Male and Female StereotypesBY DIEGO NUCCIO

Follows Male Stereotypes In ‘The Sopranos’, Tony Soprano is presented

as the stereotypical male as he shows a lot of masculinity within his personality, such as swearing most of the time, wearing suits and drinking alcohol.

Due to this, he is presented as a person who the audience would take seriously and also how the majority of the time, we see him wearing a suit, portraying his smartness and seriousness.

He is one of the leaders of the criminal enterprise, thus showing his leadership attribute; sticking to the male stereotype.

This representation supports Laura Mulvey’s theory as she believes that the camera is viewing a male point of view and how males would view other males as strong and serious, just like Tony is presented.

Challenges Male Stereotypes In ‘The Walking Dead’, Gabriel Stokes is a

priest and is presented as kind and easily gets scared of the zombies incredibly easily, screaming and panicking nearly all the time, going against the stereotypical male who usually leads a group or is brave and strong.

He sometimes gets told what to do by some of the female characters, thus making it seem the female characters are stronger than Gabriel, a male, also going against the male stereotype, how they are usually the one protecting the female.

This representation doesn’t support Mulvey’s theory as it portrays the male as weak, easily scared and in need of help, which males wouldn’t expect of another male, due to how Mulvey thinks that the camera views through a males point of view.

Follows Female Stereotypes

In ‘Prison Break’, Dr Sara Tacredi is presented as a stereotypical female, through the fact of her sensitive emotions due to her crying over her dad not loving her and previously running over a pedestrian while being drunk/high.

She also easily falls in love with one of the prisoners due to him making origami figures for her and also is saved by him during a riot, showing how she relies on the male to save her, being dependent and helpless, thus following the female stereotype.

This representation helps prove Laure Mulvey’s theory due to how males would view females as weak, emotional and ‘in need of their man’, which Sara Tacredi portrays through her personality.

Challenges Female Stereotypes In ‘Chuck’, Sarah Walker is one of the top

agents in the CIA and is presented as ‘badass’, rarely shows real emotions and is one of the strongest and smartest characters in the series, thus going against the female stereotype; how females are usually weak, vulnerable and emotional.

Also how, near the beginning of the series, she is the bodyguard of the main, male, protagonist, protecting him from the guys that are after him, also going against the female stereotype by presenting the female stronger than the male, rather than making the male protecting the vulnerable female.

This representation doesn’t help prove Mulvey’s theory as males wouldn’t see females as strong and independent, using weapons and protecting the male.