2. WHAT IS REPRESENTATION?
Media representation refers to how an audience responds to
specific representations encoded within a product. The focus of
the representation encourages the audience to focus on a
particular aspect of the product so that they make assumptions.
The product, which in our situation is the characters in our film,
becomes the opinion leader and offers a constructed view of an
issue/ event. Stuart hall proposed that
representation is the way in which
meanings are proposed through the
signs and codes that are part of
media language. He also said that
stereotypes reduces people to a few
simple recognisable characters, which
they can relate to.
3. WOMEN REPRESENTATION
Females are commonly represented in three ways
with the queer theory, feminism, and post feminism.
The Queer theory, which Judith talks about, states
that identity is performativity constructed by the
‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.
Bell Hooks states that feminism is a struggle to end
sexist/ patriarchal oppression, it is a political
commitment not a choice, and race/ class as well as
sex determine the extent of exploitation/ oppression.
This relates to our production as our production is
female heavy as we only have female characters who
represent something as a whole. For example,
feminism is portrayed in our product as we are using
our female characters to reach out to our unisex
audience not with their bodies, but with their
4. CLAIRE WILLIAMS
Our main protagonist is a cancer patient who is going through her last
stages of her life, which is exemplified through our mise-en-scene (props
e.g. an oxygen mask). Claire wears dull clothing throughout the majority of
the film when she’s writing a letter on her bed. The dull clothing and a black
bandana represents her loss of energy and how she is emotionally and
physically drained, especially as her days become limited.
This is ironic as her name is Claire, which means light, although she is
outwardly exhausted she is inwardly still positive and hopeful just as her
name implies. The colour black is commonly associated with death, which
helps to foreshadow that Claire is going to die, or that she could possibly die
sooner than expected.
The theme of death is also conveyed by her skin colour which is pale and
almost ghostly, which helps the audience to identify that there could be a
possible death. Claire conforms to a stereotypical representation of a cancer
patient as they are usually very selfless and try to put on a bold face for
people around them to try and be positive. Tessa Perkins states that
stereotypes are effectively used to communicate messages quickly. In this
case, our audience is able to identify with Claire being a cancer patient and
also being a stubborn teenage girl.
5. HELEN WILLIAMS
Claire’s older sister is represented to be a supporting character who
tries her best to make Claire’s remaining days as positive as they can
be. Helen is her adoptive sister, therefore she is a different race to
her (black).
Claire’ sister’s personality is manifested through her costume (mise-
en-scene) as she wears brightly coloured clothes which has a
connotation of cheerfulness and hope.
Black women are typically represented as quite
loud and vocal, which tends to be quite negative.
Stuart Hall say that stereotyping like this tends to
occur where there are inequalities of power in
society. We decided to go against this stereotype
and make Claire's sister a countertype as she has a
submissive and quiet nature. She remains positive
and optimistic for her sister so that Claire doesn’t
see her how her condition is affecting Helen.
6. ISABEL THOMAS
Isabel is a young black female who is one of Claire’s best
friends who stuck with her through thick and thin. Usually,
black characters are portrayed to be the sidekick friend who
helps and supports the main character of a different race. This
is because stereotypes work by exaggerating certain shared
features of a group as Tessa Perkins states. Even though in this
case it is true, our character Isabel is still a countertype as she
is not presented as loud or angry as most black females are
presented. In fact, she is more extroverted and more lively than
Claire.
Isabel wears bright coloured clothing to mirror her personality.
Bright colours, such as blue, connote a feeling of happiness and
joy which is exactly what we wanted her character to be like.
7. RACHEL ADAMS
Rachel is a young black female who is Claire’s other
closest friend who goes to her grave. She is presented
positively compared to how most black best friends
are seen in films.
Most black teenage girls are seen as sassy with some
type of attitude however, Rachel is shown to be caring
and compassionate in both flashbacks Claire shows,
one being before the treatment and one being at her
grave.
Just like Isabel, Rachel is a countertype as she is a
calm and collected character and in the scenes she’s in
she mostly wears black. Although black is usually
associated with negativity and evil, she is the complete
opposite of this stereotype.
