Through our three examples Alfie, Life on Mars and Tyrannosaur we represent a range of different British male identities over time. In Alfie we follow the main character, a young Londoner and stereotypical Casanova. He soon sees the flaws in his lifestyle, and consequences that his dominance, and mistreatment has on the women involved. By the end of the film we hope to Alfie in a better moral state, has he realises that what his previous actions are morally wrong.
In Life on Mars we follow another male character, Sam, who is involved in a car accident resulting in being transported back in time. The TV show clearly shows the opposition between current and past morals and beliefs, again particularly towards women, perhaps highlighting how far things have really come.
The final example is Tyrannosaur is set in the modern-day, as well as highlighting the issues between men and women, and within some marriages, it more obviously targets class and religion as big themes. A violent man, Joseph, confides in religious charity shop worker Hannah who has equally troubling problems of her own. In this example, we are able to see male identity in a weaker role, where the character does not have power or much money - this being an attempt from the director to highlight these common class conflicts.
How has the representation of that group changed over time? What examples do you have to support this claim?
Through these examples we have found that men and women have become increasingly more equal. The issues of sexism and gender have now been replaced with ones of class struggle, and the insignificance of the lower classes over higher classes. However it is always clear that conflict in these examples occurs due to some sort of power struggle.
In Alfie his dominance over the women allows him to have a very free lifestyle, but his soon realises that his modern principles are not in the best interests of others around him. Life on Mars ofcourse gives the male detectives more important roles in the policing system, with women's ideas (which could be equally relevant) labelled as skeptical or not worthy of listening too. Finally, Tyrannosaur we still see the stereotypical agression of male identity, but Joseph proves that male character can be just has helpless as female character - simply in different ways. The modern film puts our faith in the generosity of humanity, proving that stereotypes need to be ignored.
What are the advantages to representing this collective in this way?
The advantage of representing Alfie as free and non-caring or emotionless male, is that the director can easily combat current issues (1966) of cheating and 'sleeping around' which of-course result in abortion etc. Here the director/writer arguably supports a more traditional male identity - one that get's married, and works hard for the family, who is concerned about the house and finance - this simply being the welfare of others around them, particularly women.
In Life on Mars male identity is shown as contrasting, for the modern day audience it is a realization as to how much equality has changed and how far humanity has a whole has come. It illustrates that the world, and British workers, have become very obsessed with speed and detail, perhaps trying to create a realization of the culture that we have lost.
Tyrannosaur is the most intense of all three productions. It's clear advantage being that the British male, Joseph, is a character that we begin by not liking for killing the dog and for his attitudes towards life. However, as the story progresses Joseph comes more forgiving, and it proves that our preconceptions of the modern-day lower class stereotypes are in-fact very wrong. The film is intense and depressing, but it highlights the harsh realities of our society, which of-course have a place to be addressed. The treatment of women is also addressed, with the other character Hannah suffering from rape and abuse - again it crushes our stereotypes of a stable British marriage.
How can you express your identity in the world?
Through these productions we are able to see a range of elements in life which create our identity, almost everything we do gives us a label or places us in a specific stereotype. For example, in Alfie the London culture, the accent, the Casanova attitude to life, and his treatment of women. In Life on Mars we could additionally see Sam's career as a police man, and his modern-day attitudes as having an effect on his identity. Tyrannosuar of-course specifically highlights class, religion and marriage as elements which enable us to express who we are. From our own knowledge we can see that money, clothing, sexuality, ethnicity, race and gender are some basic elements which give a sense of identity to an individual.
What barriers are there to expression, what facilities are there to express identity?
There are subconscious barriers, for example, on social networking websites you choose to represent parts of your identity rather than who you are in reality.
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