In their broadest form, gender stereotypes in TV drama are usually about the strength and dominance of men, and the weakness and submission of women. Some slightly more specific stereotypes (more dependent on the context of the TV drama) are that men may be arrogant, cocky, and unemotional, whereas women are the opposite; being portrayed as calm, considerate and emotional. However with increasing frequency, females are being presented as the more intellectually strong gender, and many popular TV dramas feature a sly female character.
In this clip from BBC mystery drama Sherlock, there is a confrontation between the protagonist Sherlock, his partner Watson and the newly introduced antagonist Irene Adler. Contrary to the usual gender stereotypes, and Sherlock and Watson having the bigger physical presence, Irene seems to dominate the pair of them with her intelligence and confidence. She is almost the complete counter-stereotype for a woman, however the use of her nakedness to give her power over the men is bit of a classic female stereotype in TV.
A good example of the classic gender stereotype in TV is Skins, the male characters are often portrayed as being arrogant, and obsessed with girls, whereas the female characters often just become objects of lust for the males. Whilst this isn't always the case there are plenty of examples of it, e.g. Tony after Michelle in season 1 & 2 and Cook and Freddie after Effy in season 3 & 4. The majority male characters strive to meet the male stereotype of appearing virile and masculine, whilst a lot of the female characters are trying to meet their stereotype.
No comments:
Post a Comment