G321 REPRESENTATION OF GENDER

The extracts are from Made In Dagenham (dir. Nigel Cole 2010), a dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

Characters in the extracts:

• Rita (young Ford machinist who becomes the machinists' spokesperson)
• Connie (older Ford machinist  who is struggling with family problems)
• Albert (Union rep)
• Monty (the shop steward)
• Mr Hopkins (Ford management)
• Lisa Hopkins (his wife)
• Mr Clarke (school teacher)

The scenes: 

1. The Union meeting with management after lunch at a Berni Inn   
2. Rita confronts Mr Clarke for beating her son
3. Lisa visits Rita to report that Mr Clarke has been dismissed

PREP: Discuss the ways in which the extracts construct representations of gender using the following:

  • Mise-en-scene 

  • Editing

  • Sound 

  • Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
In the first scene, we see ....