Representation in Two Minds - evaluation

1. REPRESENTATION OF GENDER
ACROSS MY MULTI-MEDIA
MARKETING PACKAGE
By Jamie Robinson

2. How DidWe Represent the Female
GenderAcross our Multi-Media
Package?
• There is only one female character who appears in the
marketing campaign forTwo Minds.This character is our
femme fatale,Vanessa Warren. Ms.Warren, portrayed by
Catrina Edwards, appears in the trailer and the poster, however
not on the magazine cover.
• During the planning phase, Rory, Matt and I spent a long time
thinking how we would representVanessa, not only in the
trailer but the ancillary tasks also. He could either go down the
classic noir femme fatale route, in whichVanessa would be
entirely dominant and depend on her sexuality to dominate
male characters.Alternatively, we could take a more niche
approach and use Mrs. Mulwray (Chinatown – 1974) as a mold,
in which our femme fatale would appear controlling and
dominant at times, however would appear weak and
vulnerable at other points in the narrative.
• We opted to go down the second path, as it was more in line
with the themes of suspense and mystery, which are crucial to
the narrative ofTwo Minds.

3. Representation of Female Characters in theTrailer
• In the trailer forTwo Minds, the main element ofVanessaWarren’s character
that we wanted to convey to the audience was mystery.Therefore, the
representations we made were done to achieve this goal.
• Firstly, we wanted to represent our femme fatale as dominant.This was
important because a strong femme fatale is iconic of the noir genre, which
would make the genre of the trailer easily recognisable.
• We went about representingVanessa as dominant through shot types, which
includes framing and colours.Also, her dialogue highlights the dominant side
ofVanessa Warren. One shot highlights this very well…

5. • This shot was composed and shot with the express intention of representing
Ms. Warren as a dominant character.This shot conveys this in a number of
ways:
• The facial expression and body language of Detective Wells highlights the
dominance of our female character. He is looking down at his feet, which is
typical of someone who is nervous or worried.This contrasts withVanessa,
who is framed to the right ofWells, and is staring straight at him.This is
typically a sign or confidence and dominance, which are characteristics we
intended to convey to the audience.
• Also, the dialogue that runs over this shot is ofWarren orderingWells to
‘confess’.The fact this is an order highlights her dominance in the scene and
the fact she is hasWells under her control and ultimately demonstrates that
she is a powerful female character.

6. • We also wanted to representVanessaWarren as a
dark and mysterious character.This was mainly
done through careful shot selection and rigorous
planning.One shot in particular demonstrates the
darkness and mystery behind Ms.Warren.
• The shot on the right highlights the dark and evil
nature ofVanessa as the background is completely
black.The effect we aimed to achieve here is that
Warren had emerged from the darkness, or that she
is lurking in the shadows.This is also the
representation we aimed to portray on theTwo
Minds poster, which I will go into more detail on
later in the PowerPoint.
• This representation is supported by the fact the
narrative centers around the factVanessa was
serving prison time for murder, which is made clear
in the press conference at the beginning of the
trailer.

7. • Another way we attempted to present Ms.
Warren as a mysterious character is the fact the
audience only hears her speak once in the
trailer, and not until 58 seconds in. Even at the
beginning it is her lawyer speaking on her
behalf, however she is framed to the side of the
shot and remains silent.This idea was inspired
by Polanski's ‘Chinatown’, in which Mrs.
Mulwray says, ‘I don’t get dirty Mr. Gittes, my
lawyers do’.
• Representing Ms.Warren as a mysterious
character was crucial in our trailer because it is a
key aspect of the narrative and ultimately the
mystery posed by her character are never
resolved.
• However, this shot (left) opens up a completely
alternative range of representations of our
female character.

8. • The shot highlights that she relies on male characters for support.The shot
also picks up on the stereotype that lawyers are often men and that women
rely on their legal advice.This was done to portray the other side of the
enigma that is Ms.Warren’s character. I will now focus on the other side of
the character and how this was represented.

