The Affair: Heterosexual Scripts Reinforced By Differing Perspectives

I recently started watching a new show with my roommates on Showtime called The Affair. The plot plays out in hindsight as a detective interrogates the show’s two main characters, Ali and Noah. Each episode depicts a day in the past. As present day Noah and Ali are questioned about events in the past, audiences are first exposed to Noah’s interpretation of what happened on a particular day and then we see Ali’s interpretation of that exact same day. Needless to say, their memories of the same day are very different. Noah and his wife and children are staying at his very wealthy father-in-law’s home in the Hampton's for the summer and Ali is a waitress at a local restaurant and a Hampton’s native. As of the first two episodes, the affair between the two has not begun but it is evident that their relationship is headed in that direction. Below is one of Showtime’s sneak previews to illustrate how the narration works because it is really unique.

Kim’s research on heterosexual scripts came to my mind when comparing Noah and Ali’s version of the same exact night. In the first episode, we see Noah and Ali meet on the beach one night by chance. The first major difference I noticed was the way Ali’s appearance is portrayed to the audience. In Noah’s version, Ali is in a very tight and revealing white dress (to the right) as multiple camera shots zoom in on her rear and on her chest. She reaches down to wipe sand off her legs and reveals a shot of her butt as she is doing so. The straps on her dress continuously fall down. In other words, her appearance is very sexualized. In one scene where Ali is showing Noah her house, she appears completely naked as she proceeds to shower in front of Noah. In his version of the story, Ali is defined according to her appearance and how she is portrayed sexually, which reinforces the idea that men are supposed to objectify women and only value them in terms of their sexuality (Kim, 2007). Seeing how Ali is portrayed in Noah’s version, as a highly sexualized female, reinforces these heterosexual scripts especially when compared to how Ali is portrayed in her own version of the same scene.

In Ali’s version of that night on the beach, she is seen wearing a loose baggy sweater and a very unrevealing tank top and long jean shorts (seen to the right). She is not wearing nearly as much make up and her hair is pulled back in a more conservative style. Her appearance is not nearly as sexualized, suggesting that, as a woman, she does not view herself as outwardly sexually expressive being but as more passive and conservative.  In other words, Ali sees herself according to Kim’s “Good Girls Code” in which females are passive partners in sexual relationships and responsible for setting sexual limits (Kim, 2007). By dressing more conservatively and acting more timidly, Ali is both setting sexual limits and taking a more passive role by not being to forward or implying that she is looking for sex based on her clothing choices.

In addition to the differences in appearance reinforcing heterosexual scripts, the difference in dialogue between Noah and Ali in the two different versions of the night also reinforces this these heterosexual scripts. In Noah’s version of the night, Ali’s dialogue portrays her as alluding to wanting more from the night but never directly saying what she wants. For example she invites Noah inside and asks him if he wants to try out her outdoor shower. However, when he replies with, “I should probably go (home)” she simply responds with “So go”. She could come right out and say she wants him to stay but she ultimately she does not use direct and aggressive, assertive dialogue to express she wants him to stay. Instead, she continues in line with the female courting strategies and exploits her body to gain power by proceeding to strip naked in front of Noah and then shower in front of him before he ultimately leaves.

The dialogue in Ali’s version of the night goes quite differently as you can imagine. Instead of Ali inviting Noah in to try the outdoor shower, he invites himself in saying, “I have to try it out” and she passively agrees thus allowing him to initiate the relationship and make the first move. Noah aggressively suggests that the night should continue on whereas Ali’s dialogue, in her own version, sets sexual limits and portrays her as less sexually expressive.

Ali sees herself as more passive and conservative and less outwardly expressive of her sexuality. Noah sees Ali strictly in regards to her sexuality and values her mainly based on appearance. I think the presence of a male and a female’s perspective on the same day really emphasizes how we are encouraged to see ourselves in relation to how members of the opposite sex perceive us. It is interesting how the presence of these two differing and gender-based perspectives can both reinforce and challenge gender roles. For a more passive audience who is not watching critically and challenging the perceptions of the characters on the show, these portrayals might reinforce the heterosexual scripts that Kim discusses. But for the more active and critical viewer, the presence of the juxtaposing perspective might go beyond supporting the show’s mystery thriller plot and encourage viewers to challenge the way we define our roles in heterosexual relationships. 

                                                                  References 

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00223390701263660