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clearly hegemonic values reinforce the notions of masculinity that are prevalent in the format of the show itself.
James the fall guy If Clarkson and Hammond are the two battling
alpha males, then James May is the mediator between the two. Although pilloried as ‘the new boy,’ it is now difficult to imagine what the show would be like without his influence. Nicknamed ‘Captain Slow’ by Clarkson, May is represented as methodical, sensible, a bit of a throwback, and until very recently, homosexual. This representation acts as a good foil
to Clarkson’s bluster and Hammond’s hot headedness, and has in some way contributed to May’s success in other presenting arenas. He has arguably had the most success of the three with credible independent projects, fronting the hugely popular Big Wine Adventures with Oz Clarke, and branching out alone with 20th Century and Big Ideas, both in conjunction with the Open University. These have served to cement his image as the ‘sensible’ one of the three presenters; an image that is by turns promoted and subverted by Top Gear. Indeed, in response to Oz Clarke in the first series of their
Wine Adventure, he admits himself he doesn’t ‘fit in with the petrolhead gang’ of Clarkson and Hammond, a comment that is surely intended to suggest and underline his separateness from the other two members of the Top Gear Trio. May is often the butt of jokes about his hair,
his sexuality, his driving and his dress sense. These can be interpreted as typical reactions by battling alpha males Clarkson and Hammond to reinforce gender stereotypes and draw attention to May’s separateness from dominant hegemonic male values. However, it is clear that much of this is a construct intended to cause conflict in the narrative of the text. An example of this is the placing of the rainbow flag, a well- known symbol of Gay Pride, next to May’s name on the rally car during the Silverstone 24-hour endurance race. May is clearly complicit in this kind of representation, and does not pass comment on the fact that the Union Jack is next to both Hammond and Clarkson’s names while the rainbow flag is next to his.
Male bonding This separation is typical but also subverted
by the emotional responses that the trio shares during the very difficult moments in the 24-hour
english and media centre | December 2009 | MediaMagazine 37
race. The angled mid-shot of May dipping his head in utter defeat after Hammond has spun off the track is brief, but illustrates clearly the emotional weight of the incident. There is no non-diegetic sound, merely the dialogue, bridged from the previous mid-shot of Richard Hammond behind the wheel of the battered BMW saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ This shot, constructed for maximum emotional impact, reinforces the camaraderie, a typically male trait, between the three presenters, but also subverts the notion of ‘the lone hero’ as all three are shown to be reliant on the support of each other. Similarly, Jeremy Clarkson breaks down in tears
at the end of the race, which could be perceived as a feminine response to stress, subverting his alpha male onscreen persona. The fact that this sequence remains in the final cut of the episode suggests at least a passing nod to the female audience, who, in terms of hegemony, will respond to the emotional impact of a scene like this. In addition, the representation of James May as
‘Captain Slow’ and apparently less masculine than his co-presenters is often subverted. A notable example of this is when May takes the Bugatti Veyron to its top speed around a German test track. This is greeted with good humour by his co-presenters; Clarkson makes the typically male gesture of support by clapping his hand heartily on May’s shoulder after the VT has run and the camera returns to the studio, and the editing of the sequence itself does a great deal to reinforce the masculinity of this particular act.
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