The battle between the Grounders and the Sky People occur with them planning to leave but being forced back to the camp when one of the 100 gets killed by a Grounder Scout.
Raven works on making the ship blast off to use as a weapon in their fight even though she is not allowed to be moved due to her having a bullet lodged into her spin as a result of Murphy shooting her.
On the Ark, they plan to move them all to the Earth but they discover that people will die when the atmosphere rips the pods apart or if they crash land.
The get to Earth but Thelonious has to stay behind to manually send them to Earth and the 100 fight the Grounders.
When hundreds of Grounders are killed when the drop ship blasts off, the 100 emerge from the drop ship only to be captured with the mountain men.
42 make it to the mountain but six are left behind.
Male
Bellamy
As Bellamy is leader alongside Clarke, he displays only his masculine qualities.
He becomes protective of everyone, especially his younger sister Octavia and just wants the best for all of them regardless of how dangerous getting there may be.
He takes the realistic approach and is brutally honest with everyone, especially with the 100 members in danger when fighting the Grounders.
He knowledge of military skills and his ruthless approach leads to the survival of most of the 100 members.
Finn
Finn trusts the natives and uses his knowledge of what he has learnt about their alliances and has used them to his advantage by turning the Reapers against the Grounders to create a distraction for Bellamy and the defence line of the 100.
Like Clarke he also displays his maculinity through his quick thinking but also through him putting himself in danger to help save Raven by getting a cure from Lincoln.
However, like Jasper, his emotions rule his decisions which could lead to his survival or his death.
This is a feminine trait but this meant that he made decisions that ultimately saved the 100 from certain death from the Grounders.
Wells
His survival tactics are unfortunately a little to be desired after he is killed off after only 6 episodes by a young girl called Charlotte who is told to battle her inner demons and kills Wells as she thinks this will solve them.
Murphy
Murphy cares only for himself and his survival which is a masculine trait due to him wanting independence to fend for himself even though he is now a prisoner of the Grounders.
He is rather matter of fact with Anya, the leader of the Grounders, and this allows him some control within the situation but not much.
As he is being tortured by the Grounders for information, he becomes weak and gives in to their demands about the camp of the 100 and their defences, showing a feminine quality as he now relies on this information to ensure the survival of himself and the demise of his fellow 100 members.
Jasper and Monty
Monty is not seen very much within this episode but Jasper becomes a leader in his own right, establishing masculine traits.
Jasper takes lead with the shooting the Grounder Scouts when they begin to attack the camp and gives the warning yell that they were being attacked when they attempted to leave.
When he wasn’t shooting Jasper took over fixing the ship when Raven passed out and saved all those within the drop ship from the Grounders when it worked.
However Jasper was emotionally charged due to his previous capture after being speared when heading to Mount Weather for supplies.
Being over emotional or emotionally charged is a stereotypical feminine trait thus being the only feminine trait Jasper tends to show when being attacked.
Female
Clarke
Clarke demands dominance over the 100 when she provides a speech to offer them an alternative to staying and fighting for their life.
She assumes the leadership alongside Bellamy and she always has a plan for a plan incase things fail.
She continues to be a fast thinker especially when the 100 are being attacked by the Grounder Scouts.
When Anya gets into the drop ship and tries to attack members in self-defense, she stops them (assuming her leadership role again) and takes her in as a prisoner of War.
Therefore all her masculine traits are shown when faced with a life or death situation.
Octavia
Octavia has completely switched the traits in which she exhibits as part of her survival.
Throughout, her masculine qualities are dominant as she turns into a native Grounder as she chooses a sword over a gun and isn’t afraid to kill people, especially if it means saving her brother who has also looked out for her.
She is clearly independent as she is conflicted about where she belongs despite her relationship with Lincoln the Grounder.
The only time she ever displays feminine qualities is when she is hit with a poisoned arrow after saving Bellamy’s life and she is made physically vulnerable and weak as she can no longer fend for herself against the Grounders.
Raven
Raven’s character was introduced about 7 episodes into the series when she was crash landing into Earth after being sent by Abi from the Ark to help Clarke and the others with the communication issues.
Raven establishes her masculine traits and position within the 100 through her knowledge of making weapons and bombs and engineering the drop ship to blast off.
This presents her as a strong individual but aggressive in her approach as he makes ‘rude’ comments to Clarke who doesn’t know what she is doing when she is guided on what to do to fix the ship.
This also presents her in control of the situation which could lead to the survival of the other members of the 100.
