Question 2How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

RepresentationRepresentation means how something or someone is shown to the audience. For films there are 7 main areas of representation:

- Gender

- Age

- Social Class

- Sexuality

- Ability/Disability

- Regional Identity

- Ethnicity

We took this into account whilst making our thriller opening to make sure we know which area we are representing and in what way.

Social Groups We Represented

Disability

- The main character suffers from Psychosis, a mental illness. He is perceived as dangerous and unaware of his actions. This is a very common representation as we see those with disabilities presented as different and in some way, worse than normal.

Social Class

- The clothing of the girl suggests that she is of upper class. She seems posh and stuck up which is a general representation. She is also wearing expensive clothing and has her own car, which shows wealth.

Gender

- Vulnerable female preyed on by male. This is another general stereotype that men have greater physical strength than women and can attack them. Man also seen as savage, taking away females innocence.

How Did We Represent Social Groups?

Disability

We showed the characters mental disability through his actions and through Mise en scene. His bedroom is very dark and not well lit to reflect the atmosphere and his character. Through the opening it is clear he is a murderer and his disability has had impact on this , showing him off as negatively.

Gender

Male comes off as violent and abusive. Preys on the vulnerable female. Male are often seen as more powerful than women in the media, we have shown the male character to have power and strength over the female

Social Class

Upper class girl, despised by lower class, rich and fancy clothing. Presented in a positive sense, she isn’t bringing harm to anyone

Gender

Female character seen as innocent and calm. She is going about her business

without interfering anyone.

How have technical aspects affected the way I have represented social

groups or characters?

In my thriller opening we used technical areas to help represent technical area.

Lighting:

Dark room – Characters mood + personality represented

Poorly lit – Sets mood

Camera:

From behind - makes character hidden creating mystery and makes audience feel unwelcoming

towards him.

Mise En Scene:

Curtains closed – Distance from the world

Candlelight –Not modern, uses candle rather than light switch. Not very smart

Messy desk – Mentally unstable. A mess, representing his mind.

Represents characters personality

This character represents disability.

Clothing: Black clothing, covers up face, keeps character hidden.

Editing: Fast cuts as character makes sneaky movements.

Mise en Scene: Dark area, in a car park, very isolated.

This character represents female and upper class. She shows her upper class level through her clothing. She is wearing expensive fur clothing. She also owns a car which shows her wealth. She seems rather careless and calm in the shot. She doesn’t seem to be inflicting any harm on anyone, we can tell this from close ups on her face.