This is a Powerpoint about Representations.

1. Representations
By Jamie Beatty

2. About my chosen Genre
• My chosen Genre is a sub-genre of thriller, which is
spy thriller. Spy thriller films can contain drama or
humour. These films can be set either in wartime or
in present day. Also these types of films can either be
fact-based, serious or based on novels. In the real
world, spies don’t often want to be revealed, and
keep there identity secret, and this is normally used
in spy films to make the film more connected with
reality.

3. Thriller & Spy Thriller Movies
• For research purposes, I have watched and made
notes on types of characters which often appear
in these thriller and spy thriller movies. This will
help me when I come to decide on my film plot
and characters for my film.
• Skyfall – Spy Thriller
• Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol – Spy Thriller
• Lucy – Thriller
• Now you see me – Thriller

4. Thriller & Spy Thriller Movies
• Skyfall – This movie genre is a Spy Thriller, this is
the genre in which I will be focusing on. In this
film the hero and villains are played by male
actors. This is a typical stereotype in spy films as
male characters in films are seen as more
powerful and authoritative. Also a character with
a hidden past is being used which has been
applied to the villain and his hidden past is
revealed throughout the film. Lastly, in this film
an average character which is the police is used,
these characters had very little dialogue and were
often used in action scenes.

5. Character Types
• Protagonist – This character is often the hero and saves the day.
• Antagonist – This character is often the villain and wants to spread chaos.
• Damsel in Distress – This character is always played by a female, and is normally seen as attractive and
desirable.
• Prime Minister / President – This character often has a great mount of power and authority in the film,
however they play a minor part in the overall plot.
• Criminals – These characters are often working for the antagonist or that they are a minor part in the films
plot.
• Stalkers – These types of characters can be from a range of people, like the FBI, CIA, a drifter, etc. Also
these characters often reveal themselves at some point in the movie, where there side is shown the
audience.
• Assassins – This character is normally independent, but is hired by the antagonist to help kill someone.
• Innocent Victims – These are characters which often have no dialogue at all, and are normally the
character who are in danger from the antagonist.
• Characters with Hidden Pasts – These characters can end up either helping the protagonist or the
antagonist, also they are often out of place in the film.
• Terrorists – These characters are normally helping the antagonist, however they will often have very little
dialogue if not, none.
• Police – There are normally more than one of these characters, and have a minor role in the film’s plot.

6. Character Types
• Protagonist – Protagonist’s are the hero’s in spy thriller films,
however there is a stereotype for the hero characters which is all
the protagonists are often played by white male actors. An example
of this, is in the James Bond films, as the hero is always played by a
white male actor. Some example actors in James Bond are Sean
Connery, Pierce Brosnan and David Craig.
• Antagonist – Antagonists are the villains in spy thriller films,
however there is a stereotype for the villain character which is that
most antagonists are played by male actors. An example of this is in
Mission Impossible movies.
• Damsel in Distress – Damsels in Distress are normally saved by the
hero and for this character it is often portrayed as a stereotype as
the damsel in distress is played by a female actress and is seen as
attractive and desirable. This is shown is most James Bond films, as
the woman can not defend herself and is often saved by the hero.

7. Character Types
• Criminals – Criminal characters are normally mixed into the antagonist
character, as the villain has become evil because they have committed a crime,
however this is sometimes not the case as in James Bond films, criminals can
be working for the antagonist. Another example is in the spy comedy, Johnny
English, where the villain has hired a group of criminals to work for him as
bodyguards. However they are presented in a negative way as they have
unpleasant characteristics and there clothing is dark and dull, which
represents death.
• Assassins – These types of characters are often used in spy thrillers, as they
are normally hired by the antagonist in the film. An example of this is in
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. In this film the assassin is a woman, which
defeats the stereotype of women in spy thriller. This is because the female
character is often seen as vulnerable and unable to defend herself, whereas in
Mission Impossible the woman assassin is very independent and possesses
many skills and is seen as powerful. This character is a white female, who has
very expensive tastes in the film as she works for diamonds.

8. Research & Theories into
Representations
• The Final Girl Theory – This
theory was discovered by a
woman called Carol J Clover,
who studied horror and thriller
films and saw a pattern in
character types. However in
todays society the theory has
been stated obvious to most
people as many horror and
thriller films incorporate this.

9. Research & Theories into
Representations
• The Final Girl Theory – This theory is used in Thriller
and Horror films, which means that the woman or
the young girl in the film is often the last one alive or
present in the film who has to confront the villain,
who is normally a killer. Also the woman who is the
only one present, is often intelligent and resourceful
which shows how she is the last one who has
survived. Also this character is often a mix between
the damsel in distress and the hero, this helps
influence the audience to become sympathetic for
the woman.