The document discusses representations of social groups in media. It analyzes the representations in the title sequence, including of a religious fanatic protagonist through lighting and props. A vulnerable blonde female is represented as prey being chased, reinforcing stereotypes. Viewers may also perceive a representation of citizens in the Bible Belt region, through the heavy religious imagery and Southern preacher voiceover, aligning with stereotypes of that group as well while not depicting unintelligence.

1. Question 2
How does your media product represent certain social groups?

2. What is meant by representation in media?
 Representations are used in films to drive the plot forward and show different
statuses in social groups. This could reflect or challenge bigger issues in our
society.
 It is always constructed from the point of view of the person who makes these
representations. The way a certain social group is represented will reflect the
opinions of the person representing them. For example, a middle aged director
may portray teens in his film in a negative and reckless way. However, if the film
was to be directed by a teen, they may be represented in a more positive way.
 Different social groups may be represented through things like casting, costume,
lighting, shot types and camera angles. Sound and editing choices also play a part.

3. Which social groups are depicted in our
title sequence?
Although the main character of our title sequence is never actually shown on screen, he is
represented through the use of mise-en-scene such as props, lighting and shot types. For
example, the use of the bible prop and the dark candle-lit lighting suggests that he is a religious
phanatic and is secretive and mysterious. Another social group represented in our title sequence
is the stereotypical vulnerable blonde girl. The main character is portrayed as the “predator” and
she as the “prey”, as the only shot which depicts her in the title sequence is from the back as
she’s running away. This creates the illusion that the person whose point of view it is from, is
trying to catch her. It emphasises the representation of how helpless she is.

4. Religion is not necessarily a common theme represented in the genre of psychological
thrillers, however a lot of psychological thrillers deal with the theme of mental health.
The protagonist in a psychological thriller will often have some sort of mental illness,
much like the main character in our title sequence. Our main character is clearly
obsessive and has some sort of mental illness as he murders young innocent women.
A good example of this is ‘The Butterfly Effect’, as the protagonist has some sort of
condition which causes him to black out and forget big chunks of his timeline.

5. The stereotype of a vulnerable blonde female who is being chased is a common
representation in horror films. Since our film includes elements of horror in it, we thought it
was appropriate to include this representation in our sequence. They are represented as
vulnerable as very often there is a stalker or a murderer who is after them for a particular
reason. Blonde women in the media are not only presented as helpless, but sometimes
promiscuous and unintelligent. The film “Scream” is a perfect example of this, as it includes
a blonde female who is being chased by a murderer and eventually is killed. You can watch
this scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulykPn5ZUVs
I feel that my representation of this social group supports wider social stereotypes as
we do portray blonde women as helpless and vulnerable. This is done through the use
of the camera angle and the editing decisions as we chose to chop the footage up to
build suspense. It also creates the illusion that the female is going to be caught any
second now as the camera gets closer and closer.

6. Another social group which some viewers may hopefully pick up on, is the representation of citizens in the
Bible Belt region. This is a region in the United States which is in the South East and is known for its heavily
religious and republican views, hence the name “ Bible Belt”. Socially conservative evangelical
Protestantism plays a big role in social and political
views of its residents. The stereotype of the people
represented in this area is that they are more often than not,
heavily religious phanatics who may also be racist, under-
educated and poor. An example of a film which represents
this stereotype is “Forest Gump”. The main character lives in
the state of Alabama which is a state in the Bible Belt region,
he is represented as unintelligent and uneducated. However,
the film does challenge the stereotype since the main
character is unable to understand racism.
My representation of this group doesn’t necessarily
support this stereotype completely as our main
character is not represented as unintelligent. However,
all other aspects of the stereotype such as being heavily
religious as well as sexist and majorly republican are all
represented in my title sequence. The use of the
preacher voiceover contributes even more to this
representation as he talks about evangelical
Protestantism and has a strong Southern accent.