The Good Wife's Guide

Identify the representation of women:

• Inferior
• Shallow/Fake

Identify how this is constructed:

Inferior - The Good Wife's Guide represents women as inferior because they undermine their capability and instead they tell the women about how they should help their 'superior' (aka their husband.) The last point in the guide says "A good wife always knows her place." This is demonstrating to us that a woman should always be in line and understand where she stands in the relationship. "Remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours," is another example of the way that women are represented as inferior.

Shallow/Fake - The fact that there is a guide on how to be a wife epitomises the fact that women are portrayed as shallow and fake in the text. "Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking." This makes the women seem shallow and that they need to change for their husband. "Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him."

The Representations of Buffy

1.   What do/ does she look like? Pay particular attention to the question of whether she is considered beautiful/ physically attractive? Is she young?

Buffy is quite young yet she looks empowered. Even though she’s skinny and blonde, she isn’t represented as the traditional ‘dumb blond.’ Also, Buffy doesn’t wear luxury clothes and doesn’t wear too much make up. This shows girls that you can be empowered without having to look good all the time.

2.   What qualities are valued in women in the text?

The women in this text are presented as ‘normal girls’ who are also strong and independent. This helps influence the audience because it’s not completely irrelevant to the teenage audience. The girls in the show like to shop yet they are still very skilled and strong. The women in the text are recognised and valued for their courageous skills, not just beauty.

3.   What aspects of the text challenge the traditional representation you identified in your fairy tale?

In Rapunzel, Rapunzel is represented as dependent because she waits for a Prince to come and rescue her. In a turn of events, Buffy is the one is trying to save a guy. She protects Angel by making him go out of town so that he isn’t in as much danger.

4.   How is the message presented to us? Consider the positioning techniques discussed at the beginning of the term.(Character(Buffy in particular), costume, camera angles, dialogue etc)

Frequently, the camera shot of Buffy will be from below, so that the audience is looking up at Buffy. This helps project the fact that Buffy is empowered, young yet still courageous. Buffy also is practical due to her wardrobe. She doesn’t wear dresses and heels, she wears clothes that she can slay vampires in.

5.   How are men presented in this text? (Consider power, hero, villain etc)

Men are presented almost as inferior to women. Angel obeys Buffy’s orders and leaves the town. Buffy is the main character who can slay the vampires whilst the men used to be Vampires and are now saved because they have a soul, thanks to Buffy.

6.   Who has power in this text? Why do they have power?

Buffy and Willow have the most power in this text. The vampires try to defeat them multiple times, but they can not because they are too powerful and independent for the vampires to defeat them.

7.   Consequences: Who is rewarded? How? Who is punished? How?

In the end, everyone is punished yet rewarded. The main characters are punished because they watch their friends die, yet they save the world and their courage is rewarded. Also, Spike is rewarded because he finally gains the honesty, trust and respect from Buffy yet he is ultimately punished because he dies saving the world.

8.   How are women represented in this episode?

Women are represented as strong, independent and courageous in the show Buffy. Not only Buffy, but also lots of ‘average’ girls are given a choice that they can become slayers if they wish. This gives us the idea that women can do anything if they choose to and put their mind to it. The women control the men because Buffy convinces Angel to leave the town. If anything, the guys are the back up to the girls. This gives us the strong ideas about how the women risk their lives to be independent, courageous and strong.