9. • We have presented Ms.Warren as a
vulnerable and powerless character, which
contrasts from other representations of her.
We presented her in this light through a few
shots as part of a montage, which are only on
screen for a couple of seconds, however the
iconography used makes it clear to the
audience thatVanessa is vulnerable and
powerless.
• For example, the shot on the right of a hand
which has been handcuffed.The handcuffs
symbolize powerlessness and vulnerability.
Therefore, this representation was made
through the use of iconography in certain
shots.We also chose to frame the shot like
this because it adds to the mystery theme
which is so vital in the narrative.The audience
cannot see a face, so this shot is left to their
subjective interpretation.

10. Representation ofWomen on theTwo Minds
Poster

11. • The fact that our femme fatale is not the main image, is framed to the side
and takes up less space on the cover than the protagonist simply highlights
the fact the audience follow Detective Wells.This is not really a matter of
representation, although if it was deeply analyzed it could suggest she is
less important than her male counterpart, however this is not an
interpretation we planned or intended to make.
• Also, on the poster, unlike many noir and neo-noir posters, we have not
sexualized our femme fatale.Therefore, Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory is not
applicable to theTwo Minds poster.The reason for this is that our femme
fatale exploits male characters through her intelligence and fantastic grasp
of the English language, rather than through her sexuality. We have not
used the poster to represent our female lead as a sexual object or a subject
of voyeurism.
• We intended to step away from some typical conventions of the neo-noir
genre, including the idea that the role of the femme fatale in the narrative
should be built on her sexuality.This is why we have avoided this
representation ofVanessaWarren.

12. How DidWe Represent the Male Gender
Across our Multi-Media Package?
• There are three male characters who appear throughout our multi-media package.They
are: DetectiveWells,Archibald Gates (lawyer) and the Boss.
• We focused more on the representation of Detective Wells as he is the main character in
the narrative and it is his journey the audience follows.We wanted to presentWells as a
character who is on a downwards spiral as the narrative progresses.This ties into mental
health and how we represented Wells and his mental state.
• We wanted to represent, Archibald Gates as a well-educated, calm and authoritative man.
We mainly achieved this through dialogue.AsWells only features once in the trailer and
does not appear on the poster or magazine cover, it was important to make a strong
representation in the limited time he has on screen.
• The Boss is the other male character and he appears on the poster and in the trailer.We
represented him as a character with power also someone who is very serious and has a
short fuse.
• We also made a representation of the male gender using our Sight and Sound magazine
cover, which features our male director, ‘CalvinGilbert’.We wanted to present our director
as authoritative, intelligent and creative.

13. Representation of DetectiveWells
• As previously mentioned, we wanted to represent Wells as a
character whose life and mental health were deteriorating.This
representation was made as it reflects the narrative and also makes
Wells appear weaker, thus more vulnerable to the manipulative side
ofVanessaWarren.
• To do this, we needed to present a phase of equilibrium (Todorov).
This meant thatWells had to be represented as a typical, hard-
working man, who is very similar to many male members of the
audience.This was done at the beginning of the trailer, whenWells
walks into his house, turns on theTV and is tracked into the kitchen.
The idea behind this was that our audience could relate to his routine
as it is probably similar to one they perform every day.This sets the
foundation ofWells’ character type and his journey throughout the
narrative.
• Once this representation of the Detective had been made clear to
the audience, we then had to begin to presentWells as a character in
decline, both mentally and emotionally.

14. • The main way that we representedWells as a character with deteriorating
mental health and someone who was becoming more vulnerable as the
narrative progressed was through shot composition and shot types.
Montage editing was particularly useful to represent our male lead in this
way because it allows for a number of fast shots, which all connote that
Wells is weak.
• As you can see on this slide, there is a shot of Wells drinking behind the
wheel, which is a common sign that someone is struggling mentally or
emotionally at a particular moment.We also used a snorri cam with the
contrasting red and blue lights shining on Wells face, which I believe gives
the effect that Wells is intoxicated, also the facial expression of our actor
helps convey this representation to the audience.There is another shot in
whichWells is sat on the floor with his head in his hands and illuminated
by a red light.Wells body language and the fact he is sat on the floor,
could be interpreted as Wells running into financial troubles and now
being forced to live on the street, which certainly adds the representation
that his life is on a downwards spiral.
• The fact all of these shots appear as part of a montage, means the
audience can use all the shots they have been shown over around a 1o
second period, and draw a conclusion that Wells is a more vulnerable and
a weaker character than he was at the beginning of the trailer.This means
our representation was strong and effective, because the audience has
interpreted it as we intended.

