Representation in Charmed (P5)

GENDER

In Charmed, women are often shown to be powerful and independent, and not reliant on men, the women shown on Charmed are often, but not always powerful witches, or demons, the Halliwell sisters on whom the show focuses, are not only powerful witches, but are also portrayed as strong career women, with all four having well payed and respected jobs, in which they are all successful, however, although all are shown to have successful jobs, three of them are jobs we would stereotypically associate with women, Prudence is an auctioneer, Phoebe is an advice columnist for a newspaper, and Paige is a social worker, Piper however breaks this stereotype and owns a successful nightclub in the centre of San Francisco, Piper is also a mother of two, and is shown to be busy all the time with managing the club and looking after her two small children, that in the last series of Charmed are often said to be at they're grandfather house. Men in Charmed are shown in many different ways, some are shown as honest and nice people, for example Leo, Pipers husband was once a "whitelighter" a kind of Guardian angel, and had given up his powers to be with his family, many men involved with the sisters are often portrayed as innocent, however most of the demons in Charmed are men, and are shown to be very evil, much like Cole, Phoebes ex-husband who was a high level and later turned into the source of all evil, and impregnated Phoebe with a demon baby.

ETHNICITY&RELIGION

Within Charmed ethnic diversity is not well represented, although being set in San Francisco, a very diverse city, there is only very few black, or not white characters in Charmed, many of them being demons. Although religion is not something often brought up or mentioned in Charmed, we know that the sisters are spiritual and not religious, although religion is not represented in Charmed we do encounter a lot of characters inspired by real life religion, mostly Christianity, for example, the Angel of Death, the Angel of Destiny, and the Source, a representation of the Devil. However in one episode Piper and Leo are possessed by two Hindu gods, the only mention of any religion other than hints towards Christianity.

FAMILY VALUES

Family is a strong theme throughout all 8 seasons of Charmed, with the show focusing on the three Halliwell sisters, other family members are recurring characters throughout the seasons also, been shown as both alive and as spirits. Family loss and sibling problems are also common themes in Charmed, the loss of Prue, and the finding of Paige shows the strength of the family and how they deal with grief and with the discovery of their long lost sister, with the finding of Paige also comes the problem of Paige dealing with the grief of her adoptive parents death, and how she blames her self and how she is able to cope, deal and move on with these feelings. Family is a large part of Charmed and many issues are brought up including divorce, death, grieving. Charmed shows a family that is broken and hit with tragedy on a regular basis but one that is still strong and supportive, it is a portrait of a non-nuclear family that as not been affected by their circumstances.

SOCIAL STANDING

Charmed shows a lack of social diversity, with everyone in the series is shown as been comfortable or well off at least, none of the characters are portrayed as struggling for money, or in a desperate situation, many of the settings, including the sisters cavernous family home are shown to be quite decadent and large. For example, Coles apartment is a penthouse with large windows showing a view of San Francisco, and Phoebes "condo" that she buys seemingly on a whim is large and decorated with tasteful artwork and chic furniture.

OVERALL REPRESENTATIONS 

Overall Charmed as a whole shows an outstanding lack of representation for ethnic groups, the disabled, those of low social standing and those of different regional or national identities, Charmed has a WASPish theme running throughout its characters with almost all being white middle class people, with well payed jobs and a house or apartment that seems to be nicely decorated and never looking scruffy or unkempt. We also do not see any unkempt or unsavoury looking people on Charmed as characters with all being seen as done up and dressed well all the time.

IMACT AND EFFECT

ETHNICITY AND RELIGION- The ethnic and religious diversity in Charmed is lacking greatly, this could mean that viewers of Charmed who are not white may feel left out, or invisible to society, although there is no active racism, there are very few black or mixed race characters.

FAMILY VALUES- Family is a strong theme throughout Charmed and various themes are explored such as, abuse, adoption, miscarriages and failed marriages, the way family is portrayed in Charmed is realistic and does not set standards that could not be met by the viewers, however Charmed portrayal of family could also influence younger viewers and normalise some actions that, if carried out in real life could be dangerous and fatal.

SOCIAL STANDING- The vast majority of characters in Charmed are shown to be well-off, or at least very comfortable, and having well payed, often high powered jobs, there is no representation of the poor, or less well-off in Charmed, this could alienate some viewers, as essentially they are watching a group of people achieving things they could never do, however this may also draw in viewers from the lower rungs of society, many watch tv as a from of escapism, and seeing how the other half live is one aspect of this, and this is what charmed shows.

ROLE MODELS

The main characters in Charmed could be seen as role models, they are shown to be upstanding citizens  who would willingly help anyone who may need it, they are also shown as strong, independent career women, this would set a good example to young girls who may be aspiring to follow in their footsteps, however many f their actions are extremely violent, and they are responsible for hundreds of deaths, the sisters have bon up apartments, restrained people in a forceful way, beaten up, set fire to and stabbed multiple people, so in this sense they are not good role models, for young girls, or older women. However over all, all of the violent actions carried out are a means to and end, the end being a peaceful world, so the role models presented in Charmed are a good example to follow, so long as their actions are not taken to literally.