representation in tv drama - vikings

7/23/2019 Representation in TV Drama - Vikings

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Representation in TV drama Vikings

Age: The younger generation within the show is repr

they are con stantly belittled and man handled by their elders. For exa mple,Ragnars son , Bjorn, is 1 2 years old at the beginning of the sh ow and he is teasedfor n ot being a man. This is r epresented through the u se of high angle cam erashots that look down on him as though we as an audience are also his

elders, looking down on him. In terms of costume, we know howold a boy is and whether he is deemed a man or not by whether he is

wearing a gold arm band which signies manhood and loyalty to

their Lord. The way the younger characters are shown throughthe use of high angle shots to make them seem smallermirrors t he way they b ehave, e.g.: timid, shy and vulnerable.

The older generation is mostly non-existent within the showas Vikings a re known to be t, able tribe m embers. A place which isnt t for el derlypeople. However, the older members we do seehave pu rpose an d are qu ite important, holdinga natural stance o f power over the res t of thetribe a nd are r espected by them. The elderly tribemembers almost always have some kind of wealth or powerover the rest of the tribe; this theuse o f costume (the elderly have n icer cl othing

with more jewellery), the camera angles show power and dominance) and the houses in

which they live in/mise-en-scene (they apossessions).

Gender:

Typically, men are seen as dominant overall camera an gle shots to make them seem taller as well as m id shots which emphasisethe si ze of their chest, torso a nd arm muscles t o create t he st ereotypical image ofthe alpha male. The m ens co stumes h ave a lot of leather an d tight tting m aterialaround the chest area, again to emphasise the muscle and show them as beingphysically bigger than everyone else a s t hey a re con stantly trying to sec uredominance. The women on the other hand could be seen as being representedunconventionally as t hey a re m ostly equal in terms of the t ribal society in whichthey live in. The women are seen at an d participate in events su ch as trials a ndsentences where men would predominantly be i n charge and there doesnt seem to


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be aproblem. Also, the

womenare

allowedto ght;a prime

example being Ragnars wife, Lagertha. She is a strong sh ield maiden who has t hesame leather and metal accessories on her costume as t he men do which gives hera sen se of equality in terms of strength and social acceptance. However, women arestill abused, raped and looked down upon as well, adhering to the st ereotype of apatriarchal society where men rule over women. Dominance is mainly shownthrough the use of camera a ngles in this sh ow as well as ed iting techniques su ch

as t he sh ot and reverse sh ot. The men will generally have more screen time assometime the women will simply be there to sp ur on the n arrative of one of themale characters.

Regional Identity:

The costumes, makeup and general appearance of the characters and clearly determine where the ch aracters com e from. For example, the u se ofrunes/symbols on the Vikings clothing as w ell as t he rugged braided hair andsmudged makeup makes it very clear that they are Vikings whereas theSaxons/monks a re visibly different as t hey wear n eater, plainer clothing whichsingles t hem out and makes i t easier for t he au dience to tell them apart from the

Vikings. It also reinforce more savage an d uncivilized. The m usic also su ggests whereabouts in the world the

Vikings come from as it has the harsh, see on screen in terms of the Viking aest hetic, e.g.: the stereotypical costume,hair, makeup and set.

Saxon cleaner appearance,short/well-kept hair, matching

armour/uniform, disciplinedand heavily armed to make up

Viking rugged appearance,long h air (braided) leather

clothing with intricate d esignand muscular appearance


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Class:

There is hardly any class system within tribe h aving som e degree of power over the rest of them, however he is seem inglyfair an d willing to listen to and aid his p eople, which is u nconventional when

thinking about the st ereotypicalrepresentation of someone of a h igher rankor st atus. There i s a lso the n aturalhierarch y of parent over ch ild, although Idont believe t his cou nts a s a rea l powerstruggle as its instinctual, especially in atribal/pack-like environment such as the

Viking tribes. Whilst there isnt really aclass syst em, it is clear who is m ore po werful through the u se of their costumes,

homes, possessions an d general cleanliness. Also, the characters who have morepower and wealth tend to speak better than those of a lower/more common ranksuch as Ragnar.

Disability:

In this sh ow, disability isnt frowned upon as a n illness b ut is seen as a lmost a giftas cu lturally, those who were d ifferent may h ave been regarded as touched by thegods. In the sh ow (season 1) there is on ly on e d isabled character named Floki, whois a ll but shunned and praised for h is gi ft of talking to th e t rees and hisoutstanding ability to read signs, predict the future a nd build Viking longships. Therest of the t ribe a ccept him and utilize h im for h is gi fts a s w ell as l ook to him forguidance along with the an cient who can also read the future. In terms of costume,hair and makeup, he dresses no differently to therest of the Vikings; thus gi ving h im equality a s adisabled person. The on ly thing that separates h imfrom the rest of the tr ibe is th e fact t hat he l ikes tolive a way from the rest of civilisation and practice

his r eading and strange h abits al one, suggestingthat he m ight feel that he ca n only be h is t rue sel f

when he is alone. This supports the idisabled characters ar e only shown in TV dramasto make the au dience feel sorry for them or nd comedic value in their character asFlokis ch aracter d oes.

Ethnicity:

In terms o f ethnicity, the sh ow is q uite t rue t o its h istorical context as a ll of thecharacters are white with blonde h air (mostly) and blue eyes. There are m inimal if


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not no actors of a d ifferent ethnicity within the sh ow ascontextually it wouldnt be h istorically a ccurate. This a dheres t othe st ereotype of the t ypical Viking gure a s t he Viking race i srenowned for i ts Aryan features. This race i s represen ted in the

show as being power hungry and dominant which isstereotyp ical of white p eople b ut it is a ll in context of the ti methe sh ow is set in.

Sexuality:

The dominant ideology of the typical s within the show and the exploration of o bisexual, etc. are lef

abuse is p raised and accepted in the sh ow no ch aracter is left out of touch with thesexual goings on with couples. When the men go out and pillage/raid other

villages, they are expected acceptable. However, in season one there is an episode where Lagertha joins h erhusbands raid and takes it upon herself to stop another one of her company fromraping a S axon woman. She then kills him when he attempts to rape her, showingthat whilst it is d eemed acceptable within the Viking tradition and culture, somemembers (such as the women) do not nd it acceptable.

representation in tv drama - vikings

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