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How a media product represents social groups through characters
- 1. “How does your media product represent particular social groups?” EVALUATION Q.2 - REPRESENTATIONS
- 2. • This the first character we are introduced to, and is seemingly the protagonist. Her role is to give the audience someone to connect with and stay interested in as the story is set up. • She’s a stereotypical 17 year old female, as denoted through her long hair (a typical style for the average teenage female,) the style of her clothes being average running gear, and her use of earphones (a common decision to listen to music while running.) • While initially I had intended to portray this character as a “Scream Queen” (attractive young damsels-in-distress, who’re usually screaming, crying, and sexualized) typical of the genre, I realised that by presenting her as a stereotypically normal teenager closer to the “Final Girl” (the last woman left alive to confront the killer) character type, the audience would be more likely to connect with her (making her imminent demise all the more upsetting than it would’ve be if she were a “Scream Queen”.) • Her behaviour is also closer to that of the “Final Girl” than it is to a “Scream Queen”. For example, upon thinking that it was only her friend that was scaring her, she responds rationally and questions why. If she were presented as a “Scream Queen” her reaction would’ve been much more exaggerated. Rose Blackburne as… the Protagonist (Stereotype)
- 3. SIMILAR CHARACTERS FROM OTHER FILMS WITHIN THIS GENRE Sidney Prescott 1996’s Scream Dana Polk 2012’s The Cabin in the Woods Julie James 1997’s I know what you did last summer
- 4. • This the only other character revealed in the opening. The dark clothing and hood are meant to connote this character as evil/threatening, while her behaviour is purposefully unsettling (robotic movements, creepy smile, minimal talking.) • She is meant to be disconcerting for the audience, and brings in the sense of threat. Also, the shots and editing sequence I chose imply to the audience that we’ve been watching the protagonist through her eyes, making her even more threatening. • Other than her name, nothing about this character is revealed; this was done to create narrative enigma. • I suppose in many ways this character is the countertype of the typical thriller/horror/sci-fi, as she is a teenage female (and typically the antagonist would be an adult male) who, without her dark clothing and odd behaviour, would not seem threatening. • However, despite being an unusual choice for the implied villain, she works. The reason she works is because the narrative enigma surrounding her (and what happens to the protagonist) makes us wonder what she’s capable of. • She also works because her seeming mundaneness means that the audience believe that this situation could happen to them. Myself as… Antagonist/Monster
- 5. IN SUMMARY… • As I only have 2 characters present in my opening there is not a lot of opportunity to for a vast amount of representation. However, while the characters I have included provide an unusual introduction to a thriller/horror/sci-fi, by stepping outside of the typical conventions I reckon my film opening as the potential to be successful regardless.