IO script

This is my individual oral for English language and literature. My IO focuses on the global
issue concerning the detrimental impact of male gender roles and restrictions within society
on the wellbeing of men and their families. Due to unhealthy gender restrictions in society,
gender equality and basic human rights have been impacted severely therefore creating a
toxic living environment. Men and women across the globe are treated unfairly due to their
actions and opinions concerning societies defined gender specific aspects of life which is
impacting the wellbeing of many in a negative way. Gender stereotypes are always prevalent
within society although I feel like the focus is predominantly on women as the victims. It is
obvious to me however that men are also victims to stereotypes and restrictions within
society and the extracts I have chosen, reflect this. My literary text, A doll’s house by Henrick
Ibsen is a play based in Victorian times portraying the marriage of characters Nora and
Torvald Helmer and the issues that arise due to the strict gender roles within the society
they live in. Nora particularly is portrayed to be controlled by Torvald as though she is a Doll
and the play eventually portrays her leap of faith and break from societal restraints, all at the
same time depicting a broken and lost Torvald who continues to conform to society
unknowingly. Due to the societal restrictions of the time, Ibsen created big controversy for
challenging the norms of society. The extract I have chosen is the very last scene of the play
which portrays the weakness and naiveness of Torvald as he realises his world has been
turned upside down as Nora walks out on everyone never to look back. As Torvald has been
so focused on money and reputation as his role in society demands of him, he has been
unable to make intimate connections with his family which has ultimately left him in a
vulnerable, confused and lost state. Henrick Ibsen challenges the norms of the society of the
time by initially portraying the main characters to abide by their gender roles until the end of
the play where everything falls apart and the characters are depicted to break free. This
depiction, particularly in the character of Torvald portrays the divide and issues created by a
strict gender role focused society and the constant drive for respectable reputation.

In A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays the male gender restrictions of the time through
characterisation of males and their focus on money and reputation throughout the play.
Torvald and Krogstad are men who are clearly focused on earning money and gaining
powerful positions. Specifically, Torvald represents social stasis as he deals with the money,
everyone is financially dependent on him and he owns the land in which the action takes
place. In most cases, Torvald is seen as the evil character however it is easy to forget that he
is not aware of any of the damage he is causing. An example of this is seen in the quote “Yes
it’s a wonderful thing to know that one’s position is assured and that one has an ample
income”. This response is particularly controversial as he does not acknowledge his children
or family when conversing about how wonderful Christmas will be, infact it does not cross
his mind at all. Torvald is characterised as ignorant towards his family and other matters in
his life other than his work. Ultimately this is detrimental to Torvald as he ends up in shock
when he realises that he had no awareness that there was anything wrong with the status
balance in his relationship. In this respect Torvald is seen as as much as a doll as Nora
because he plays the men’s role in society and cannot handle the reality of the world they
are living in.

This study source was downloaded by 100000862848704 from CourseHero.com on 07-27-2023 07:25:21 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/97591179/IO-scriptdocx/
 In the extract I have chosen, Torvalds behaviour is unquestionably weak and vain. Ibsen
portrays role reversal at the end of the play which confuses Torvald to a point where he feels
lost and stripped of his power. Role reversal is created through portraying Nora as the
dominant character, making the decisions and ultimately in control of what is happening.
Nora claims, “now it is all over” and asks for the marriage rings back creating a sense of
finality and power to Nora’s character. Therefore, Torvald is left exposed pleading “all over!
All over! - Nora shall you never think of me again?”. Throughout the play Torvald has been
portrayed as the perfect example of Hegemonic Masculinity, feeding off the weakness of
Nora to assert his power. Now the roles have been reversed and Torvald is in weak disbelief
as Nora is in control of the situation. Not only are roles being reversed but Torvalds role in
society as a husband and family man is taken away from him as Nora calls him a “stranger”,
cutting him off completely and relieving him of all the power he has over his reputation and
role within society. Finally, the symbolism of the door “slamming” as the final moment of the
play is used by Ibsen to symbolise the end of role playing. As doors are the only way in or out
of a situation or setting within the play, this signifies for Torvald how he is still stuck in a doll
world of gender restrictions and stereotypes due to his naïve attitude and refusal to see the
world in any other manner.

