Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender in episode 1 of `North & South`

At the beginning of episode one, a shot reverse shot is used when Margret is looking at the clock then out of the window, the use of this shot shows the passage of time which represents women as people who have to wait a long time for things, on a larger scale this could represent that in the time period that `North & South` is set in women were not seen as very important and had to wait a long time to be given the same privileges that men were given a very long time before women for example the right to vote. The rule of thirds is used to show Margret looking out of the window, where she occupies two thirds of the shot. In the same shot, a close up has also been used to show Margret this shows emotion. Margret’s stance in this shot is Haughty, her gaze is firm which suggests that she is assertive, this shot shows women as powerful and assertive, which is not how they were viewed by society in this period. Margret also stands up straight which connotes confidence; she also shows style and prettiness, we can also see she does not rely on her clothes to make her look pretty. When Margret enters the factory, we see a `look of wonder` appear on her face, because she has entered this `foreign` world, there is a similarity between the `look of wonder` on Margret’s face and the `look of wonder` on the children’s faces in Narnia when they open the wardrobe and enter a different world.

A shot reverse shot is used between Thornton and Margret this connotes that a relationship may start between them. We can also tell that a relationship may start between them because of the non-diagetic romantic music, the way she has been positioned to look up at him and the misty effect that has been used. The use of the misty effect across the factory creates a mystical feel, which also creates a sense of mystery in the sense of that we do not know what will happen next, weather or not a relationship may start.

An orchestral soundtrack is used during episode one of `North & South`. When Margret enters the factory we start to hear the diagetic sound of the factory workers coughing, this suggests they are unhealthy however they are hardworking.

The use of non ambient lighting creates a darker setting and because you can control non ambient lighting, you can create the tone of lighting that is suitable to the production. The different accents that are used define the characters in their status’s. The factory owner, Thornton is portrayed as a harsh and violent man, we see this in a shot of him looking down from a height at the factory workers, a low angle shot is used in this shot, the use of this shot makes Thornton appear very important and bigger than everyone else. The use of violence displayed by Thornton shows masculinity. The way that Thornton has been placed looking down from a height, also represents his status in society as a male and as a factory owner, both of which give him more power of others in society. A close up shot is used of the fight Thornton has with a worker, this shows his violence. Whilst Thornton and the worker are fighting Margret shouts `stop` at them, this was very unheard of in this period for a women to speak up, this shows that Margret is assertive and was also not scared to speak out. Thornton asks Margret who she is and she reply’s giving him her full name, this shows she has a strong sense of identity.

In the scene in the factory, after the fight we start to understand that Thornton does not like people invading his space, we understand this because of the way he speaks to Margret, however he does not talk to her directly. Thornton says “get her out of here”, which is aimed at Margret, he then says “get that women out of here”, which shows that he has no respect for women and suggests that he believes women do not deserve to be spoken to in a polite manner, because women were seen as inferior in this period. After this the camera cuts to some female factory workers some of whom are very young, this tells us the factory is not an entirely male world, although women worked in the factories, they were entirely under the owners control, in this case the women were entirely under Thornton’s control. The use of children, who are as young as seven or eight, shows that children were not valued and no respect was given to them, this also suggests people did not have a sense of danger.

In conclusion to this question i think that in this extract of North and South; Male characters are represented as being violent and believing that they are superior in society, this shown in the way Thornton speaks to Margret. Female characters are represented as being characters who are seen as being inferior in society, however they are assertive.