Media Representation GapFill

Written below is an analysis of representation from the following extract of ‘The City of Magpies’: 39:50–42:15. Fill in the gaps to complete the analysis.

The scene opens in a submarine gangway with Father Hugh MacPhail at the bedside of the gravely wounded  PopeCardinalBishopPriest, while Mrs Coulter stands reservedly at the doorway. As MacPhail insists upon immediate medical care for the wounded man, Coulter suggest otherwise. Her appearance, costume and calculating demeanour arguably make Coulter  a femme fatalea heroinea princessa damsel in distress, a seductive and highly intelligent female character with evil intentions who can influence and beguile men around her. Unlike other examples of this character type, Coulter's appearance is not heavily  exaggeratedsensualisedsexualisedcriticised. She is represented as being beautiful but this is not her only character attribute, which avoids the phenomenon of the   male lookmale glancemale staremale gaze. This term, coined by feminist film theorist Laura  HooksVan ZoonenMulveyMulaney in the 1970s, argues that most women on screen are presented as sexual  conquestsobjectsdesiresinterests for male characters and male viewers, who are presumed to be  heterosexualbisexualhomosexualtransgender.  

Another important area of representation in this extract is the social  upbringingactivityclasscircle of both characters. In the world of the series, the Magisterium is a corrupt institution that controls much of Lyra's world. To depict this to the audience, both Coulter and MacPhail have well-spoken British  backgroundsfriendsaccentsfamily which have historically been associated in media and culture with wealth and power. Similarly, the high-ranking members of the Magisterium are all white, which is reflective of the leadership of the real   AnglicanRoman CatholicBaptistProtestant Church that the author Philip Pullman is critiquing in the story.