2. Different social groups we have
represented
O In our production, we represented different social
groups. Different social groups are typically
separated into these categories:
O Gender
O Age
O Sexuality
O Ethnicity
O Regional/National Identity
O Ability/Disability
O Class & Status
3. Social groups we represented:
Gender
O Our detective in our film was male and this is
typical for this type of character. It shows that
males are the typically stronger of the two genders
and they have more power. Typically in murder
mystery films the detectives are male and this
could show that overall they have more dominance
and are mostly the main character in the film. We
have chosen a male to play our main character as
they typically show more bravery and a male
detective is much more conventional to murder
mystery.
4. Gender continued -
camerawork
O For the camerawork, we used several low angle
shots. Low angle shots are effective to use on the
powerful looking, male detective. We have chosen
to use this shot so the focus is on him and the
audience clearly know he is the main protagonist.
O We have also used an over the shoulder shot as
the detective is looking at the dead body so the
audience can see what the detective is seeing and
focus on the more important aspects of the scene.
5. Class and status
O In our film, the audience can tell that the detective
is middle or higher class. They can tell this
because of the car he arrives in and the way he is
dressed. Chances are he has a high paid job and
therefore he can afford a nice car and nice clothes.
A detective in murder mystery films are typically
well dressed and high paid so this is why we have
chosen to use this kind of stereotype. We have
tried to keep our film as conventional as possible
so by making an important convention as realistic
as possible we have successfully done this.
6. Class and status continued -
camerawork
O At the start of our film, we used several mid shots
and long shots that just focus on the detectives car
driving towards the location of our film. This is to
emphasise his importance in the scene and show
he is one of the main characters as it goes into
detail of him arriving. By using several mid shots
and long shots we have represented class and
status.
7. Age
O We have focused on age in our film by carefully
choosing what the main character (the detective)
looks like. We have portrayed him to come across
as a young, middle/higher class male. The reason
we have done this is because younger males
typically have more positive stereotypes than older
males or very young males. Some examples of
these stereotypes are brave, strong, determined
and courageous. It contrasts with the stereotypes
of older people; some examples of these are weak,
powerless and unimportant.
8. Age - camerawork
O For the camerawork to represent age, we used
several long shots and mid shots. We used close
up shots of the detectives face to show he is
young, charismatic male who is determined to
solve the mystery. We used low angle shots to
show that younger males typically have more
power than any other social group. Camerawork
was a key aspect in emphasising the age
representation.
