The television show
that I chose to analyze is “CSI: Crime Scene Investigations.” I chose
to analyze this particular show because the female characters are portrayed
in occupations that are somewhat gender atypical, yet the females are still
presented as being very feminine and in need of protection or saving.
The show takes place in a special investigative unit of the Las Vegas crime
lab. The characters are police officers with specialized training
in forensics and other sciences. When a crime is committed on the
show, the five main characters, three men and two women, are called in
to investigate with various types of sophisticated equipment. The
characters somehow always manage to crack the case in just short of an
hour, every time.
One of the characters
that I chose to focus on is Catherine, a female CSI officer. Catherine’s
occupation is gender atypical because she is not only a police officer,
which is somewhat rare for a female, but she is also part of a special
investigative unit. Aside from being a police officer, Catherine
is also a single mother. Catherine’s actions as a single mother are
not portrayed in a realistic manner, however, and her role as a mother
is not stereotypical. She is portrayed as being in the crime lab
and investigating cases all hours of the day and night, which would seem
unrealistic for a woman with a small child at home. Her ex-husband
does not have any responsibility for the child and the program never shows
the daughter, much less discusses who is caring for her while the mother
is working the long hours.
Therefore, Catherine’s character is portrayed as being superwoman at her
job who can investigate crimes at all hours without a care in the world.
Whereas, in the real world Catherine would have not only the burden of
being the breadwinner who is trying to support her daughter, but she would
also have the burden of caring for and nurturing her daughter as well.
In reality, it would be very difficult for a woman to work as much as Catherine
does and bear the responsibility of having a child.
The supervisor of the unit,
on the other hand, is a male character who has no family responsibilities.
This particular male character is also the one who seems to come up with
the right answer just in the nick of time at the end of each show.
The rational and aggressive male behavior clearly illustrates the point
that the male characters on the show have more power than the females.
Catherine’s character is never assigned to investigate the big cases alone.
She always has a male partner. The males on the show generally have
the honor of coming up with the essential piece of the puzzle, leaving
the females looking as though they only assisted the males in the bigger
task at hand. This illustrates the point that women are not capable
of solving crimes by themselves. The female characters are shown
as being weak and unable to come up with the essential information without
the help of their strong male counterparts.
Catherine and the other
female characters also seem to get stuck going out to investigate and collect
evidence when a crime is committed. This part of the job appears
to be the dirty work. Often the female characters are forced to take
samples from dead bodies, lift fingerprints, or to take part in various
other unpleasant tasks. The male characters, on the other hand, typically
do their work in the nice cushy environment of the lab. The show
generally depicts a sense of harmony between the male and female characters,
however, because a case needs to be solved and the investigators must work
together in order to get the job done. The female characters never
protest their situation of inferiority, rather they are portrayed as though
they are more than happy to do the dirty work and let their male counterparts
take all of the credit for solving the case. The deference to male
superiority again displays the point that the men on the show have more
power. The females seem to know their place and are depicted as being
submissive and accepting of their roles as assistants to the more important
male officers.
The male and female characters
are also presented as being very different on the show. The females
are depicted as being beautiful and glamorous, no matter what the situation.
The males, on the other hand, are displayed in a casual and comfortable
manner at all times. The male characters on the show typically have
casual, loose clothing on and they are usually wearing goggles or some
other type of protective gear. These items do not enhance the male
character’s looks in any way. The female officers, on the other hand,
always look attractive and made up.
On the most recent episode,
for example, Catherine and another female officer were out in the middle
of the night investigating a case where a body had been found in a deep
ditch on the side of the highway. The women both had on high heels
and dress suits. Neither of the women had a hair out of place and
both had make-up on, lipstick included. The male supervisor on the
scene, however, had on jeans and a sweatshirt. The fact that the
females were expected to be dressed to the hilt, regardless of what task
they were performing, proves that society holds men and women to different
standards. The show is clearly sending the message that women are
judged solely by the way they look and that the women are supposed to look
pretty no matter what. The male characters are not subjected to the
same rules of the game, however.
Another way that the show
depicts males and females as being different is by giving Catherine a shady
past. The program never shows the male characters in their home environment.
It never discusses the male character’s pasts or talks about their personal
lives. The female character’s lives, on the other hand, are hot topics
of discussion. On the episode that I chose to analyze, where the
female characters were investigating the body found in the ditch, there
was also a smaller plot that told the story of how Catherine became a CSI
agent. She had formerly been a stripper in a nightclub. A male
CSI officer, who frequented the nightclub, had befriended her and helped
her to get out of the nightclub and get a job as a CSI officer.
The story into Catherine’s background portrayed her as promiscuous and
seductive. It also showed her as being capable of supporting her
daughter only by using her body. This plot conveyed the message that,
because Catherine is a woman, she could not have possibly gotten a job
on her own, using her brain. It sent the message that she needed
a man to save her from her terrible life and lead her on the right path.
The story led the viewer to believe that Catherine would never have gotten
out of the strip club had a man not come along to take her away from that
life. Therefore, the show is sending the message that women are promiscuous
and devious and if left to their own devices will ultimately make bad choices
in life. However, if they have a rational and aggressive man to save
them from themselves, they will be successful.
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigations” is a television show that has many underlying
meanings and messages about gender and gender relations. The main
message behind the show appears to be that women can have the same careers
as men, they will simply be held to different standards. On the surface,
the show sends the message that it is acceptable for women to have the
same job as men because it portrays women in a gender atypical occupation
working beside their male counterparts. Beneath the surface, however,
there is a definite unequal balance of power. The female characters
are expected to be glamorous and beautiful despite being depicted in situations
that do not always call for glamour and beauty. The show is also
conveying the message that men are more rational and aggressive because
the male characters always solve the crime and are assigned to the better
job tasks. By dredging up Catherine’s past, the show is also sending
the message that women are in need of saving and, without men, they are
unable to make rational choices for themselves. Therefore, men and
women are held to different standards in society and although it may appear
that they have equal job positions, one need only look a little deeper
below the surface to see that is not necessarily the case.