Discuss the ways in which the extract creates representations of gender and lifestyle.

Firstly as an audience we must acknowledge the themes that the scene is trying to put across and what these themes represent when concerning the characters gender and lifestyle.

The scene begins with dancing in what appears to be a living room. The use of a low angle shot shows three people sitting on a sofa. A deep focus shot is used as the woman dances in the foreground. The mise en scene reveals all of the characters in the frame wearing formal black clothes. This mimes a sense of death and ultimately connotes that the scene is set at a wake or an event related to a funeral. Malachy is shown in a two shot drinking a beer. The beer could represent Malachy’s lifestyle as if he likes to indulge in alcohol when he’s depressed or sad. Cheryl’s lifestyle however seems more positive as she is dancing. Also she is shown to be wearing something red and a very short skirt which could support her gender as a female trying to be glamorous. The deep focus shot showing her out of focus legs moving constantly across the screen may also suggest her lifestyle as being the centre of attention, which supports the idea that she’s a strong confident character. This point is also supported by her being in the centre of the crowd and master shot.

Diegetic sound is used as the music is played and a crabbing shot is used to show characters playing the instruments. The environment and characters are shown as being Irish. This is displayed through the use of Irish music and accents. There is a contrast between the jolly Irish music and dancing with the sense of death. However the scene is shown to be a celebration. The sound is also used for foreshadowing. This is shown with the entrance of Kris. Just before he enters there are quick close up cuts to show some of the shocked and ashamed faces of the characters in the room. More importantly, the music slowly changes from a high pitch to low pitch and then comes to an abrupt end. This suggests something negative has happened. Once silent, Kris is displayed in the frame. This shows Kris’ lifestyle is represented negatively within the drama and that even his presence is frowned upon.

The use of the master and crowd shot shows Kris centered in the frame. This shot is also an over the shoulder shot and could also be interpreted as a point of view shot. This helps the audience engage with the scene and finally supports the verisimilitude within the diegesis. The mise en scene shows the contrast between his white clothing and the dark clothing of all of the characters around him. The use of woman’s clothes and make-up show that he’s a cross dresser. This represents that Kris is unhappy with his gender and shows he wants to be seen and recognized as the opposite sex. When the grandmother faints, it supports the fact that his lifestyle is rejected by the characters around him. The editing also shows that the characters are against him. The use of the 180 degree rule presents Kris on the left of the frame and anybody else who talks to him on the right. This shows there is a conflict between him and everybody else.

Mercedes is shown daydreaming within the next part of the scene. This is made obvious to the audience through editing, with her thoughts fading into focus in the frame yet still blurry as if a fantasy, or possible memory. Malachy is shown with her in an intimate way, which enforces the idea that she wants a different lifestyle that somehow includes him. But a cross dissolve brings the audience back to Mercedes’ reflection. The use of a mirror could also give the impression that these are her reflections and thoughts, but also her reflection in the mirror.

Overall I think that gender and lifestyle are represented by the use of camerawork, sound and music, mise en scene and editing. However the use of stereotypes, foreshadowing and representations help to portray and enforce the ideas concerning gender and lifestyle.