Gender Representation is when a person is classed as masculine or feminine due to their physical, mental and behavioral characteristics.
Initial thoughts:
The clip seems like it is just a typical hysterical scene until we learn the end in which we see that the whole thing was a con, the con is made possible because of the evident exaggeration of gender. I thought this was interesting and the perfect clip to do a study of gender representation on because it has multiple stereotypical characteristics.
Camera Shots/Angles:
Firstly there is a medium long shot of the man, which shows he is wearing a suit and tells us he is most likely involved in business, meaning earning a living for someone and becoming a breadwinner. This is a masculine trait but also the suit he is wearing is formal, serious and generally associated with masculinity. By also being the first character shown we can assume he is of more importance, or at least thought to be, this could be due to his relevance in the scene or this could be due to the fact that he is going to be the only masculine person in a room of feminine people.
A high angle shot is used when the shop assistant is talking to the woman , this shows his superiority to the woman who doesn't have enough money to buy the dress, we can assume that this makes the shop assistant more condescending and money and class orientated, however in terms of gender representation, this could go hand in hand with the theory of masculine dominance within the battle of the sexes, showing the structure if the social ladder and how women are inferior to men.
A close up is used of the blonde woman's face which highlights her striking feminine features, we can see that she is wearing make up and has took time on her appearance, which is associated with the feminine stereotype of being obsessed with their own looks. An image of beauty has been portrayed which also puts the other woman in comparison showing that the brown haired woman is actually more masculine as she isn't as bothered with her looks, in fact the man could be seen to be more bothered by his looks, making him more feminine (going slightly off topic, but he could also be thought to be slightly feminine because of his choice of job and his acceptance of his job, it is not a typical masculine job which could range from stocks-builder).
A master shot is used when the brown haired woman leaves, showing where all the action is going to happen, we can also assume that this will be the place of the limit of action because of the lack of changing setting. The dress shop is where the limit of action will take place which is a feminine area (which is again backed up as in the beginning only women were in there to shop).
A long shot is used of the 2 characters left behind which suggests they are about to converse about a shared interest perhaps as the assistant had recently hurried over, this also shows their appearance in full body length which allows us to take notice of their choice of clothes. The woman is in a feminine business suit, and the man is in a masculine business suit. The characteristics which make the suits differ is the feminine one is tight with emphasizes her typical sexy, slim figure. Also her suit is a skirt, whereas the masculine suit is your typical dark, pant suit.
An over the shoulder shot is used, showing the man speaking first and we are led to think that this is implying that men come first and this is illustrating his importance within this scene as we can assume something is brewing as no action has took place yet, we now know he will have an involvement with whatever issue there is.
This shot is returned by a reverse over the shoulder shot which shows the obvious reply in a conversation but also it allows us to see her reaction of happiness when he is talking about dresses, this is a typical feminine hobby which represents women to be obsessed with shopping. We learnt earlier about the large prices of the shop so we assume that when people buy from this shop it is for an occasion, but there is always someone to impress which is typically a partner, a masculine man usually within television, which links to the feminine woman's need to impress a man to satisfy and feel good about herself.
A medium shot is used to show the blonde woman's backless dress, again showing her sexiness which is a stereotypical feminine asset. Also in this dress we can see her slim figure again, therefore we can think we watches her weight and takes care of her boy, which is self awareness and beauty obsessed, another feminine attribute. The use of the medium shot is to highlight the backless, element of the dress.
An establishing shot is used when the men are in the room smoking, this establishes their typical masculine hang out as they sit down drinking what looks to be whiskey and they smoke cigarettes which is typically a masculine trait as when a feminine woman does it, it is classed to be unattractive and a 'turn off'. The purpose of this masculine lay out is to talk about a possible business transition, which of course isn't associated with feminine characters as they are believed to stay at home, or in link with this, be shopping.
There is then a close up of the woman back in the shop emptying her bag frantically which highlights to us that something important is missing as that is the initial reaction from everybody when we lose something. However, her immediate rush and stress could be an illustration of how feminine people can be over emotional, whereas masculine people tend to stay calm and collected...
