the representation of women and cyborg

 the representation of women and cyborg

representation- a re presentation, re presenting something or re constructing it 

representation impacts audiences and influence their ideologies. stereotypical representation can negatively influence and reinforce or challenge ideologies. 

roles of women in humans

• mother
• maid
• sex worker / prostitute 
• nurse
• caregiver 
• butler
• friend
• slave
• rebel

Madonna/ whore

• Freud developed theory to explain men's anxiety towards women's sexuality, suggesting men define women into one of two categories: Madonna (women he admires and respects) and whore (women he is attracted to and disrespects) 
• Madonna is typically virtuous, nurturing, saintly, and sexually repressed
• the whore is sensual, sexualised and desirable without purity 

van zoonen

• women belong to the family and domestic life and men to the social world of politics and work; that femininity is about care, nurturing and compassion and masculinity is about efficiency, rationality and individuality 
• gender is constructed its meaning varies in culture and historical context 
• masculinity and femininity is constructed- the codes used to construct men 'as a spectacle' are different

gender performativity 

• gender roles that are learnt and performed over time 
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textual anaylisis buying anita 

how are represenattions constructed/ encoded?

• women- Anita symbolises a domestic female, typical of a mothers role within a nuclear family. this is constructed through her domestic skills already installed based on house work, typical of a stay at home mother. this reinforces both stereotypes of typical mothers but also provides a contrast to how far women have come within the work place, as they no longer perform these tasks. this shows a reconstruction of a traditional nuclear family as most house holds no longer fit this construct and roles. 

narrative

• the audience empathises with joe as a struggling father. when he goes to buy Anita he brings his daughter along, even when he has a moment to pause and reconsider buying her his daughter tells him to go on. the audience would empathise with this decision as it is reinforced that he is not doing it for personal gain but the benefit of his family despite the expense. however, does reinforce the notion at men are unable to compete domestic tasks without the aid of a woman, even if she is a synth Anita symbolises the role of a mother.  
• the use of a child's perspective is shown in close ups of Sophie when first seeing Anita, focusing the audiences attention on her smiling and clapping showing she is happy. Sophie also says "she is ours" showing how Anita has brought them closer creating a bond of ownership within the family.