Our Girl: Representation of Gender and Ethnicity

Our girl is a TV Drama shown on BBC One. This is a mainstream drama about a white British woman who works as a medic in the Army. Georgie Lane played by Michelle Keegan is over in Kenya to help as she is seen to be one of the best. In this programme thereis multiple representations of gender and ethnicity shown. 

Gender

The first gender stereotype is that the medic is a woman. Women are seen to be unable to fight on front line and instead handle taking care of other people. However, there is a counter stereotype linking to this as a woman in the army isn't common. In all of the posters of Michelle Keegan playing the part of Georgie she is wearing lots of make-up and seems very neat and tidy. This could also be seen as stereotype because the woman has to be made to look nice even though she is representing someones role in the army. 

In the clip we watched from episode 2 season 2, Georgie had been kidnapped and taking hostage. The men overpower her and she gasps for air and panics showing she's a victim. The terrorist group don't seem bothered about her well being and are just using the woman to make people better. She is also thrown in a cage with another white woman and they are forced to stay there and sit on the dirty floor and treated with no respect from the men. Another representation of how women are treated in this episode is that she is never trusted to just walk on her own, instead she has to be dragged around by men showing that she has no contol of her actions and has to do what she is told to do. 

Ethnicity 

Ethnicity is represented in multiple ways in the episode. One representation is that Abu is white converted Muslim, this is a counter stereotype as this is not a usual thing in society but Abu's beliefs are clearly related to the Muslims. Abu refers to himself as 'us' so he sees himself as one of them and that he's no different. However, Zaki who is a muslim actually doesn't want to fight and be apart of the terrorist group which shows him as young and vulnerable and in a way may show how he knows right from wrong and believes what they are doing isn't right. The terrorist group objectify Georgie as they don't ever call her by her name instead they call her a 'white hostage' and therefore show no respect to other cultures even though Abu was originally British so this shows he knows how they are treated in society compared to other religions. Elvis is an Asian British this shows that he has more than one faith and culture. Abu says to Zakki that 'one woman is as valuable as a thousand black children' showing that he understand how people are treated and he knows what people will do to free the woman so he uses this against the Army to get what he wants.

Editing

During the end of episode 1 and start of episode 2 of our girl, Georgie Lane is kidnapped. In this scene there is a lot of fast paced editing as everything is very dramatic and builds up tension for the viewer. The scenes need to change quickly between characters to show whats happening and build up the scene.

Camera

There are lots of different camera angles used to show emotion and the representation of gender in the end of episode 1 and start of episode 2. The cameras zoom out to show area and scenery, this shows the wrecked houses showing the poverty of the country. There is an Ariel shot of the car driving away when they are in the middle of nowhere showing the distance away from society and how she's been taken away from civilisation. In this episode  the camera shows the view from her perspective for example when climbing in the truck. By the camera being at her level it makes the viewers understand her position and feel on her side. When she's being dragged from the truck towards the abandoned building the camera follows her feet and gives the impression that you're also being dragged. 

Sound

Sound is an important part in to and film as it can be used to show emotion and build 
tension. Music is used when the car is driving way to build tension and draw in the viewer as no one knows where the girl is being taken. The music increases in pitch. The emotion in their voices is key to show the atmosphere. You can hear the panic in her voice and the fear how her voice shakes. The anger in the terrorist voices is very clear as they give orders in a stern aggressive way. All the music cuts out and it's silent, it then focuses on her heavy breathing and her pain. This makes it a lot more dramatic and sets the atmosphere. The gun shots are digetic and synchronous. Other sound effects used are things such as footsteps, screams in the distant, all of this together builds to a crescendo. 

Mise-en-scene

The setting is in Kenya, it's dusty and houses and buildings are dilapidated showing the country's poverty. A stereotype of Muslim terrorists is used as they have their faces covered just showing their eyes. This is helpful to the audience as it shows their true emotions and therefore the audience can see how the people truly feel. They are hiding their true identity. Blood is used after the gunshot scene to suggest death and danger. The black clothing is antagonistic. The leader is in black whereas the rest of them are in red showing how he controls them and has the power.