The protagonist Jack is represented in a masculine and stereotypical way as a lower class drug dealer through his dark, baggy clothing and lonely living situation. Scenes show him preparing drugs for dealing in a precise manner that suggests he has been doing so for a long time, reinforcing the stereotype. Editing aspects like showing him sorting drugs and knowing where to go without directions further characterize him as a professional dealer.

1. How does your media product represent social groups?

2. Gender
• The protagonist, Jack in our production is
represented in a very masculine way. His
costume is dark baggy clothes. The fact that he
doesn’t look very smart might give off the
impression that he’s lazy and doesn’t care too
much about his appearance. This idea also fits
in with the stereotypical drug dealer. We see
him in this costume right at the beginning, so we
think this of him right from the start.
He appears to be physically tough, brave and rough. This is shown in the long shot of
him walking towards the bus stop, with his hood up and trackies on. The lighting creates
a tense atmosphere, and with the upbeat music playing through his headphones, and the
way that he is sitting there looking side to side, we are made to feel like he is doing
something he shouldn’t because he’s gone out in the dark, and is checking or waiting for
someone. This is shown in the long shot of him walking towards the bus stop, with his
hood up and trackies on. The lighting creates a tense atmosphere, and with the upbeat
music playing through his headphones, and the way that he is sitting there looking side
to side, we are made to feel like he is doing something he shouldn’t because he’s gone
out in the dark, and is checking or waiting for someone.

3. Class
• He is represented as a lower class
man, that drug deals, but to avoid the
stereotypical cliché we showed him in
a plain room, and we tried to make it
obvious that he lives in this room
alone. The shot of him sitting alone in
the room right at the beginning shows
this. It was hard to bring ourselves
away from this stereotype because of
the characters occupation, so we
added in the money on the walls, to
try show that he’s collected it. This
was to make you think that he is
thoughtful and does keep memorable
stuff.
The fact that he lives alone may make
people presume that he is either a nasty
man that doesn’t get along with any of his
family and is not able to have a girlfriend,
or that he’s lost his family or it could be
that he’s run away from something.
Because he lives on his own, people may
feel sympathy for him because he appears
lonely.

4. Editing
Aspects of editing has added to our
representation in the way that we have
incorporated drugs. This could either show
that he has an addiction himself or that he
is a dealer. In our production he is the
dealer, and the way that we have got shots
of him putting the powder in the bags, and
sorting out the pills shows that he is dealing
it. The way that the drugs are so sorted out,
and the way that he is so specific with the
bags of powder when put them in his
pockets, and the way he doesn’t hesitate
with his actions, may show that he’s been
doing this for a long time.
The use of ellipsis in our production
may also show his professionalism,
in the way that he knows exactly
where to go, he doesn’t ask for
directions on the phone either.