Sherlock Holmes Representation of Gender

Representation of Gender - Sherlock Holmes

Gender is represented in many different ways throughout different forms of media.

In this clip mise en scene is used to represent different stereotypes of gender. The dark walls of the room represent the anger and violence that men are capable of. The only lighting in the room comes from the fire that allows Holmes to escape, this is used to foreshadow that the fire will help him when it comes to leaving. The men in the first scene are sat in a dark cart, this represents that these men are dangerous and that men as a gender are more violent and dark than women. Clothing is also used within mise en scene to represent gender. The main character in the clip wears a dirty white shirt with his sleeves rolled up. This is used to imply that Holmes gets thoroughly into his line of work and doesn't mind getting dirty hands. This is used to make Sherlock attractive to women. In this clip he is represented in a heroic manner and also as a man that doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, this is done intentionally to make him attractive to women and works similarly to Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, except in reverse. When Sherlock gets on the boat the women hands him a towel, representing that women's purposes only lie in a motherly role, as she does nothing else to help Holmes.

The sound in this clip is used to represent gender stereotypes in a similar way to mise en scene. The sound in this clip is used to build up tension, as it gradually increases in volume. The emphasis in the sound when the males are fighting further increases the point that this is very stereotypical of a man being loud and boisterous. The only change is sound and music takes place when Sherlock gets onto the boat, with the women, showing that he feels safe when she is there. This could also further increase the idea that women are too weak to fight and get endangered as there is no threat when she is present. During the scene on the boat every character speaks, except the women, this shows that at the time the film is set women's opinions weren't seen as valid or needed, as they were also seen as being less intelligent and less important. Aside from being present on the boat the women does nothing to help rescue Sherlock, this further emphasises the idea that women are the weaker gender and don't like to get their hands dirty.

Gender is also represented through the use of editing. Different editing techniques are used in this clip, this allows different representations to be made. Editing is used to represent gender when the flashbacks take place. The scenes in the flashbacks appear dangerous and violent, this is shown through the connotations of the redish tint that the scene has, the fact no women are present in these flashbacks further represents that idea that only men get involved in dangerous and violent activity. Camera angles and shots allow the audience to get different views on different characters in the clip. A close-up shot is the only shot used when the women is present on screen, this represents the narrow minded view that many men had when this film is set and when it comes to women, which is that they are inferior and less intelligent to men.