Critiquing representation in my chosen products media products: 

Breaking bad 

Class 

I think breaking bad represents a balanced range of characters from different classes and doesn’t let their classes define them. I think the show is forced to show a large range to give an accurate representation of dealing, selling and buying meth as the industry involves people from all different walks of life. The working class characters however are not represented in a very positive light as the main working class characters shown in the show are stereotypical meth addicts and therefore very easily angered and negligent to the health of their children and the people around them. The upper class characters in the show are also negative as they are shown to be money hungry apathetic characters who lack empathy and only care about making more money. However I think a lot of the class representation issues stem from the show being based in a negative business (the meth trade) and it’s unlikely therefore that characters from any classes that the characters are interacting with will likely all not be very nice as meth use doesn’t cultivate the most amicable individuals. 

Ethnicity 

I think Breaking Bad represents a balanced range of characters of different ethnicities however I don’t think it presents all ethnicities in an always positive light and I think it frequently relies on stereotypes. Malcolm Harris wrote a great article at The New Inquiry, titled “Walter White Supremacy” about race in Breaking bad. He very accurately cites Breaking Bad as an example of the “mighty whitey” cliché, an all-too-often-seen trope in pop culture, which dictates that any above average white man can easily waltz into an exotic slum world and almost instantaneously conquer and colonize it in the name of white superiority. In the meth trade of Breaking Bad, the winners are those who can best combine science, discipline, and reprehensible savagery, all of which Walter White excels at by and far.

Also, there are virtually no Asian characters who don’t speak in heavy accents. For example Duane Chow who was a bumbling idiot/coward and the Vietnamese nail salon worker speaking in broken English.

Gender

Walter is the bread winner in the marriage and Skyler is the carer for the children who has to protect the family. The show has very traditional gender roles especially for such a modern show which shows that in some cases gender representation hasn't changed. Skyler however is not a passive wife and she calls Walter to account for his actions, arguably because of her more modern expectations of family life. Her expectations are framed within an understanding of marriage and family as an equal partnership. This family dynamic challenges traditional patriarchal assumptions about gender and reflects the re-shaping of the social relations between men and women which has accompanied wider processes of social change. But despite this the representation of women is not overall positive, Breaking Bad's women exist on the outskirts, circling the men. They are an adornment to the fabric of the plot. Skyler is written as a nag and a bore who only serves as another challenge Walter must compete against to prove his domineering personality. A recent article on the website AV Club, The Case Against Breaking Bad, pointed out that if she is supposed to act as the moral centre of the show but then that in itself failure because she is almost entirely unsympathetic. Hank's wife Marie is a skittish woman treated with weary contempt by her husband with her sole interesting trait being a shoplifting habit she is merely a distraction from the boys' business of crime busting. The introduction of Lydia in season five (a woman operating in the meth business alongside Walter) finally showed potential, but she remains a cartoon baddie, lacking flesh or motivation. Still, there's hope here, at least. Her easy way with a hitlist and nervy ruthlessness may yet make her a match for Walt, though that's yet to be realised.

The apartment 

Class 

Class is represented ok i think in the apartment. The main protagonist Baxter is struggling financially which is shown as he is so excited to get new tiny roles in the office as they may potentially bring in some more money and the love interest Fran also doesn't come from a very well of background and she is still living with her sister and brother in law. 

Ethnicity

All characters in the film are white so there is not a good representation of any other ethnicities than white people. However as there was a large range of white characters they were able to show that white people aren’t all the same so that was a positive of the representation.

Gender 

The film’s office setting demarcates strict gender roles with men leading the story and women gossiping, operating elevators and serving as sexual opportunities for men. One such opportunity happens to Fran daily when she is grabbed by a manager exiting the elevator. The Christmas party depicts a drunken bacchanal of women dancing for men and heterosexual couples making out everywhere once again only displaying the women as objects of sexual desires and not their own well developed characters. The film unsurprisingly does not pass the Bechdel test. 

Elf 

Class 

I think class is represented reasonably fairly as through Buddy’s exploration of NYC he meets people from a variety of different backgrounds. The film’s main focus is an upper class family but buddy also falls in love with Jovie who has a humble apartment and works in a department store. I also think that the film represented business men as also serious, unhappy, aggressive characters when in reality many businessmen are happy and fulfilled and so I don’t think this was a very good representation of real business men.  

Ethnicity

Ethnicity is not well represented in Elf in my opinion as there is only one POC in the entire film and he is an overweight black man who is a shop owner who gets angry very easily and initiates violence with Buddy quickly. This only further adds to the stereotype that black men are very aggressive when in reality many black men are calm, collected characters. 

Gender

Elf does not pass the Bechdel test as although there are 2 named female characters they do not ever have a conversation. However, I felt that some of these gender issues were just due to lack of characters required for the plot and able to be developed in such a short run time as the film focuses on the growing of their father and son relationship and everyone else is mainly fun side characters. I do feel that Jovie however the main female character was decently developed and given her own character arc where she goes from a moody shy department store worker to a fun loving optimistic mother. However this change was purely influenced by Buddy placing her into the princess role who needs a prince (buddy) to save her and I think it would have been much better representation if she made these changes herself but as this film focused on how Buddy influenced the world around him I can understand why this choice was made. I think the film represents men reasonably well also however they do rely on the stereotype of business men being aggressive reinforcing the negative stereotype of men not being able to control their anger.