Analysis of Gender in the "Mistresses" Clip, only on Cinematography

Analysis Essay

In the clip from the TV drama “Mistresses”, I am looking at the cinematography of the piece in relation to gender.   The cinematography is used very well to highlight the problems that can occur between men and women.

We begin with the establishing shot of a woman and man.   The camera is tracking the woman as she enters and is handed a cup of coffee.   The camera continuously pans as we continue to watch the scene from the mid-long shot.   The woman stops opposite the piece of paper, which has the words pros and cons on it.   The man stands opposite, looking at the piece of paper with her.   The two characters are a similar height, and at this point neither seems to be more of a presence on screen than the other.   This highlights the equality that can be found within their relationship.

The camera cuts to a mid-close up reaction over the shoulder shot of the woman as she looks at the list.   As we look over the shoulder of the man, we can tell that he seems to be looking for her reaction to the list, as are we.   This highlights that this is a very important part of their relationship, with him trying to please her.   Their conversation is interspersed with shots of her reaction to what he is saying to highlight that she thinks he’s being ridiculous.   As she moves away from the list, she stays on one of the main lines in the rule of thirds, meaning our focus is on her.   This highlights that she is the important one over him in this relationship, which contradicts with the first idea we have that the two are equal in their relationship together.

As they continue their conversation, there is a cut to a mid-shot as the woman gets on with things at the table.   At one point, they are both on parallel lines with each other, as he believes she is saying that she doesn’t think he can get a job.   They look at each other, framing the space between them to emphasise the rift that is occurring.   This is also an interesting moment in the clip as it demonstrates a woman’s dominance over a man, something that isn’t common as it isn’t stereotypical.   She is quite willing to work while he is a stay at home Dad, which is quite a modern idea.   The space then is shown between them as he mover away from her, into a separate mid-shot, with him in shallow focus to highlight that we are focusing on him.   The audience is meant to relate with the man’s pain.

Next, we are shown the outside of a pawning shop.   The camera pans suddenly to highlight that the place can also cash your cheques.   The camera tilts down as a man exits the shop carrying a stash of what we can assume is money in an envelope.   The man seems shifty, as if he is hiding something.   He seems scared, which demonstrates that something truly bad has happened as stereotypically men are supposed to be strong.   He walks towards the camera, into a mid-close up.   The camera is tilted down to look at the money, and back up to see his reaction; a smile, but not necessarily one of happiness; more of relief and sadness.

We cut to a mid-shot of a woman standing behind a counter, looking at her phone.   The same man as before climbs up the stairs to see her, and the whole of their interaction is done continuously through a master shot.   They seem happy, and their closeness seems to highlight an element of trust and dependability on one another.   However, we can assume that the man has not told the woman that he was pawning items, which highlights that the closeness between them is a lie.   This is then revealed as the man goes to the door to discover the bailiffs, which the woman knows nothing about.

Through cinematography, relationships between people can easily be shown, which can also highlight the lies, which people are also telling.   For example, the man who went to the pawnshop has obviously been lying to his wife or girlfriend about his financial situation despite the fact that their closeness on camera would highlight that they are close.

Analysis of my work: Obviously, this is not as long as a normal media essay would be, however, since I was only discussing cinematography, it could be assumed that a longer essay would be written concerning all the micro-elements and how they create meaning.