Representations of Gender: Divergent

The poster for the 2014, dystopian, sci-fi film Divergent shows clear representations of gender in many aspects. The main code being the fact that the female protagonist, Tris, is stood up almost towering over her instructor, Four, which largely contrasts to the beginning of the film where we see that she is one of the weakest in Dauntless. We can link this to Liesbet Van Zoomen's feminist theory, in which Tris is contributing to social change for women as she is represented in a non-traditional role and wants to be seen as a role model for women to show their dominance above men. We also see Tris looking over a future dystopian Chicago from a high building, with the sun shining on her; this highlights her dominance not just over men, but the whole city, which can be contrasted to mid 20th century film posters, where the men were commonly the protagonists and women were ‘side characters’ who were frequently sexualised.

Additionally, the written code of the slogan seen at the top of the poster, "what makes you different makes you dangerous", suggests that the "different" aspect is gender. Tris is presented a dangerous character in the poster and throughout the film and we can connote this through the clothing she is wearing, her body language and positioning on the poster. Her dark, 'spy-looking' clothing, specifically her worn in boots, creates the image that Tris is a character to be feared and afraid of. Her body language and the stance that she is holding shows that she is a dominant character who is above all others, specifically her instructor, Four.