Linking with this, there is a close up shot used when a mans machine breaks, firstly this tells us he is masculine due to him doing a DIY job, but we also know he is represented as masculine because when the machine breaks he doesn't really panic he just shows slight annoyance towards the machine, however he is calm and is nowhere near as irrational as the feminine woman.
Editing:
An eye line match is used when the brown haired woman is looking up the the make shop assistant in the shop , she is looking up to the man because he is taller, however this may be interpreted as she is looking up to him because of his masculinity and his dominance. She is depending on him to lower the price down from £700 without even saying it, therefore this is showing the feminines need to be supported and how they are dependent people.
A wipe transition is used as the black follows the shop assistant as he walks across the screen, and then the blackness turns into the dress, which is a swift, smooth movement which produced good continuity. I cannot think of a representation of gender behind this as I purely believe this was used just to help cut the scenes.
Sound:
There is non diegetic music used throughout this entire clip and it reflects what is happening in the scene, or I would say even foreshadows it. At the beginning the music is foreshadowing as it sounds sneaky, which is what the people actually are but we don't find this out until the end of the clip (where we find out that they are actually con artists). The exact same music begins again when the shop assistant is rude to the brown haired customer and the music seems quite sassy, which gives us the idea that the shop assistant could also be a bit feminine when terms of sound are introduced.
Dialogue is used and again buy sound we are lead to think that the shop assistant is again feminine as his voice isn't stereo typically low, and in fact possibly the same pitch as woman's, making him not very masculine. They are also very well spoken which suggests that both people within the shop are quite feminine as they have care for how they are perceived. This is backed up when the blonde man later on in the clip comes into the shop and has a common accent (making him masculine), suggesting he doesn't care what people about him unlike feminine people.
Diegetic and synchronous sound is played when you hear the contents of the blonde ladies bag rush out, again emphasizing her typical feminine hysteria and over emotionalism. The sound of the alarm when the man breaks his machine is again diegetic and synchronous sound is used, by the siren going off we know that whatever business going on is likely to not be legit, but the lack of hysteria is showing his masculinity as his problem could most likely end in prison whereas the woman's problem could just end in a lost ring and an upset husband. The capacity of panic differs within masculine and feminine.
Mise-en-scene
We see dress racks which tells us that the setting is in a shop, the shop is also deserted which tells us it is most likely expensive, which is a feminine gender representation as feminine people are represented as materialistic and are attracted to things that make them look good, making them also overly interested in things that emphasise appearance.
When the men are in the room we see paintings and green fancy wallpaper, one of them is also in a suit which tells us the setting is most likely for the upper class, we also assume that it is in a bar as the men are drinking whiskey. This is a masculine representation as the men are drinking whiskey which is generally a mens drink for the masculine who can stand the strong taste, feminine people however would usually be seen with wine or a spritzer as it just seen as more feminine by the public.
The ring which is believed to be lost belongs to a woman but is also quite feminine as it has large diamond in it, this is feminine as masculine people usually just have a simple silver or gold wedding ring, where are feminine peoples are showy and more attractive. This also links to the idea of feminine people being into materialistic things to impress other people and them being self and beauty obsessed as they want to appear good looking.
The bar of men is shown again and more men are now in the scene, however there is no women which shows a stereotypical masculine environment. The majority of the men are in dark suits apart from one man who is in dark clothing which is quite conservative, whereas a feminine person would stereotypically be known to opt for bright colours which would represent their sexuality or sex (gay (from the stereotypical idea of being camp) and a woman as they are thought to be very self obsessed and strive to look beautiful and eye catching).
Overall there is a very stereotypical representation within this The Hustle clip as the masculine and the feminine are shown in very different ways through camera shots/angles, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. The feminine are represented to be very self obsessed and beauty striving and the masculine are represented to be neutral and chilled out. Which is also an opposition to the idea of feminine people being over emotional. Also, stereotypically, men are portrayed to be masculine and women only if they are lesbian, and women are portrayed to be feminine and only men if they are gay.
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