Elizabeth Gender

Kapur’s 1998 film Elizabeth gives evidence to how composers use language to construct and perform masculine and feminine aspects of identity, investigating its contextual foundations by creating voices and characters to challenge language and gender codes. Language used in Elizabeth with double entendre and metaphor, combined with the language constraints of the films context, allows for the subtle challenging of established gender roles as a part of identity. Kapur also plays with film devices in a manner as to give depth to a scene and draw focus on constructed aspects of identity fuelled by the concept of gender in order to investigate it. His portrayal of the early life of Queen Elizabeth I manipulates the contextual language structure
Queen Mary addresses Norfolk and his men with “what news, my lords, of the rebellion against our authority” showing her acceptance of her role as a woman on the throne without contesting the patriarchal jurisdiction presiding over her reign as per the gender codes of the context of Elizabeth. Mary’s line, “you speak with such sincerity! I see you are still a consummate actress” subtly introduces the idea of gender being a learned aspect of identity instead of an inherent one, allowing gender to be seen as a performance. The high angle shot per Kapur’s film style, of Elizabeth isolated up on the red throne seemingly surrounded by men in an amphitheatric arrangement to address the Bishops visually underlines her vulnerability and the importance of the scene. Her speech is constructed to play upon contextual patriarchal attitudes and nationalism, “how can I force you Your Grace? I am a woman...” this placates the Bishops and she wins the vote for the Act of Uniformity at the same time realising her limitations of being a female in her society and her need to perform a role in a subversive manner. Her dance with the disgraced Lord Dudley is shown with an air completely different to the previous time they danced, juxtaposing the change in Elizabeth as she recognises the aspects of her identity that are markedly different from those of a male in the standards available to her. She says, “I will have one mistress here. And no master!” England is seen to be her mistress, foreshadowing her line, “I am married to England”. Kapur has constructed this aspect of her identity without capitulating on men. A close up shot of the cutting off of her hair, with her hair used in the film as an extended metaphor for Elizabeth’s need to forge her own identity whilst maintaining her integrity,