Shameless- Regional identity and sexuality.

As a class we discussed the stereotypes of sexuality.


Straight- Insensitive, drinks beer, unhealthy, loves boobs, reads lads magazines, metrosexual (looks after their appearance)
Gay-  Camp, mincing walk, limp wristed, muscular, loud, flamboyant. 


We then went on to share our ideas on the stereotypes of regional identity;


North- Poor,butch/masculine, more old fashioned, accents, farms and countryside, uneducated, drinkers, gravy, fighting, manual labour jobs, high crime rate and naturally witty. 
South- Camp/feminine, busier lifestyle, more up-to-date, the 'Essex' stereotype, boats, wealthy, high disposable income, tourists.




We then started watching season 1 episode 1 of Shameless, as it starts it is being narrated by Frank Gallagher ( the dad of the family) he then introduces the rest of his family Lip, Ian, Fiona, Carl, Debbie and his youngest Liam. 
Lip and his brother are very different when it comes to their sexuality. Lip comes across as a typical straight teenager, he is interested in girls and has a very cheeky attitude towards people- this is typical of a teenager. In this episode it shows Lip having a sexual encounter with a girl which is normal of a teenager and  backs up the thoughts that he is straight.
We then get introduced to Ian, Lip's brother he is the opposite of Lip, coming across to be very quiet and shy this is not stereotypical of a gay person as they are usually more loud and flamboyant. while hiding something behind some drawers Lip finds Ian's stash of porn, when he opens it he finds that it is of men rather than women, confirming to Lip that Ian is gay. When Lip confronts Ian about what he has found Ian starts crying, this is stereotypically what someone that is gay would do. 
In the next scene we get introduced to Fiona, the eldest of Frank Gallagher's children. Right from the start of the scene it is clear that Fiona is also straight. When you see he clubbing with her friend she is  enjoying herself and flirting with lots of men. In this episode we see Fiona having a sexual encounter with a man called Steve. Steve is also straight but comes across to be metrosexual as it is obvious he takes pride and time on his appearance, this is shown as he is dressed smartly in a suit and shirt. 


The next thing we focused on was regional identity. The whole of the Gallagher family are northerners whereas Steve is a southerner. in the programme Steve seems to stand out as he is the only character from the south. The Gallagher family are struggling for money, naturally witty, are big drinkers and have strong northern accents, these are all stereotypical attributes of  northerners. Whereas, Steve seems to be a stereotypical southerner, he has a lot of money and looks like he has a lot of disposable income to spend on going out and buying clothes to make himself look presentable, Steve's accent makes him sound more upper class that the Gallagher family, making him stand out even more from them.  


The Mise en Scene used in this episode is a stereotypical council estate set in Manchester called 'The Chatsworth Estate' this automatically gives you the impression that the Gallagher family are struggling for money and live in a poor area up north. The area is covered in spay paint and graffiti giving the impression that the estate is quite rough, and it typically may be safer in the south rather than the north. When Steve and Fiona are kissing in the kitchen there is the tweeting of birds in the background, this is used to set the atmosphere.  Intertextuality is also used at the start when you see Debbie holding a rolling pin and knife in each hand, this is taken from the film 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' .