However as Raven has been hit with a bullet, this presents her as physically weak and now dependent on the others to keep her alive and to help her get around and out of the camp.
This intensifies when she passes out from the pain and the infection from the wound caused by Murphy.
The Ark
When the Ark is being split to save some of their population, Thelonious stays behind.
This further emphasizes his masculine qualities such as his leadership and dominance and control of a situation due to his self-sacrifice to let the others live.
However the situation is based upon the survival of the fittest and this seems like this would be a stereotypical masculine trait due to them constantly trying to prove each other wrong and be the first to do things.
Therefore, this suggests that when it really comes down to it, everyone must fend for themselves and be selfish in order to survive in the world upon the Ark.
Overall do the genders revert back to the stereotypes and their traits in order to survive?
When looking over all the examples, the gender stereotypes tend to be broken apart from in the case of the walking Dead. Most of the men seem to become more emotionally vulnerable and more realistic in terms of being human whereas the females have become more physically able to compete with the male stereotype as they are more able to fend for themselves.
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.
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.
Does this reflect the true gender politics in the fight for survival?
The article in the Media Magazine only takes into account two modern representations of the gender politics and therefore this can’t be a sound representation for all of the other TV shows and Films based upon survival.
Therefore, a deeper analysis of films is needed from various decades in order to make a decisive decision about whether men and women return to the stereotypical traits and ways or if they subvert them and exhibit traits of the other stereotypes.
Die Hard
What is ‘Die Hard’?
Die Hard was first released in 1988 and was given an age rating of 18 due to the strong graphic violence, the level of threats and the amount of foul language used in the characters’ dialogue.
The film follows LAPD cop John McClain who visits his estranged wife Holly at work as they have a Christmas party however that night a group of terrorists arrive and take over the building in order to get to the vault and the contents within.
It’s up to McClain who escaped being held captive to defeat the terrorists and save his wife and her work colleagues from death at the hands of the terrorists in time for Christmas.
The Gender Politics
Male
John McClain
John McClain is the main representation for the male species within the film however a look at the hostages also reveals if they conform or not to the stereotype.
John conforms to the entire masculine stereotype through the way in which he is portrayed to be the hero as he ends up saving everyone.
Key examples that show this are his constant use of the gun in order to protect himself which essentially adds to the male presence and connotes a level of violence.
Violence also adds to the male stereotype as stereotypically it is the males that go looking for violence, start the violence or get involved with the violence and this displays their dominance, aggressive behaviour, their control and their physical presence and strength.
John does this through his confrontations with the enemy terrorists (shown through the large gun fights or the single combat).
However a small feminine stereotypical trait occurs when John talks to policeman Al in which they discuss how Al chose not to continue doing field work.
This shows the stereotypical traits of being caring and sensitive to others as he is depicted to genuinely care about the other man.
John also physically conforms to the male stereotype due to his muscular appearance, highlighting his physical strength through the suggestion that he has worked out but also through his dominating presence when he has screen time.
When we compare John to the male hostages, we can see that he holds most of the male stereotype due to the male hostages cowering in fear when there is gun fire, henceforth demonstrating feminine stereotype traits.
There is an exception to this however due to one of Holly’s work colleagues Harry Ellis confronting the terrorists.
Here he demonstrates the male stereotypical qualities of being brave and dominant through the illusion that he is in control of the situation when he is negotiating with the terrorists in order to get John to stop interfering with their plans.
However, when John interferes through the radio and tries to explain how out of depth Harry is, we see that Harry is actually demonstrating more of the feminine stereotypical qualities through the over emotional plea towards the end for John to stop due to Harry’s life being on the line but also through the theatrics and the false façade he uses to try and save the people he cares about, especially Holly.
Alternatively this could be a side effect from the drugs in which he snorted at the beginning of the terrorist take over.
Female
When looking at the female side of the cast, there are only three main distinctions throughout the film.
The first would be the two police officers in which John contacts in order to get help with the terrorist attack.
Her uniform provides her with the male stereotype of being dominant and in control through her job as the stereotypically seen as male job as a Policewoman.
However, as she works with the people it can also be shown that her job provides her with the feminine stereotype still due to her having to be compassionate and sensitive to people who call the line.
Although she is not threatened in a survival situation, her aid is important and thus contributing to the survival of the other characters making this character useful to look at when considering how the powers in control respond in a survival situation.
The female hostages in the room being held captive exhibit stereotypical female traits in the violence like the other male hostages.
