George Silke

Representation of Gender and Ethnicity in a TV Drama (Our Girl)

In the BBC One drama series Our
Girl, gender and ethnicity are
represented in various different ways.
The show revolves around the main
character Georgie who is a
soldier/paramedic and white female.
She is also the only woman in her
division and she is represented as
being strong willed and determined in
the face of danger. A lot of people
only think of men as being in the
army so this breaks the common gender stereotype of army soldiers. Kicki
is another woman who has been kidnapped by the terrorists. She is
represented as frightened and helpless. Georgie has to encourage her to
be brave and to help her escape.
The men in the episode are mainly terrorists and are represented as
violent criminals. They drag around Georgie and hold her in a cage against
her will. They handcuff her and hang her arms on a meat hook with a bag
over her head. They are also armed with guns and disguised themselves.
They do this to make themselves more intimidating. They also shoot and
kill the soldiers that are working with Georgie.
When Georgie is captured by the terrorist group she is represented as
being scared and helpless in a kidnap situation. This brings up the
common TV/film stereotype of a female character being a damsel in
distress. The Hand-held camera technique is used to add more tension to
the overall scene. It makes it feel more real and therefore more intense.
The fast-paced editing also adds to the intensity of the scene. A low angle
shot is used on the male antagonist, Abu, to make him look more powerful
and intimidating. He is represented as powerful and intimidating in this
scene so the camerawork reinforces that further.
There are various different sounds in the scene that link to the
representation of gender in the show. When Georgie is being dragged
away by the terrorists she is represented as being helpless and scared.
This is shown when she screams in the scene. The use of this sound helps
to show how she is feeling in this part of the scene. The male antagonists
shout at Georgie in this scene to scare and intimidate her. The use of this
sound helps to show forceful and intimidating the antagonists are.