15. • Detective Wells was also represented as a
powerful and dominant character.This
contrasts the deteriorating mental state he
enters mid-way through the narrative.
• One way we did this was via a fight scene, in
which Detective Wells manages to fend off
and arrest a criminal.This is a clear sign of his
physical power, which connotes dominance
and authority.
• The last shot in the trailer is ofWells
approaching an abandoned barn, with the
voiceover, ‘it’s time to set this straight’.The
combination of the foreboding voiceover and
the factWells is wielding a weapon represents
our protagonist as an intimidating character,
who more so fits the stereotypical role of a
male character in a noir film.Therefore, this
representation ofWells would be criticized as
narcissistic by Laura Mulvey, because a male
audience will gain pleasure from seeing
another man in powerful positions.

16. • On theTwo Minds poster, we chose to focus on the
more dominant and powerful representation of
Detective Wells. We chose to represent him in this
light because it is more common in film poster. In my
research, I saw very few noir or neo-noir posters, on
which the male lead was presented as feeble or weak
to the audience.
• We represented the male gender as powerful on the
poster by framingWells in center frame, this
highlights his importance in the narrative.The same
principle applies to the fact he is the largest element
of the poster.
• Also, the image was shot with our actor holding a gun
in his right hand. A person with a gun is
stereotypically powerful, ruthless and dominant.
These were all things we wanted the audience to pick
up on when they saw the gun. Also, a gun
‘masculinizes’ a character, thus they are represented
as dominant.
• We also believed that it was important to get across
to the audience the fact Detective Wells is a detective
and not simply a common criminal. Mise-en-scene
helped us achieve this representation as we dressed
our actor in a shirt and tie, which is typical of a
detective or other government employed agent. We
appropriated (Jenkins) this idea from James Bond
posters, where 007 is almost always seen in a suit.

17. Representation of
Gender in our
Magazine Cover

18. • Our Sight and Sound magazine cover consists of our male director in a close-up who is
framed centrally and is the only image on the cover.We chose to have a male director, not
to contribute towards the moral panic surrounding the role of women in Hollywood at the
moment, but simply because we believed that a man with a beard would make the cover
more interesting and give the image more texture. I highlight this as it made be argued that
we are representing men as better directors than women, however this is not the case and
certainly was not intended. In fact, if you look at the cover lines at the bottom of our poster,
you will see the magazine also focuses on ‘Maria Bekir’, a famous actress, who plays the
lead role in ‘Voices’.As well as an interview with Sandra Jackson, who is a world-famous
director.Whilst we made both of these ladies up, it highlights that we are representing
females in the movie industry on the same level as males performing the same roles, be it
acting or directing.
• We have however represented our director as a creative and intelligent man.We believed
that the director (AndrewWills) running his fingers through his beard, makes him appear
thoughtful, artistic and intelligent.

19. The Role of RepresentationTheory inTwo Minds
• When making representations of any character on any media platform I
found that using different theories surrounding the concept of
representation aided my groups representations and generally
strengthened our marketing campaign.Through my research, as well as
studying for my A2 Media exam, I have a solid understanding or the theories
behind representation, many of which can be applied to theTwo Minds
marketing campaign.
• An advanced definition of representation is that it is the process by which
media texts re-present reality through a process of selection and ordering
within generic, technological and institutional conventions.
• ‘Selection and ordering’ was something I took on board and something I
highlighted to my production group.The result is that in characters such as
the boss, we have selected to place the most emphasis on the harsher side
of his personality in the trailer, as it is important in driving the narrative
forwards.

