The Gender Politics of survival Continued: Case Study: The 100 part 1

The 100 (TV Series)

What is ‘The 100’?

                           

• The 100 is a TV series based in the future when the world has been corrupted by nuclear warfare and it has forced the humans to live in space as a way of survival.  
• Each leading nation sent a ship up into space with people on it and the fixed together to form the Ark which is led by the Chancellor.  
• As the resources up there run out, they send 100 teenage criminals to the Earth to see if humans can once again live down there.  
• The 100 must fight for survival against the elements in a new terrain and against the ruthless land owners the Grounders who plan to kill them due to their trespassing.  
• Despite all the odds will they survive?

The Gender Politics

The gender politics of survival need to be viewed differently due to the development of the characters across the two series.  Therefore we must look at them at the start of the first series and the last episode of the first series.

Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

http://putlocker.is/watch-the-100-tvshow-season-1-episode-1-online-free-putlocker.html

Summary

• The Ark makes an attempt to extend the time they need to fix the Ark in order to ensure the survival of all the inhabitants.  
• To do this, they send down the 100 prisoners, aged under 18, to the Earth to see if it is inhabitable as they have been deemed ‘expendable’.  
• They end up having a rough landing with two prisoners killed before find out that the Earth is survivable.  
• They wear wristbands to communicate with the Ark but after following orders from Bellamy, the make shift leader, things take a turn for the worst for the Ark as they begin to remove their wristbands. 
• Also Clarke and 4 others split off from the group in order to get supplies from Mount Weather but instead end up getting attacked by a giant water snake and the natives, called ‘Grounders’, causing them to find out that they are not alone on Earth.

Male

Bellamy

• When they first land on the Earth, Bellamy takes the authoritive role as leader and tries to get people to follow his commands.  
• This displays how he retains his masculine traits to ensure his survival at the top of the food chain of criminals.  
• This is further enhanced by him being the instigator of arguments and stirring up trouble with other members of the ark who choose to take the peaceful approach to survival.   
• Also another masculine trait is that he thinks of things that only benefit himself and his survival such as removing the bracelets to make sure that the Ark doesn’t know that he is alive.
• However, Bellamy doesn’t just show masculine traits.  
• Throughout the episode his constant watching over his sister and trying to protect her can be seen as a feminine trait due to the ‘motherly’ instinct to protect his sister against anything that would hurt her.  
• This can be shown by his diegetic dialogue of telling his sister Octavia that he ‘came down here to protect you’.  
• Furthermore he can also be seen to express feminine traits due to his constant reassurance from his sister that she trusts him. 
• This suggests that he is emotionally weak, a stereotypically trait of a female, thus showing his emotional and sensitive side, suggesting that this could enhance his chance of survival as he is selective of the ones he chooses to help and save.

Finn

• Throughout the episode, Finn displays masculinity through his reckless actions such as getting out of his seat during the descent to Earth and through his adventurous and care free attitude.  
• This is highlighted through his constant teasing of other members of the 100 and particularly Clarke, whom he seems to have a crush on.  
• Also his joking attitude makes him seem dominant and in control of situations which is also another masculine trait.
• However like Bellamy, Finn displays feminine qualities.  
• His role as the peacekeeper can be seen as feminine as he tries to keep everyone alive by stopping violence and fights between the other members of the 100.   
• Also his way of survival is by flirting with people who know what they are doing or are in an authoritive role such as Clarke and Octavia.  
• This would help ensure his survival as they would be willing to protect him as they would have a bond with him.  
• Overall, his masculine traits outweigh the feminine due to him being in control in crisis and through his physical strength demonstrated when stopping the fight between Murphy and Wells and being in control of the situation as they listen to him. 

Wells

• Wells is very different to Bellamy and Finn and takes a very different approach to survival.  
• He uses peace as his survival tool which is a feminine quality due to him refusing to fight and show off his physical strength when he is challenged by Murphy.  
• His feminine traits of survival can also be seen when he tries to care and provide for everyone through trying to get everyone to work as a unit and to help each other out.
• However, his masculine qualities for survival are shown when he tries to take the leadership role like his father has done on the Ark.  
• He does this by trying to assert his authority over the ones he deems as weaker and are more likely to listen to him.  
• This however back fires onto him as he doesn’t have the physical masculine prowess to back up his leadership assumption.

