Evaluation Question 2

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

  In the opening sequence of my film, The Vengeance, there are different character types that represent particular social groups in different ways.

Girls at a party

Sharp, snappy dialogue is used to portray a distressed character

In the split screen above, you can see the character on the left, Ellie from my film The Vengeance, and on the right, there is a scene of girls at a party in Project X.  In my film, I tried to portray Ellie as being a character who is seductive and someone who just wants to party.  I tried to show this through the use of costume as she is wearing a short skirt and a small top.  This is a costume that most teenage girls would be able to relate to as it is a way that teenage girls are likely to dress.  In the screen shot on the right, you can see that the girls at the party (Project X) are also dressed in a similar manner with short skirts and shorts which is also seductive.  This shows that I have tried to conform to the conventions of the way girls dress at a typical party scene according to other films.  For example, in the Inbetweeners Movie, there are also girls who are dressed provocatively.  However, another way in which I tried to present the character of Ellie was that of being snappy, frustrated and anxious.  The character Ellie would be feeling this way as she witnessed a brutal murder and the murderer caught a glimpse of her as she ran away from the scene. Therefore, in the party, where she is trying to take her mind off the killer, she stills acts sluggishly, not really enjoying the party and at one point, starting to loose her temper.  For example, when she is trying to look for her phone, she shouts quite firmly "For f**k sake, where's my phone."  This would reveal to the audience that something is not quite right and would question why she is acting like this.  Therefore, in this scene, the dialogue subverts the character profile of a passive female but rather, as a strong, independent female.

Character profile of the Killer

  In the split screen above, you can see the character on the left, the killer from my film, and on the right, there is a scene of the gangsters taken from the film Goodfellas. In my film, I tried to portray the killer as being a mysterious, complex, scary character who has a lot of power.  I tried to convey this character profile through the use of costume and sound.  For example, in the screen shot on the left, you can see that the killer is wearing a long, dark grey coat.  In other scenes throughout the opening, the audience can see the killer is wearing brown boots and dark jeans.  Throughout filming, I tried to frame the shots so that each time, the audience would see another glimpse of the killer to portray a mysterious character. For example, some shots are framed so that you can't see the killer's face which makes him mysterious and creates tension.  Also, I framed some shots, such as when the killer steps out of the car, to show his shoes so that, once again, there is a mystery about the character because you can't see all of the character.  In the screen shot above on the right, the gangsters from Goodfellas, they are wearing suits and shirts which distinguishes them as gangsters and killers rather than the normal citizens.  This is  important in a film opening as it allows the audience to understand the character types and helps them to build up a judgement of them.  The costume for the killer in my film conforms mostly to the conventions of a typical killer due to the dark clothing and the knife he possesses.  His character identity is a mystery to the audience as there is very few scenes that show him and what he looks like because he is always moving in the shots or if not, he seen through blurred vision.  This makes the villainous character a more sophisticated and complex character rather than just a thug or Hit-man that just goes out to kill.  As the killer is a male character as well, it almost conforms to the stereotype of male dominance and also male control.  This is because the killer is clear and methodical throughout the opening sequence whereas the girls at the party put themselves in a more vulnerable position.

 In conclusion, my film 'The Vengeance' represents different social groups in different ways by both conforming and subverting some of the conventions of character types through the use of costume, props and camera work.