In the Avengers, traditional gender views of the time were challenged to give a message to the 1960 audience: women are capable of the same things as men. Emma Peel acts as a strong female lead, which was unusual during this time - women generally acted as helpless wives who needed to be saved by the man. However, it is made clear from the first episode that Emma Peel is capable enough of looking after herself. When Steed enters her house she is clearly practising fencing - which was generally seen as a masculine sport - and challenges Steed to a fight. This shows she's not afraid of standing up to a man and is able to fight back. This was incredibly unusual for a tv programme in the 1960's because women were never seen standing up to men and acting as their equals. However, the views of these times aren't completely challenged here. Although Emma Peel challenges Steed to a fight, in the end, Steed wins because he is ultimately the male - therefore he is seen as the stronger one of the time and he wins.
Emma peel also challenges stereotypes because she is seen as very intelligent and works on her own to solve cases. This shows that men don't always hold all of the power. She also answers Steed back without a lot of warmth sometimes. For example, when Steed asks for coffee, peel doesn't follow the usual stereotype and run and get one for him, rather tells him where the coffee is and leaves him to get it. This shows she believes she's equal to Steed and will not grovel for him just because she's a woman. This is a real challenge to the stereotype of this time, where women were expected to look after the man. The Avengers uses Peel in this way to show women that they weren't insignificant to the man.
However, following the stereotypes of the 1960's, Emma Peel is often dressed in very tight outfits which tend to sexualise her. Additionally, whilst Steed and Peel were fencing, Steed slaps Peel's bottom as she walks away, which would nowadays be seen as completely wrong. This action once again sexulaises Emma Peel. This shows that, although the Avengers challenges traditional views of gender in the 1960's to start another opinion on women, it also follows some stereotypes of women - conforming to some views in the 1960's.
Mark 12 out of 15.
ReplyDeleteSolid work. You argue lucidly, support your comments pretty fully and show sound understanding of the text. Well done, Daisy. Perhaps add a few more examples to support your understanding of how Peel is represented. As gender includes men, you should also make reference to Steed.
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of representation, for example:
ReplyDelete the inclusion of a strong female lead who uses her intelligence to solve the case challenges stereotypes of men being in control and holding all the power
the obvious sexualisation of Peel through her tight-fitting costume is a common stereotype of the genre
Peel’s need to be untied and saved by Steed supports more traditional gender stereotypes
Steed refers to Peel’s weight, as he unties her, which conforms to the gender stereotype that women should be concerned about their appearance and weight
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media language, for example:
the mise-en-scène of Peel’s tight-fitting black cat-suit costume sexualises her for a male audience
Steed calls out to Peel with the line: ‘Mrs Peel?’ which is a sign of respect and suggests a time when women were referred to by their marital status rather than by their first name
the use of the set-piece fight sequence between two male characters is a convention of the genre
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media industries, for example:
the programme is scheduled on primetime Saturday night television with little competition from other channels
the large budget allows for more sophisticated camerawork and a range of more interesting locations which would appeal to a wider television audience
post-watershed scheduling allows for under-currents of sexual tension between the male and female character
the post-watershed scheduling also allows for a more sexualised female character in Peel
Responses may analyse the extract in terms of media contexts, for example:
changing attitudes to gender representations through the portrayal of Emma Peel reflecting a time in which women were taking on more dominant roles in society and popular culture
undermining of the positive female role through the way that Emma Peel is sexually objectified and requires ‘saving’ by Steed