Question 2

How does you r media product represent particular social groups?

Explain the main characters in you film. Describe the representations of the characters and explain why you included them in your thriller film.

 

In my opening sequence there are two main characters. Cathryn who is the victim and the antagonist who is unnamed to make him mysterious. There are also two girls within the film who play the part of Cathryns friends at the beginning. By having two main characters which are in conflict it shows the that they need to be focused on. These two characters are the stereotypical victim and antagonist that thrillers almost always have. The audience can relate to this and even choose who they want to support. Most people are against the antagonist and therefore support the victim. Cathryn, the victim in my film, is vulnerable and therefore makes the  audience want to help her, forcing them against the antagonist. This furthermore engages then into the film. The relationship between Cathryn and her friends shows the audience their normal life and how innocent they are, also shown by their costumes which consist of pale clothing. This friendship is self explanatory and lets the audience relate to the girls as they may have had friendships like this in their life and understand it. The audience can see that the girls are close by the way they are talking to each other and their body language as they say goodbye.

Is gender represented in a stereotypical way?

The gender representation in our film is stereotypical. The antagonist is male which is conventional because they are the dominant gender in society, it is widely believed that men are stronger than women. This demonstrates that he is at an advantage over the female victim character who is Cathryn. In our product Cathryn is seen as the weaker character as she runs away in panic from our antagonist, showing her as scared  and resulting in her being the stereotypical female. In our film the victim is a young female aged 16, this is also a stereotypical convention because women are often seen as the weaker gender who are controlled by men. This representation shows Cathryn's innocence and vulnerability due to her age. We can see this in my groups work through her costume, her clothes are pale and light which connotes purity and weakness.  Both the main characters have stereotypical representations which means the audience expect to see characters like them in the narrative. The antagonist in our product is represented as strong, evil and mentally unstable this is all shown through micro elements which show his personality and image. The victim is represented as innocent, weak and vulnerable which is also shown through the use of micro elements. The image she is given makes the audience able to relate to her and build a relationship with her for the rest of the sequence and maybe the rest of the film. Having stereotypical characters appeals to the audience because they can relate and immediately understand the contrast between them. Also they can see who is dominant and who is subordinate.

Explain how the characters would appeal to you audience.

 The target audience my group and I have chosen is 15+. We believe that this is the appropriate age at which the audience can start viewing. This audience are able to relate to the characters within our opening sequence as one of the them could be around their age whether it is Cathryn or the antagonist. Also they will be able to understand the narrative and have an idea of the future of the film, their foreshadowing skills will allow them to become hooked when watching and they will want to find out the outcome.