1. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My media product, RDO, represents:
• Males
• Females
• Different age groups
• Americans + Britons

2. Males
The two main characters in the opening of RDO are males. Post Apocalyptic genres often utilise males as their protagonists,
thus showing them as brave, determined, and rugged. My group wanted to conform to the genre as much as possible and
therefore tried to do the same.
The personalities of Robert and the survivor
are similar, this shot conveys the strength of
the survivor with the angle.
The protagonist of our film, played by Martin, who we
dubbed ‘the survivor’ represents men as quite rugged and
strong. His strength is represented by the fact that he shoots
someone. His bravery and ruggedness is hinted at by the
fact he is a ‘survivor’, so we know that he has been living a
dangerous life for some time. The mere fact he has a
firearm shows that he is durable and survivable, and
prepared to make hard choices. The fact we have a male as
the main character shows males as the dominant character.
The Survivor could compare to almost any male protagonist
in a post apocalyptic film, but mainly I think, to Robert
Neville in I Am Legend, as he is used to being alone and
cannot believe it when he is contacted via the walkie talkie.
The second male character is The Radio Host. He is seen as controlling and ruthless, with a dark sense of humour. In many
ways, he is like the other side of the coin to the protagonist. He shows the darker outcome of a character put into the post
apocalyptic scenario. He represents how males can be ruthless, deceptive and malicious. This shows a different kind of
strength and ruggedness. He has made it through the apocalypse with deception and cunning rather than physical qualities
or good will.
Overall, the male characters represent males as strong and formidable, despite differences in the way this is shown.

3. Females
Traditionally, females have been presented as feeble ‘damsels’ in need of a strong male saviour. However, more recently
films of all genre have had female characters who challenge this ideology, and often that of the male protagonist’s too. This
can be seen in The Book Of Eli.
RDO could be seen as showing females as the weaker race due to the fact that we have a male as the main character, and the
two males featured in the opening appear for longer and more frequently than the females. Therefore, RDO is representative
of more traditional films.
The ‘expendable character’, who gets shot by the protagonist says a
surprising amount for the representations of women. First of all, the fact
that she is still alive shows her to be a survivor, almost as much as the
males. However, the fact it is hinted that she is ‘infected’ shows she is
perhaps, weak and could not resist whatever infected her. This
represents women as not as strong as men. Furthermore, we show
females with the stereotypical mother factor. The fact that the
expendable character has a daughter highlights the differences between
men and women, and represents women as loving, caring, and
motherly. However, it could also be said that the absence of a dad from
the expendable character and the daughter’s family show that they were
more durable and resistant than males. Alternatively the father could
have simply left, which represents men as uncaring and selfish. Never
the less, the idea of the film was to have the protagonist caring for the
daughter after killing her parent, representing women as people who
need to be cared for.

4. Age Groups
RDO has 4 characters in the opening. Two 20/30 year olds, one eleven year old, and one 16 year old. Therefore, it represents
a variety of different age groups.
The eleven year old appears briefly in the opening and is hiding in the
woods. This represents young children as vulnerable, scared, and needing to
be cared for. I think this is an accurate representation of young kids.
However, often in films, the child does some heroic act of bravery which
surprises the adult who is caring for them. This often involves saving said
adult. Of course, we could not represent this element in our film as it is only
the beginning few minutes. The child could compare to the one in The Road
or After Earth.
The older pair represent an age which is between naivety and wisdom. They are streetwise but still do not always know what
to do. They are also able to fend for themselves. This is mainly represented in the protagonist. He is forced to kill and we see
that he is used to looting bags and bodies. But he also becomes confused and scared when he talks to the Radio Host. This
representation is also shown through their costumes, as they wear mature outfits, unlike the pink coat worn by Summer and
the nightgown worn by the radio host.
The Radio Host is played by Tom who was 16 when he played the role (Happy B-Day Tom for the 7th). The way he played
the role suggests that teenagers are troublesome, if not troubled and are unstable. The character also represents teenagers as
malicious and to have a dark sense of humour. This also suggests that The Radio Host had a difficult childhood and struggled
to make it through the apocalypse. We planned the character to be crazy because of his extreme loneliness, this conveys how
teenagers crave social interaction with others.

5. Americans and Britons
Most, if not all, post apocalyptic films are American. And many American films have British actors as bad guys (Star Trek:
Into Darkness, Batman Begins, X-Men, Star Wars). All the Characters in RDO are British, except for the radio host, though it
isn’t clear whether the character is just putting on an accent like Tom was. Tom’s portrayal represents Americans as crazy and
enforces the stereotype of the crazy hillbilly. This, in contrast, shows Britons to be sane and normal. The British countryside
is represented naturally through the forest setting. The Radio Host could be compared to Moriarty from the BBC's Sherlock,
The Joker from Batman, Golem from The Lord Of The Rings, and Radioman/Robert Darden from the game Spec Ops: The
Line

6. Conclusion
The main representations shown in RDO are that of age, gender, and nationality. Overall, I think
that it represents these in a positive light, challenging some stereotypes and conforming to others.