1. How does you’re media product represent particular social groups

2. Gender Blake is the first character to be shown on screen which represents Blake being the main character and indicates to the audience that he’s the dominant male. Blake being the first character on screen and having the longest time on screen supports the view of males being more independent. This fits with the conventions of psychological thrillers with the main character being shown first in the opening sequence e.g Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver. Blake being shown first and having most camera time is linked to the common representations of men in media of being dominant. - Blake is shown to be checking the time and his facial expression conotates that he is focused which is associated to men in media who tend to make plans and are focused on work and issues related.

3. Gender cont. Blake is shown roaming the house he enters and then the owner of the house is shown dead next to Blake which co notates to the audience that Blake may have killed him and this supports the view of Blake being dominant as the only other male shown in the opening sequence is dead and presumably killed by him. Blake kneels down to look the victim in the face and by this his dominant and ruthless persona builds as he has a ruthless expression on his face and kneels down to reach to his victim’s level. This also supports the competitive nature of men in media as the only other male shown in the opening sequence is killed off by blake. Throughout the opening sequence Blake has a focused facial expression but the only time he is shown to smile is when he leaves the house after he presumably killed the owner of the house and this supports the idea of men in media being ruthless – all of this indicates to the viewer that Blake is the villain – this fits the convention of most psychological thrillers main characters being the villains e.g. Christian Bale in American Psycho. Blake’s out fit also supports the idea of him being a villain – he’s wearing all black which co notates his sinister characteristics and the colour black co notates evil.

4. Age My main character Blake is 24 years old and this good as my target audience ranges from 18-24 so therefore they wouldn't want to see someone too old or too young so i believe this is the perfect age for my target audience – this is supported by other films such Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver who is portrayed to be from the age of 24-30. Blake is represented throughout the opening sequence is shown to be quite ruthless, sinister and focused which is quite rare to find in every day life but this fits with the conventions of psychological thriller as characters such as Travis Bickle blend in to society but are very rare. Blake is shown to be focused which matches representation of his age who are just settling in with work and are taking a more hands on and focused approach on life.

5. Ethnicity I chose to use a white working class as my main character and usually white people are represented as being controlled and not linked to a high-class life. Stereotypically white people are shown to be quite dominant and are shown to have power such as being CEO’s or having a high social status and this is supported by Blake is shown in distinctive clothing for a business man which indicates the idea of him having a high social status. Usually in media white people are not linked with violence or being aggressive and this is supported in my media product where Blake presumably kills the owner of the house but the act is not shown so that the stereotype of white people not being aggressive is kept. But his ruthless manner goes against his stereotype as he has no care for the dead man and is shown to smile after he presumably kills him.