There we can see them caring for each other and huddling in safety in order to provide comfort to each other when it becomes rather stressful.
Furthermore they take very good care of the most vulnerable such as the younger women, who can be seen to be in the middle of a huddle or the pregnant or the physically limited.
This connotes to the stereotypical motherly type of female and thus provides more evidence for the women maintaining their feminine stereotype traits when it comes to survival.
When looking at the female hostages as a whole, they all portray the stereotypical female traits in which they act afraid and essentially fall into the trait of being weak and inferior to the male terrorists.
This is shown through their cowering and screaming when the guns go off when the terrorists first enter onto the 32nd floor at the beginning of the film.
Again this can be seen when all the hostages are taken to the roof and when John comes to save them by firing gun shots over their heads to get them to go down the stairs.
From the April 2013 edition of the Media Magazine, the
article on ‘The Gender Politics of Survival’ within the Walking Dead, a TV
Series and The Hunger Games, a film adapted from the Novel by Suzanne Collins,
a comparison was made between the gender roles and their actions in a survival
situation.
The actions and the way of
survival by the characters was The actions and the way of survival by the
characters were then compared to the traditional stereotypes of the male and
females to see if they conformed or subverted.
Traditional Stereotypes
For each gender, society has a particular view on how we
should act and behave, which causes a sexist attitude from both male to female
and female to male.
Therefore anything
seen outside of this is typically frowned upon or critised by society, however
the definitions of the genders and the expectations for how they should behave
has changed very little over time.
The
article from the Media Magazine compares The Hunger Games and The Walking Dead
based upon these gender roles and stereotypes:
Male
Female
Masculine
Dominant
Powerful
In Control
Independent
Aggressive
A Leader
Possessive
Physically
and Emotionally Strong
Emotionless
Sexually
Aggressive
Matter of
fact
Feminine
Submissive
Weak
Dependent
Calm
Gentle
Sensitive
Caring
Over-emotional
Innocent
Sexually
Submissive
Theatrical
The stereotyping also extends to the types of jobs and
environments that the genders should be associated with based upon their
traits.
Therefore the article also
considers this when looking at the gender politics. Examples of jobs for the genders are:
Male
Female
Farmer
Policeman
Fireman
Doctor
Boss
Builder
Plasterer
Army
Navy
Air Force
Mother
House wife
Nurse
Care Home
Working
Teacher
Waitress
Librarian
Receptionist
Maid/
Housekeeper
Charity
Worker
Therefore there are strong links between the personality
traits and stereotypes and the type of jobs and the environments for each
gender that are deemed appropriate and acceptable.
The Walking Dead
What is ‘The Walking Dead’?
The Walking Dead is an American TV show based upon the comic
books by Robert Kirkman and the TV Show has been running from 2010 to the
present day with an age rating of 18 due to the graphic violent content and the
sexual nature of some scenes.
The plot
is about a former Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes who wakes up out of a coma, after
being shot on duty, to find the world he once knew has been infected with
zombies.
After travelling home to find
his wife and son missing, he travels to Atlanta to try and find them, narrowly
escaping an encounter with the zombies.
Once they are reunited in a camp full of survivors on the outskirts of
town, they must face attacks from zombies and other survival groups who are
willing to do whatever it takes to survive.
The Gender Politics
Within the article, it lists the key points in which gender
stereotypes and roles come into play when the fight for survival is key.
These examples reflect on how this show
reverts back to traditional stereotypes and gender roles for both men and
women.
Men
The first example from the article is when Rick finds a
little girl, who he presumes is alive and he calls out, ‘Little girl? I’m a policeman.
Don’t be afraid’.
This
conforms to the traditional roles and gender stereotypes through his job as a
policeman but also through the idea of the tough appearance of Rick who acts brave
even in a new world.
The next example is in the police car in which two male
police officers are involved in a misogynistic exchange about women’s
carelessness in a flashback of Rick’s past.
The stereotyping of the women and
the men’s exchange highlight the sexism that is apparent towards women.
The use of men talking about women demining is
another stereotypical trait of men as they use it to highlight their
masculinity and their dominance over the women.
Female
The first example for the women is when Lori hears Rick on
the Radio and she begs Shane to let her get a car and put up a sign outside the
city to warn people away from it.
When
she is denied this, the audience are left to wonder why she has to ask
permission to act.
The car symbolises a
part of freedom and being denied that shows that in The Walking Dead, the
females are shown as the stereotypical versions of themselves; weak, submissive
and dependant on the men.
