, by making West out to be villainous, as attacking woman is very bad for the stereotyped male.

Editing is briefly used for the representation, with it slowing down during the attack on Jenny. This is done to emphasise the distress and danger she is in, showing her in a stereotypical female role of 'damsel in distress'. 

Mise-en-Scene also helps present the representation. Jenny's costume also has elements stereotypical for female characters, with her white coat showing stereotypical purity and innocence, and her heavy red make-up, showing her seductivity and care for her image. The stronger female, more masculine, character Abby's costume shows a countertype to femininty, by being more akin to the male stereotype. Abby's costume is made up of a leather jacket and trousers, two clothing items stereotyped to males, showing how she's stronger than the typical female, adopting stereotypically male traits, as well as costume items. She also has shorter hair and less make-up, which is more masculine, further emphasising her countertype. Connor's costume is also a countertype, showing him to be weaker than the other males by showing him to be more feminine. The costume is mostly made up of pink and red, two colours typically associated with femininity, further showing his weakness in relation to other males. He also wears a hat and scarf, two items of clothing that are more feminine. Other than the costume, the way that Connor can't handle a gun, choosing to weild a spade instead, also shows his femininity as he cannot handle himself.

Waterloo Road - Textual Analysis

In this extract, age is represented with the presentations of the elderly teachers and the youthful students. The older characters are stereotyped as important, authoritative and respectable, with the sole exception as the Maths Teacher, who is shown to be going through some form of mid-life crisis, with very little understanding of the kids. Contrastingly, the children are shown to be emotional, noisy, dangerous, cool, rebellious and powerless, whilst also in the majority at the school.



In the beginning of the clip, the senior teacher is positioned in the centre of the frame, showing his importance and authority, mirroring the older stereotype presented. Following this, a tracking shot of Miss Chowdrey's entrance infers her stereotyped importance and authority, showing that, despite how she is belittled by the senior teacher, she is still older than the students ands thus has power an authority. In the next segment, the opening shot is a panning shot that moves from the teacher's sign on the door to the student waiting outside of it, thus showing the hierarchy of the school and how the teachers have a lot more power than the students under them. After this, the action moves to the character of Amy. During this segment, whenever she gets angry, the score starts. The cue of the score highlights her emotional and dangerous behaviour, which is stereotyped to teenagers. The style of the score, which is a techno funk-like genre, shows a stereotyped genre of music that teenagers listen to. It then uses a cut-away scene to the English class room, where, several reaction shots are used after any character speaks, showing the emotional behaviours of the teens. It then cuts back to the character of Amy, where the previous musical cue is being played constantly over the action. This segment uses close-up shots of both Amy and Stuart, edited together in a shot-reverse shot method, to show the tension of the situation due to their stereotyped emotional and dangerous behaviour. The action then moves over to the Maths Teacher, who's costume is that of an outdated stereotype of teenagers, showing a mid-life crisis-like behaviour, whilst also showing his lack of understanding for the youth. This behaviour is further exaggerated by the rap music played during the segment, used almost ironically to show his complete misunderstanding.


Throughout the whole clip, a background sound of teenagers' muffled chattering is used to create the effect of the children being in the majority and their noisy behaviour. Also, in all scenes in corridors, children are placed in the background of the frame, to further demonsrate this effect, whilst also being out-of-focus compared to the main action being followed, using a form of shallow focus, which is used to demonstrate the powerlessness of the students. The costumes of the students show them all in uniform, however, each student has a slight variation of this, showing an attempt to be cool, whilst also, in turn, being rebellious. In binary opposition, the teachers all dress smarter, either wearing shirts, full suits or smart dresses, showing their respectability and authority. As well as this, the editing used throughout the clip is basic, as to show the naivety of the children in the school.