Popular culture has been a part of society as long as some society has existed, and it is interesting to think what kinds of things have come and gone in the pop culture sphere. Monteverdi and Shakespeare might not have the overt popularity they once had, but I would be willing to bet Flavor of Love or The Girls Next Door would not translate very well to the 1500s.
Even within the last 50 years, however, the look of popular culture has changed dramatically, maybe no more so than in the area of gender representation in the media, which I will examine in this entry. First, I will look at changing gender roles on television, especially in a work setting. Next, I will point out some complex, nuanced characteristics of the gender roles represented on television today. Finally, I will consider the effects of the popularity of ensemble casts and how they impact current media offerings in addition to future projects. And I will point out all these gender role details through clips of one of my favorite television shows, ER.
Changing Gender Roles
In regards to gender in the fictional workplace of a television series, Gauntlett first discusses past representations, describing 1970s TV as a place in which “Female characters were unlikely to work…” (p. 47). He goes on to discuss characteristics of a successful career and how women in 1970s TV lacked them, saying “…women were more frequently shown as weak, ineffectual, victimized, supportive, laughable, or ‘merely token females’” (p. 47). In the chapter on gender representations today, he states “Men and women are seen working side by side, as equals, in the hospitals, schools, and police stations of television-land” (p. 62). Or even in some cases, as this ER clip shows, with women as the leaders.
In the opening scene before the credits play, we see Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) in the dominant role in the emergency room. In fact, before Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) enters the room, the entire medical team working on the patient is female. Not only are they all female, but they are working on a male, African-American patient. This scenario would have hardly played out in real life a few decades before, but now is prominently featured in a hit TV show. This lends credence to the fact that television mirrors current trends of women becoming more accepted in traditionally male roles.
A short note about the scene following the credits. We get a glimpse of Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) as the chief of emergency medicine. It is interesting to see her discussing hospital issues with a male subordinate, Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Again, this would have been extremely uncommon even in actual hospital settings in previous decades, but ER – and television in general – parallels real-life trends of changing gender roles.
Complex Representations
Gauntlett offers a number of studies showing the trend of equality in male and female roles on television and ends the chapter with a short summary, saying, “Representations of gender today are more complex, and less stereotyped, than in the past. Women and men are generally equals in the worlds of today’s TV and movies, although male characters are still often to the fore” (p. 97).
In the following clip, the ER staff learns of the death of Dr. Greene, which invites a look at the complexity of the characters.
Rather than portray traditional gender roles, the characters almost engage in a role reversal. Dr. Carter becomes visibly emotional at least two times when reading the letter about Dr. Greene’s death, showing how a traditionally feminine characteristic – openly showing emotions – is more common and accepted among males in society. Dr. Lewis, on the other hand, is obviously upset but at no point shows as much emotion as Dr. Carter, adding to the gender role reversal. In keeping with Gauntlett’s observation of male characters often still at the forefront of the story, it is male Dr. Carter who reads the news. But as the episode continues, each character – males and females – has his or her moment of grief while thinking back on Dr. Greene's life. This self-reflection by the characters shows the depth and complexity of their fictional personalities in a way many programs in previous years had not.
By the Numbers
Finally, I will mention a simple quantitative observation in the fashion of Gauntlett’s relaying of information regarding male to female ratios in television. The most recent study he cites, dated 2006, claims “61 percent of characters were male, and 39 percent were female” (p. 64). While I did not count every speaking role in the two clips from ER, I did take notice of the males and females named in the opening credits. The first clip features four males and four females in the opening sequence, while the second clip showcases five males and five females. This equal representation in the ensemble cast shows the changing trend in television programs. Television shows like ER, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, and nearly every other current popular program features the ensemble cast of different but equal gender roles. This is obviously a popular formula that continues to bring the networks success and reflects gender equality to the audience: society at large.
However, television popularity is cyclical – much like societal trends in real life –and will no doubt eventually move on from the ensemble cast. Until then, media and gender scholars have interesting situations in which to observe male and female roles and their relation to society.
