Get Carter - Representation of women

"How do the representations of women in 'Get Carter' reflect the time in which it was made?"

Around the time of the film's release, it was the era of the 'Swinging 60s'. This was the era which the women took advantage of the fight for liberation after the men came back from World War II. Feminist groups had been lobbying the Government for equal rights in their work place as they took over most jobs whilst the men were away. Society's perspective of women was slowly beginning to change but despite this change, the men remained as the breadwinner even though more women started to enter the working industry.

The female characters of this film have been challenging the ideology of the 'Swinging 60s' as they have been directed and represented in the opposite manner. I have three main examples who were regarded as mere objects in 'Get Carter' and in this essay I will provide evidence as well as giving information on a theory by Laura Mulvey called 'The Male Gaze' on our first example.

The first character I am going to focus on is Anna. Anna is the first female we see in this film as she is with Carter's boss. We see her as his property as she sits and does not speak whilst he has his hand on her leg, he is controlling her as she is the only female in the room. However later on in the film, we encounter her for the second time and she is on the phone to Carter. We notice that Carter is telling her what to do down the phone, and it is obvious that she is being obedient as even though he isn't in her presence, the women in this film are represented as easily manipulated by male's voice solely. Laura Mulvey's theory called 'The Male Gaze' applies to this scene as the theory is based around the statement that "Women have two reasons of purpose throughout a narrative of a film: They're perceived as an erotic object for the characters within the film and also for the spectators of the film." and Anna is slowly pleasuring herself as she obeys Carter's orders. The camera is positioned in a various amount of close-ups on Anna's body, as it's not showing her fully it is objectifying her as an erotic object for the spectator. The camera framing is also voyeuristic, seeming like someone is watching her also. This scene is fulfilling the male's ideology of how women should be seen as it has been fetishised as well as reflecting the men's views on post 'Swinging 60s/Early 70s' Britain'.

Glenda is another character that is an object in this film. She is mainly there to trap Carter by being flirtatious. We first see her in the scene where the men are playing a card game and Kinnear invites him in, he then orders Glenda to get him a drink and here she does not speak but is obedient to his demand. After bringing back the drink, she is told that she is wrong and is ordered to bring him the whole bottle. It is clear as to whom is in control of the room as Glenda is the only woman in the room. Later on we see Glenda is flirting with Carter and sometimes the audio is faded out as the camera focuses Kinnear. This expresses that, despite that Glenda is giving out important information about certain people who killed Carter's brother, women are regarded as unimportant and that you shouldn't pay attention to them even if it's something important.