Winter pack reflect and perfect

1. How do the representations of sexualities reflect the historical, contemporary, social and cultural contexts?

The representations of sexualities reflects the historical, contemporary, social and cultural contexts because in the 1960s, homosexuality was a crime. An example of this is "a UK opinion poll finds that 93% of respondents see homosexuality as a form of illness requiring medical treatments." This affected TV programmes such as The Avengers because the two main characters (Peel and Steed) were heterosexual and flirted with each other a lot. This represents them positively because being heterosexual and powerful at the time was seen as correct.

This view of homosexuality differs to society in 2010s as gay marriage was legalised in 2014. For example "in 2014, the act officially passed in Britain." This is reflected in Cuffs as the main character Jake is a weak, homosexual, feminine male who is countertyping the stereotype of police officers being heterosexual, strong and masculine because it shows that the show is inclusive to people of all different kinds, and it reflects the historical, contemporary, social and cultural contexts at the time.


2. How is feminism represented in The Avengers and Cuffs?

In The Avengers, feminism is represented through Emma Peels character. "During the 1960s, The Feminist Movement was formed." This made people more aware of the difference in power between men and women. In The Avengers, Emma Peel is seen as Steed's professional equal. Another way that feminism is represented in The Avengers is the way that Peel is dressed. She wears a tight leather body suit which was seen as sexy at time time. This shows that she's proud about her body. The colour black also connotes with power and dominance, which represents liberation, that is what women were fighting for at the time.

In Cuffs, feminism is represented men and women being equal. For example "there are male and female police officers." In Cuffs, PC Donna Prager is more powerful and more experienced than Jake Vickers who is a man. This shows that when Cuffs was made in the 2010s, men and women had equal rights and were both as powerful as each other.


3. Compare the white representation in The Avengers to the multiculturalism of Cuffs?

In The Avengers, both characters (Peel and Steed) are white British decent. An example of this is "a purely white, British cast". At the time when The Avengers was made, any characters who weren't represented as people of a British ethnic background would have been rejected by audiences. Another reason why Peel and Steed were white was to show the stereotype of white people having power over racial and ethnic minorities. Peel and Steed are represented in a positive way because they were white, powerful spies who were accepted by audiences at the time.

However, in Cuffs, there is a mix of multi-culturalism. For example, one of the police officers is middle eastern decent. In Cuffs, the police force is made up of people from all different ethnic backgrounds. The middle eastern decent officer is represented as important and powerful as she is a police officer fighting crime and looking after the public. This differs from The Avengers because at the time of The Avengers, a middle eastern character would never be accepted by audiences; however, at the time Cuffs was made, audiences accepted and liked the fact that all different people were included.


4. How do the gender representations reflect the historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts of the time within both set products?

The gender representations reflect the historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts of the time because during the 1960s, men and women were starting to become more equal. An example of this is "during the 1960s, the women feminist group were fighting for equal rights." In The Avengers, Peel and Steed both have equal roles and not one of them are superior. This is represented in a positive way because, as men and women were becoming more equal, Peel and Steed being equal meant that it gave some people the idea to back up the feminist groups and fight for equal rights. Also, during the 1960s, women were seen as sexy, so in The Avengers, Peel is represented as female who flirts with Steed a lot and likes to show off her body by wearing a tight leather bodysuit. The colour black also connotes with power and liberation, which is what women were fighting for at the time.

In Cuffs, the gender representations reflect the historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts of the time because in the 2010s, men and women were equal. For example "in Cuffs, we see both male and female police officers." This reflects the historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts of the time because, during the 2010s, men and women were allowed the same jobs and were both allowed to become police officers. In Cuffs, Jake is new to the force and is a homosexual, weak male character. This is a countertype to the stereotype of men being heterosexual, strong officers. In Cuffs there are also some female officers e.g. PC Donna Prager who are represented in a positive way because it shows the audiences that women can also be as strong as men if not stronger.