In the Avengers, views on gender were different to that of the time and
gave off a message that women are as capable as men. Emma Peel was a strong
female lead which was very unusual for the time, especially one where a man
acted by her side on the same level. Women back then if they acted it was
usually as a lady who needed to be saved by the male character. However, in the Avengers Emma Peel shows she is capable of holding her own without the help of
her male counterpart. When Steed goes to Emma Peel's house she is practising
fencing which is seen as a masculine sport but she challenges Steed to a fight
and holds her own against him. This shows she is not afraid of standing up to
him. This was very unusual for a TV programme/film in the 1960's because women
were never seen on a par to men and acting as their equals. Despite Emma Peel
challenging Steed to a fight, Steed still wins because he is the male character
and although Peel is shown to be able to hold her own, ultimately, he is still
better than her.
Following the stereotypes of the 1960's, Emma
Peel is often dressed in very tight costumes which tend to sexualise her. Also,
whilst Steed and Peel were fencing at the beginning, Steed slaps Emma Peel's
bum, which nowadays may be seen as mild sexual harassment. This along with her
outfits, sexualises Emma Peel. This shows that, despite the Avengers
challenging traditional views of gender roles in the 1960's, it still follows
many stereotypes of women.
Mark 11 out of 15
ReplyDeleteWell understood with a sound conclusion. A few more examples would increase your marks (as this is a high-value question).
Also, if you'd dealt with each of my guidance question, you'd have seen the one about the watershed.
Perhaps express this sentence ('views on gender were different to that of the time') as 'The Avengers presented a new breed of woman in a ground-breaking way')
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of representation, for example:
the inclusion of a strong female lead who uses her intelligence to solve the case challenges stereotypes of men being in control and holding all the power
the obvious sexualisation of Peel through her tight-fitting costume is a common stereotype of the genre
Peel’s need to be untied and saved by Steed supports more traditional gender stereotypes
Steed refers to Peel’s weight, as he unties her, which conforms to the gender stereotype that women should be concerned about their appearance and weight
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media language, for example:
the mise-en-scène of Peel’s tight-fitting black cat-suit costume sexualises her for a male audience
Steed calls out to Peel with the line: ‘Mrs Peel?’ which is a sign of respect and suggests a time when women were referred to by their marital status rather than by their first name
the use of the set-piece fight sequence between two male characters is a convention of the genre
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media industries, for example:
the programme is scheduled on primetime Saturday night television with little competition from other channels
the large budget allows for more sophisticated camerawork and a range of more interesting locations which would appeal to a wider television audience
post-watershed scheduling allows for under-currents of sexual tension between the male and female character
the post-watershed scheduling also allows for a more sexualised female character in Peel
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media contexts, for example:
changing attitudes to gender representations through the portrayal of Emma Peel reflecting a time in which women were taking on more dominant roles in society and popular culture
undermining of the positive female role through the way that Emma Peel is sexually objectified and requires ‘saving’ by Steed