Google Docs

To see my same essay onGoogle Docs (along with an extra note about colour), click the link below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nq4Br2OIB9A3yhfRd7jbeANzy1g6cURXKvrNLTsnkro/edit?hl=en_GB

How Region and Gender are Represented in Gavin and Stacy

An Essay by Archie MacGillivray

The sit-comedy Gavin and Stacy is a story of romance between a girl from Wales and a boy from Essex who meet in London, and I would assume they live happily ever after but I have only seen the first fifteen minutes of the first episode, so I wouldn't know. But I digress. We have been looking at representation in Media Studies, and how stereotypes are portrayed for comic effect, so we have taken this clip as an example of representation. I have analysed it to see how gender and region have been represented in the clip, and this is what I found:

In the opening shot there is an added seagull sound during the pan prefab offices. This immediately shows we are by the sea, which means we are either by the coast or on a small island. Then we are shown the interior of an office with a woman who is laughing. She is on the phone. Subtle messages about her feminism are on the desk: fluffy pink pens, two picture frames, flowers on the shelf, and a pink sharpener. These help to immediately show us that she is a 'girly girl'.

In the man's office, which is in the next shot, is furnished with a 'Spurs' football scarf,  simple pens, and a mug of something that is probably 'Weekends...' with an amusing slogan on it. These show that he is your average young office-working guy from Britain.

The woman's office building was prefab and small, hinting at a small business with not much money, whereas in the background of the man's office we see a long corridor, glass dividers and several photocopiers/printers, all of which suggest a large, rich corporation with a skyscraper in Essex somewhere. All the big businesses are in Britain.

After the title,  Stacy gets off a bus and crosses the road to her house. Inside, the décor is what would be considered by most as 'old' - classic lampshades, plates on the walls, one of those ancient electric fireplaces. The only newish gadget in sight is a chunky television tucked in the corner.

Gavin drives a car to his house, to the sound of quite an Essex-y tune. And inside his home, life is a different story. A flatscreen TV, spacious open-plan living areas, and a kitchen off those Homebase or B&Q adverts. In Essex, it is so much easier to get hold of the latest in microwave technology than in Wales. Or so it would seem.

In both households, the mother is doing the cooking, but whereas Stacy's mother appears to have been doing housework all afternoon, Gavin's has been watching television. Perhaps because British television is so much more interesting than Welsh TV? For dinner, the Essex family have steak and chips, contrasting with the Barry Island family's humble omelette, and showing us the affluence of an average Essex household in comparison with the meagre wealth of the Welsh. That is, in the eyes of the viewer.

As we can see, all the Welsh women are wearing skirts or feminine clothing, but Gavin's mother is clad in jeans and a tracksuit top. After all, British people are more contemporary in their views on how gender discrimination should be seen in clothing, far ahead of those Welsh who continue outdated dress stereotypes. Interesting how in real life this does not appear to be the case, is it not?

The above items are the things that I believe have been planted in Gavin and Stacy to represent gender and region in a stereotypical fashion, for comic purpose.

Blocks

After much toil and pain, I have finally stacked 3 blocks! What a legend.