Another example would be when the women are fulfilling the
domesticated jobs regardless of their previous careers.
This is highlighted by Jacqui who asks, ‘How
did we get stuck doing the Hattie McDaniel work?’
Hattie McDaniel was an African-American
Actress who had to work as a maid or a cook in order to earn money despite her
having a job as an actress and henceforth this is where the term came from
which is used commonly to describe women and the stereotypical jobs.
Also the article gives an example of what happens when the
women try to ‘overstep’ the boundaries of the stereotype.
When Andrea learns how to shoot, she suggests
how she might be more useful within the patrol groups however she is quickly
cut off and the idea is shut down by Lori and is accused of being self serving
and not thinking of the greater good for the community.
What does this all mean?
According to the article, the examples given above suggest
how the characters within The Walking Dead have to return to the stereotypical
roles and traits in order to survive.
It also suggests how when the women return to
the stereotypical roles and traits that this is based upon ideology and not the
need to survive.
It also suggests that
the women are essentially forced into the old stereotypes in order to fuel the
masculine presence of the male characters by setting up boundaries and rules
for the women.
The Hunger Games
What is ‘The Hunger Games’?
The Hunger Games is the first in a series of films based
upon the novels by Suzanne Collins and was first shown in cinemas in 2012 with
an age rating of 12 for the levels of violence and threat.
The film follows earth in the future in
which the Capitol is led by President Snow, who rules over 12 districts, each
with a specific speciality e.g. mining or fishing.
As a reminder for a past rebellion, each year
a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 are chosen in the ‘reaping’ to fight to
the death in the annual Hunger Games.
When Katniss’ sister Primrose is picked, she volunteers to take her place
along with the male tribute Peeta.
The
film follows their journey to and within The 74th Hunger Games.
The Gender Politics
Within the article, it lists the key points in which gender
stereotypes and roles come into play when the fight for survival is key. These examples reflect on how this show
subverts the traditional stereotypes and gender roles for both men and women.
Male
PEETA MALARK
Peeta is the character that is used to mainly represent the
male population within the film.
Throughout, he demonstrated more feminine than masculine stereotypical
traits and therefore suggests that the male character is more complex and can’t
be defined just by the stereotype.
Within the arena, Peeta demonstrates his brute strength by
throwing a large weight across the training area however he also demonstrates a
feminine stereotypical trait of being weak and inferior when he is in league
with the careers, who are male and females who are elite in their districts,
due to his lack of masculine skills such as being able to fight with a sword or
a spear or any other weapon.
His self-preservation is also key to him as he values this
over everything and he through this he again demonstrates more feminine stereotypes
due to his camouflaging himself to blend in with his surroundings once he has
been injured by the careers when they try to get to Katniss.
Furthermore, he demonstrate this through his
sensitive side and his caring attitude towards Katniss and also his dependency
on her in order to get back to District 12, however it could be argued that
this is based upon his masculinity as he is protecting the stereotypical weaker
sex in the arena.
Female
KATNISS EVERDEEN
Similar to Peeta, Katniss is used to represent the female
characters within the Hunger Games within the article.
However, Katniss tends to show more of the
masculine stereotypical traits compare to the feminine ones due to the world
she has been forced to grow up quickly in.
Her masculine qualities are shown within the reaping scene
in which she volunteers to take her sister’s place in the arena.
The display of heroism is typically saved for
the male characters but shows her subverting her stereotype in order to save
her rather feminine sister from the fate of being killed or killing other people.
Also the fact that she is skilled with a bow
and arrow further highlights her masculinity.
However Katniss also has some feminine qualities as
demonstrated when she is with people she cares about or loves.
When she volunteers to take her sisters place,
her feminine stereotypical traits are shown through her loving and caring
attitude towards her sister but also her emotion as she frantically
volunteers.
Moreover, her caring and
sensitive side is shown when she cares for Peeta after he has been injured by
the Careers.
There she tends to his
wounds and ensures his survival by tending to his every need.
What does this all mean?
The article uses this to highlight how when it comes to
survival, females and males don’t always completely return to their traditional
stereotypes but they adopt features from the other genders stereotypes and this
helps to ensure their survival.
t also
suggests how having traits from both stereotypes produces a more realistic look
on society and also highlights how a single stereotype can’t define a person
when there is danger, especially when that person must adapt from their
traditional environment and essentially evolve in the fight for survival.