My non-literary extract comes from the 2010 dove men+care campaign which aims to break
down and reconstruct societies views on masculinity. Dove aims to portray a new realistic
expectation that diminishes gender stereotypes and allows men to relate to the portrayed
masculinity and feel comfortable and confident doing what they enjoy no matter societies
views. The image I have chosen portrays a man using an oven with the words “real men
operate complex machinery”. The image portrays to the male audience that it is acceptable
to do activities that are stereotypically a women’s activity. The ad appeals to the male
audience but also breaks down the divides allowing men to feel comfortable doing what
they enjoy. Both a Dolls house and the men+care campaign acknowledge the global issue at
hand as both confront societies strict gender roles in order to challenge and question there
effect on the life decisions and day to day lives that men live. Both pieces are orientated
around mens roles in family life as the extent to which a male is involved in his families
activities and helping out his family rather than working and earning money is often
questioned and seen as the less masculine thing to do. A dolls house portrays the effects
that this mentality and bid for a masculine reputation can negatively have on the dynamics
within a household whereas the dove men+care campaign attempts to restructure societies
idea of masculine roles within society as advertising the more family orientated activities
often seen as feminine in a masculine way in a bid to make the audience understand that it
is acceptable. The dove real men campaign ultimately aims to allow men to feel free to
choose the way they live their life without the judgement of society.

A common technique used throughout the campaign is the use of an overall masculine mask
in the ads. Stylistic techniques such as colour and the visual models in the advertisements
are combined together to mask the meaning of the ad and soften the blow of the message
to society. Navy blue and metallic colours are common amongst the campaign images which
are perceived stereotypically as masculine colours by society. The male models in the images
tend to have facial hair and have the gender typical masculine build as to conform to the
idealistic male standards set by the audience themselves and the society. These techniques
combined appeal to the male audience in order to achieve attention and create a sense of

This study source was downloaded by 100000862848704 from CourseHero.com on 07-27-2023 07:25:21 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/97591179/IO-scriptdocx/
 masculinity to relate to. You could say the choice of technique was to fight fire with fire, as
although conforming to societies expectations, the message portrayed is the complete
opposite which in turn breaks the divide between female and male gender roles in societies.

In the particular ad I have chosen, dove portray role reversal through the image of a man in
an apron using an oven. By using an image of a man partaking in an activity predominantly
seen as feminine emphasises to the audience that they should feel comfortable doing
whatever they enjoy without feeling the pressure to conform to societal standards. The idea
that men are restricted to only do manly activities has been seen to negatively affect men’s
mental health and wellbeing and dove is acknowledging this issue through a bid to
normalise role reversal in order for everyone to feel comfortable being themselves.
The diction used “real men operate complex machinery” portrays to the audience a cross
over in gender stereotypes through the use of strong and confident language and in a way
masks a feminine activity with masculine meaning and relation. It allows the meaning of the
ad to conform to male gender stereotypes in society in order for to masculinise the message
to be accepted. This appeals to the male audience as well as proving gender restrictions are
not exclusive.

To conclude, We live in a more diverse world now more than ever however, gender roles and
restrictions are still prevalent in our society in similar ways as how they used to be many
years ago and still have the ability to dictate our decisions and ultimately define us as
people. The restriction implemented by the societal norms impact many male’s quality of life
to this day. The texts I have chosen, portray the realities of these restrictions on males
through techniques such as role reversal, visual imagery, diction and adhering to
stereotypical standards. Both extracts confront the global issue in different ways as Ibsen’s
early A doll’s house is a confrontational piece of work which creates context to the
stereotypes we live by in modern society as well as bring light to the issue and problems
formed by the urge to conform to a strict society for your own good. However, the Dove
campaign uses a subtle and conforming approach to the global issue in a way which does
not attract controversy and combines the stereotypical gender defining aspects together to
create one ad that blurs the line between genders in society portraying the message that
masculinity comes in all shapes and forms and men should not feel pressured to change
their way of life to fit a standard

This study source was downloaded by 100000862848704 from CourseHero.com on 07-27-2023 07:25:21 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/97591179/IO-scriptdocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)