Task 6




The scene above begins with a stripper asking to work in the V.I.P. section, she immediately sexually objectified by a man as she has to pay to work in room that will earn her more money additionally the she has to give a “blowjob”. The man acts as a “gate keeper” and it his choice to lets her in the room or not, this exemplifies the inferiority of the women in “The Bada Bing”. The dancer at the door is subjected to undertake a role that does not push or make a difference to the storyline and make no effect to the narrative structure.

Moreover in the scene Tracee is dressed in a tight, revealing dress, the red dress connotes women as impure and reinforces the ideologies of “white trash”. The mise en scene used in the scene imposes Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze as the archetype stripper characters the male audience’s sexual fantasies and desires. Additionally the non diegetic sound parallels the scene to the audience and creates male dominant atmosphere.

Furthermore the strip club “The Bada Bing” is a symbol of male backlash as the place is made for men to fulfil their sexual desires, the club acts as place for anti-feminists as women are treated and portrayed as sex objects. The club shapes the patriarchal order in society and acts as microcosm of male dominance in the macrocosm world.

“Don’t kiss me, how many cocks you suck tonight”, Tracee is treated like a sex object and is seen as a woman whose only reason in life is to fulfil male pleasure. This implies that the phallic is a symbol of male dominance over women and are treated as sexual object only in the drama for the male gaze and pleasure and not to drive the narrative. Additionally Ralph slaps her back side; this enforces the ideologies of women as possessions and reinforcing the views of patriarchal order. The character of Tracee is dehumanised as she is treated as a sexual object.
Furthermore outside the club there is a confrontation between Ralph and Tracee, Ralph beats up Tracee “does it make you feel like a man”, the quote exemplifies issues in society as women are beaten up to make the male gender feel powerful and dominant also the use of the phallic in the programme enforces patriarchal order in society.

Furthermore the scene uses close ups on the Ralph when Tracee is beaten up to death to exemplify his facial expressions. There are fewer shots of Tracee facial expressions, she is cut off the screen, and the scene is constructed to only depict Ralph’s emotions. This implicates to the audience that she is inferior, is of no importance and does not drive the narrative cycle. Moreover the scene incorporates low angle shots to portray male dominance in the scene, Tracee is depicted as vulnerable and weak sue to the high angle shots towards her. Tracee's status representation of whore seems to make her vulnerable to attack and is less deserving of safety and sexual freedom because she’s a stripper. Additionally the low key lighting connote danger and vulnerable atmosphere, the low key lighting sets the aerie atmosphere and fulfil the expectations of the audience.

There are no traditional narrative roles in the scene as Propps theory defied, Ralph undertakes the role of the villain however every mob member takes the role of an anti-hero or a villain, however Tracee cannot relate to a specific role as she is depicted as a whore by the audience and her character is mediated in this way buy the director. The audience is only left to sympathise for Tracee’s.

The director is a male, meaning the show is mediated in a male’s perspective, reinforces Mulvey’s theory of the media reflected and shaped patriarchal order, which can also be because of the director.

Moreover Tracee is beaten to death on outside next to bin bags and trash and is left dead next to, the trash connotes the representation women as Tracee is compared to “white trash” in society and is worthless and demeaning to men. The long shot portrays her life as meaningless as the mise en scene depicts her class in society.