Murphy

• From when Murphy is first introduced, it’s very clear that his has dominant masculine traits of his personality as he is shown to be the ‘bad’ guy through his physical appearance and the way he conducts himself in front of his friends.  
• For example, his masculine traits are further emphasized when he picks a fight with Wells outside the drop ship but also when he and his friends pin down Wells at the end of the episode to break his bracelet that communicates his vital signs to the Ark.

Jasper and Monty

• Jasper and Monty are always seen to be together so therefore their characteristics are very similar.  Monty and Jasper are both establishing their masculine traits through their knowledge of herbal knowledge.  
• This puts them in a dominant position over the others and enhances their masculine’ appearance in front of the others as they can control a life or death situation.  
• However they begin to differ in masculine and feminine traits when it comes to physical life or death situations.
• When Octavia is being eaten by the ‘Water Snake’, Jasper runs and leaps into the water to help her get out whilst Monty helps Clarke and Finn with the distraction.  
• Therefore Monty creating a distraction rather than doing the physical rescue could be seen as a feminine trait as it suggests that he is rather scared.  
• However, Jaspers shows feminine traits when he is caught by a spear through the chest as he is now vulnerable and weak and at the mercy of others.

Female

Clarke

• Clarke is shown to exhibit more masculine traits rather than feminine through her defying orders and becoming rather independent as shown through her conspiring to treason in order to inform the others about the Ark’s oxygen and resources running out and also through her leadership role she assumes in order to organize everyone with her sensible and serious attitude towards survival.  
• She also proves to be emotionally strong when they are attacked by the Grounders and also when they crash land with the Drop Ship.  
• She is also curious and adventurous, another example of her masculine traits and she is a quick thinker when events happen as this enables her to keep most people alive and physically able.
• However when Octavia is injured and Jasper, she immediately begins to try and find a way to help them with her knowledge as a healer.  
• This presents her feminine traits as she tries to take care of everyone else and essentially becomes the ‘mother hen’ of the group.  
• This shows her as a sensitive, gentle and caring person as she tries to save everyone even when it seems to be impossible, in Jasper’s case.

Octavia

• Octavia presents herself as an individual who is capable of looking after herself and this displays her masculine traits.  
• This is seen when she ‘defies’ her brothers protective barrier to go out to Mount Weather with the others in search of supplies for the camp.   
• Her masculine traits are also exhibited through her reckless attitude like Finn.  
• This is shown through her eating random plants that could kill her and by jumping into the lake with no idea what danger could be in there.
• Therefore through this her feminine traits are displayed.  
• As she needs to be rescued, this highlights the stereotypical traits of her being weak and dependent on others due to her lacking the ability to swim and fend for herself. 
• Her feminine traits are further shown when she gets injured and doesn’t know how to stop the bleeding or how to care for herself and she relies on the others with that kind of knowledge to help her.  
• Also she uses her sexual allure to get the men to help her or to grant her wishes and this is shown when she teases Finn and Jasper into letting her go with them to Mount Weather. 

The Ark

• The Ark consists of male and female members so their actions are considered mainly as a whole but with a close focus on some characters.  
• The leader of the Ark is Thelonious, a male, middle aged man who sent the 100 down to Earth as they were deemed Expendables for their crimes.  
• This clearly proves him of masculine traits as he has managed to get to the top of the hierarchy which provides him with power and dominance over a large number of people as he is able to make big decisions.
• However on the flip side of the coin, Abi, Clarke’s mother, provides us with the feminine traits due to her being over emotional when Clarke is sent to the ground.  
• She also demonstrates masculine qualities due to her being in charge of a large team that monitors the 100’s survival and also she is a healer so she is in charge of lives as shown where she overuses the rations allowed to save Thelonious when he is shot by Bellamy, in order to stop Kane becoming Chancellor.