How far might audiences respond differently to representations? (Life on Mars)

In life on mars, many characters are represented differently. Gender is represented in a number of ways through certain characters. Each character typically confides to their times representational norms. For example, Sam's girlfriend in the modern day goes by her own initiative and goes after a hunch showing the times more confidence in women not doing what men tell them however Sam had told her that she's off the case, showing a degree of male control. The audience would typically see this to be a strong woman as a dominant reader would see what the show is trying to convey, on the other hand an oppositional reader may think that she is falling into stereotypes of women through being 'dumb' and following her hunch rather than viewing her as a strong independent woman. Oppositely in the past sequences, Liz, is only medical and help out with admin work and is not allowed on any cases, she is also very oppressed and called names by the stereotypical men of the time. Liz is shown to be the stereotypical representation of a woman especially in the time, caring, motherly submissive etc which is also shown through costume, she is in costume a lot whereas the detectives are wearing own clothes.  This relates to Stuart Hall's theory of representation, where media language is used to create representations. These representations can reduce character to a few simple traits like Liz however they can have multiple different views as stereotypes like with Sam's girlfriend, either being a dominant or oppositional reader, which can be affected by personal experiences.



dominant reader, following what the show wants you to think about certain characters

oppositional reader, not following what the show wants you to think about certain characters, possibly due to personal experiences

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