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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.