To what extent do the representations in Les Revenants reflect the time in which it was made?
The representations in Les Revenants are deliberately confusing and unconventional, high reflects the modern society in which it was made.
Historically, the representation of women that we have studied in media studies has often been highly oppressive and stereotypical. Texts such as Woman use stereotypical conventions to portray women as housewives. However, a number of things have changed since the 1960s, and women in particular are now portrayed in more powerful and diverse roles. In this essay, I shall argue that Les Revenants uses unconventional representations to challenge conventions, and confirm that we live in a confusing and atypical time. Les Revenants is French horror TV show which targets a niche and highly specialised audience. It was released by major French cable channel Canal +.
Plan
Explicit representations of sex
Long shot, HA of victor isolated in garden
Conventional of horror
Julie clothing: baggy, loose, oversized
Shirt - stereotypically masculine
Julie is not scared
Standoffish
Lena - stereotypical teenage girl: rebellious
Camille: hysterical, stereotypical young woman
Le petit mort - the little death
Sex and death
Death of childhood
Working class Julie flat
Seurat family house glassy and posh
Low key lighting Julie apartment
Intertextual horror reference
One way in which Les Revs portrays gender atypically is through the representation of Julie. Julie is dressed in a strikingly androgynous style. For example, her baggy, oversized jumper has connotations of masculinity, and covers her body in a manner which challenges traditional, hegemonic gender norms. Additionally, through her oversized and deliberately non-sexualised costume codes, it can be argued that the character of Julie deliberately subverts the male gaze. Julie functions as a clear binary opposition to the many of the other women in this TV show, and in doing so, the character of Julie reinforces the ideological perspective that the world is complicated, and not everyone identifies with the same stereotypical ways of dressing and acting. In this sense, Julie can be seen to subvert stereotypical perceptions of how men and women act. Julie provides a more diverse representation of women, and she may be particularly appealing to certain women watching the show who may identify with her unconventional outlook.
Another atypical representation can be seen through the representation of Lena. Lena is represented as being explicitly sexually driven and sexually active. Lena is clearly motivated by sex, as we see in the scene in the Lake Pub where she assertively pick up Simon. Letter in the narrative arc of the first episode, we see her as a fifteen inviting an older boy in to her house. The MES that constructs this sex scene is constructed through a series of voyeuristic close ups, that position the target audiences in an uncomfortable mode of address. The representation of sex is hardly pornographic: instead it is both intimate and relatable to the secondary teenage audience. The close up shots of pink, heavy breathing faces is somewhat unflattering, which constructs a frank and relatable experience of sex that is highly unconventional yet also reflects the time and place in which it was made. From a stereotypical perspective, French media is often more sexually explicit and open about sexual issues, which may mean that the themes of this episode could be shocking to British audiences. However, this show was still broadcast on Channel 4, which reflects changing societal values
Yet another atypical representation is realised through the highly unconventional and atypical setting of rural France
One way in which Les Revs reflects the time in which it was made is by showing a clear contrast between working class and middle class identities