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Q.3 - SPY KIDS

Representations: Stereotypes

• Consider

·         Gender

·         Race and nationality

·         Spies

·         Family, love and marriage

Ingrid is constructed as both a stereotypical woman and an anti-stereotypical woman. At first she is constructed as a warm, loving, motherly figure who tells bedtime stories to her child. There is a soft, calming tone in her voice; naturally she is represented as the affectionate parent. Her face lights up with a glowing smile as she talks about her husband, Gregorio, in the story which displays that she has typically fallen in love with a man and emphasises her womanly instincts. This allows the audience to recognise that she is kind hearted and caring, like most mothers and wives towards their families.

However, Ingrid is also constructed as an anti-stereotype when we see her in the role of the spy. This shows she is not your average housewife, in fact her job requires a significant amount of skill and wit. Some of her spy-like attributes shine through at the wedding. Before the ceremony commences she is pacing nervously by a table which has a swan ice sculpture on it. Her nerves cause her to lash out with a killer spy move at the swan’s neck, hitting it perfectly. The neck shatters from the accuracy and strength in her quick chop at the ice. This allows the audience to recognise that she is dangerous and skilled even on her wedding day she is prepared, unlike every other wife-to-be.

Gregorio is constructed as the suave, smooth spy in his leather jacket, with his slicked back Latino hair and groomed moustache. We can identify he is foreign as he is a well-known Mexican actor. Foreigners are commonly positioned as the enemy as the audience relates to the side in which someone from their country comes from. For example, Ingrid is the American, this movie is American, and she is the good one. We later discover that Gregorio’s charm wins over Ingrid, which displays him as the stereotypical attractive foreigner who is tall, dark and handsome with the ability to woo women easily.