Extras Analysis- How Gender Is Represented

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movements and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

The 5 minute extract of the English sitcom Extras includes three main scenes in which genders relate and collide. I will be talking about all of the above and how they work together to conveys these relations.

 To begin with, a court case with a serious and intriguing discussion is taking place. The courtroom, having a formal and genuine atmosphere, stresses how authentic the scene is meant to look. The 'double' actors fill the roles of a judge, two lawyers and the man who supposedly committed the crime. Maggie, one of the jury actors seems to be uninterested and we get the sense she does not want to play that role at all. Orlando Bloom, convincing the judge that not giving flowers is suspicious, is dressed as a real barrister outfit and wig. Quickly, Bloom is interrupted by the female barrister because he himself never bought flowers for her. This has a dramatic effect on the mood of the scene and the audience begins to question why such an outbreak in a courtroom occurs. The argument helps convey the obvious romance between the two barristers. In this particular point in the extract, gender is portrayed as equal as both have matching clothes and similar argumentative skills. Bloom even asks the judge, 'Does a reef count?' which makes the whole scene seem improbable. When the judge finally tell the couple to 'Kiss and make up' the audience realizes that the scene is not quite right in terms of how unrealistic the court case is. The music is also a very important aspect of the scene to take notice at. When Bloom interrogates the suspect, we hear tense and suspenseful music, a genre which suits a court case very well. However, when the two barristers share a romantic kiss, the style of music changes dramatically. The classic cheerful symphony piece is cued and the strings help show a stereotypical scene. The lighting is also less high-key and is instead more warm to stress the love in the scene more. It is also useful to note that the female barrister raises half a leg when kissing Orlando Bloom to promote the idea of what females stereotypically do in particular circumstances.

After the long smooch, a distant voice shouts 'Cut!' and the whole set is seen in different light; people start to talk and cameras and lighting equipment are seen. This is all due to the breaking of the 4th wall convention. Maggie, the uninterested actress sitting in the jury box, is sitting all by herself and she can't help but notice that Orlando Bloom is surrounded by many female fans. Maggie then receives a phone call from her friend who is played by Ricky Gervais. You quickly realize that Maggie is rather ditzy and, like her work, rather uninterested with the topic of conversation. The Mise-en-scene shows him on a set which backs up the idea of him getting ready to act in a sit-com. After the brief phone conversation, the camera is close up of Maggie and then of Orlando getting a photo with a couple of females. There is a similar close shot of Maggie and she rolls her eyes as does Bloom in response. He becomes enticed as to why Maggie was rolling her eyes and so he comes over and puts his arm around the bench in confidence. It is clear that Maggie is uninterested in what Bloom has to say. Bloom is quite surprised when Maggie claims that the only reason why he's like so much is because of how famous he is. Of course, it doesn't seem to have affected Maggie that she threw him off. Bloom carries on showing his arrogance and claims that he is better than Jonny Depp. Editing included the shot reverse shot between the conversation between the two characters. You can carefully notice how Bloom's language and tone is much different than when he was playing the role of a barrister- In fact quite the opposite. The relationship between Maggie and Ricky is more equal whereas Bloom cannot relate to unhappiness and boredom. 

The third scene begins with a shot of the BBC building form the outside. You are then familiar to the location when you see Ricky sitting down where he called Maggie. You are able to see Rick's new sit-com which is again breaking the 4th wall convention. Ricky shows similar body language to Maggie and is slumped in his chair not really showing any form of excitement. Steven Merchant who tries to reassure him makes things worse instead. Camera shots are used to how Ricky's face in sadness and how he is pessimistic about is TV show. Ricky's agent brings a replacement to his role in the show, thus adding more reasons to be unhappy. Symbolism might be involved as Ricky is sitting down not using any energy whilst his replacement is standing up. This could mean that the replacement has more motivation and enthusiasm to play the role than slumped sitting Ricky. In terms of Maggie and Ricky, the genders are very similar mainly due to the personalities and motivations of both characters.