20. Pluralism - Szymanski
• Szymanski’s theory of pluralism was very useful to me and my group as it informed
us that we could represent individual characters in a number of different ways.This
was crucial as using multiple representations of an individual character was key in
driving the narrative ofTwo Minds forwards.
• The theory of pluralism states that every group has more than one representation
and that these representations are simply reflections of reality. Szymanski argued
that the medias popularity derives from interaction among societies constituent
groups, to which the audience belongs.The media are internally democratic, they
accurately reflect their audience’s interests and views.
• The fact a group can have more than one representation benefitted my production
group as it means that there are many different options to explore regarding the
way certain individuals or groups are represented.Therefore, we are able to
represent our characters and locations in a number of ways, which makes the
trailer more interesting and enticing to the audience.

21. • An example of how our group, as a result of my research, used the
concept of pluralism is the way Detective Wells in represented in
both the poster and the trailer.We have taken two opposite
representations of a male character, and used them both to
represent Wells.
• One representation ofWells is a strong, dominant and powerful
man who used fighting and violence to achieve his goals.This
representation can be seen on the poster, where Wells is framed
centrally in a mid-shot holding a pistol.This side ofWells is also
presented at points in the trailer, for example whenWells is
wielding a baseball bat in two of the shots, or the fight scene in
which he fends off and arrests a criminal with ease. I suppose this
is a more stereotypical representation of a male character as
Wells has been put through ‘masculinization’, meaning his more
dominant and powerful traits have been emphasized and
increased.
• Conversely,Wells has also been represented as a weak and more
vulnerable character who is simply a puppet to a more dominant
female.This is very evident in the trailer when, as part of a
montage sequence, a snorri cam is used to highlight the factWells
is intoxicated and also through a shot ofWells sitting on the floor
with his head in his hands.
• If I was not aware of the theory of pluralism, we would not have
represented our characters in a plethora of different ways as it is
atypical of neo-noir. However, with Szymanski’s theory as support
for the use of multiple representations, I was much more
confident with using various representations.

22. Chandler – RepresentationTheory
• Another theory that came to mind, especially when planning how we would represent
VanessaWarren, was that Chandler argued every representation is motivated and
historically contingent.Chandler is essentially arguing that all texts and characters are
constructed representations based on reality.
• This is highlighted by the fact the role of the femme fatale has changed from the classic
noirs of the 1940’s to the more modern femme fatales in today’s society in the neo-noir
genre.
• This was something I was keen to reflect, especially as the night before Matt, Rory and I sat
down to discuss how we would represent our femme fatale, OprahWinfrey gave her
powerful speech at the 2018 Golden Globes. I believed this speech reflected a shift in the
views of society towards women in Hollywood, at the very least Oprah drew enormous
attention to the issue.
• I was therefore keen to present a femme fatale who reflects a liberal modern society and is
not simply characterized by her sexuality.This representation may have been a reflection of
society in the 1940s and 50s, however in today’s society a femme fatale defined by her
sexuality would be considered outdated.

23. • I therefore pushed the idea of a femme fatale not
characterized by her sexuality but her intelligence and
dominant use of language. Although this is not a typical
representation of a femme fatale, my group agreed and
we went about planning how this would be done.
• One shot is crucial in highlighting how Ms.Warren is
dominant due to her language and not her sexuality. In
this shot she leans intoWells’ ear and orders him to
‘confess’.
• Also, the factVanessa is not sexualized on the poster
highlights the niche representation we opted to push
forwards.
• Overall, I believe it was quite a risk using Chandler’s
theory and going against typical noir conventions to
represent our femme fatale in the way we did. However,
I believe it makesTwo Minds unique and as Stephen
Neale says, ‘difference is crucial to the economy of
genre’.

24. Conclusion
• Overall, I identified early on in the
production ofTwo Minds that it
must be made clear that our
magazine cover, trailer and poster
are all linked and clearly part of
the same marketing campaign.
• We did this through including the
same characters, representing
similar themes across each text
and ensuring the colours red and
blue were prominent throughout
the multi-media package.
• Representation was crucial in
ensuring this because the same
traits of a character need to be
portrayed across each media text
so that the audience becomes
familiar with or interested in the
character and are therefore more
likely to watchTwo Minds.