How does your media product represent particular social groups? (Task 2)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The representation of gender and age in this opening sequence presents both adhering and subverting stereotypes. Some of the representation show binary opposites between both males and females or between the different age groups. However, the representation and the stereotypes created dramatically shift at a point in this extract.

The use of the close up camera angle of the victim at the beginning of the sequence provided the connotation of her vulnerability and innocence. This allowed the audience to connect with the character emotionally right from the beginning of the sequence. The audience can see that the victim is a young girl and that she is innocent and vulnerable, which provides an adhering stereotype of a young girl. This is also an example of an adhering stereotype of a female because she is being represented as young, weak, naïve and vulnerable, as well as providing an adhering stereotype of age as the younger character has less authority and power.

However, this was juxtaposed against the close up camera angle of the psychopath in which he appears crazed and threatening to the audience which is further conveyed through the use of the prop of a knife and his facial expressions which connote that he is not of sane mind and that he is teasing and torturing someone. This close up camera angle provides an adhering stereotype of a psychopath and works well at providing character detail for the audience which will help to reveal the narrative and the characters involved. The use of the close up of the psychopath also provides an adhering stereotype that men are more dominating and in control and that because he is the young adult in the scene that he is slightly childish and immature and is behaving younger than he is which provides a subverting stereotype of young adults as this representation is suggesting that they are irresponsible and immature.

In addition to this, the use of the mid shot of the psychopath cutting his tongue on the knife and the victim looking away from her torturer implies that he is evil and menacing and further suggests that he is the villain in the film and it also indicates that the young girl is being victimised and held hostage.

Another example of a camera angle which provides an adhering stereotype of a psychopath and a victim is the long shot which is filmed at a slight low angle. This shot provides connotations that the psychopath is a villain because he is towering over her making him appear more menacing and this suggests he has the control which is an adhering stereotype of males being in control and dominating and also the older generation having power and authority over the younger generation. The use of this long shot also allows the audience to see the interaction between the two characters as well as providing more details about the location and setting.

The use of the over- the -shoulder shot of the victim was very effective at providing an adhering stereotype that young girls are victimised and innocent and her facial expression in this shot implied that she was afraid and felt scared and vulnerable which again provides an adhering stereotype of young girls.

The mid shot later on in the extract of the inspector and the young girl shows the difference between the two characters in terms of age and gender. The young girl is being represented as being scared and seeking protection from the older, respected and in control male character. This provides an adhering stereotype that young females are weak and require the protection of males. The fact that the older male character is putting his arm out to protect the young girl and the fact that he is holding a gun provides an adhering stereotype that older males are in control of the situation, care for younger people and also that they are responsible and that they know how to handle situations like the one shown in the extract.

In the shot of the victim girl being held by the psychopath with a tool to her mouth the character positioning is connoting that the male is dominating and in control and that the young girl is helpless and being tortured. This provides an adhering stereotype that males are dominating over females and that the older generation has more power and authority than the younger generation. The suggestion behind this character positioning is that the male is dominating over the female and that the male is teasing and tormenting the female because he is shown to have power over her.

Another example of how the character positioning in this extract helps to create representations of the different characters is in the shot of the psychopath sitting behind the young girl victim. This is an adhering stereotype of a psychopath and victim as by him sitting behind her it means that he can watch her and he has the control over her. This character positioning implies that the young girl is being treated like a doll and the fact that he is holding a knife to her neck and holding her head back further connotes that he is in control and that the young girl is helpless and highly vulnerable providing an adhering stereotype of a young girl who is a victim, and a young adult male psychopath.

In the shot of the inspector holding back the victim when she is escaping the psychopath the character positioning of the inspector and the victim demonstrates that he is a protecting, responsible figure of authority and that the young girl is naïve, scared and requires protection from others. This shot provides an adhering stereotype that the older generation care for the younger generation and also that males are caring for females as well as the fact that females require the protection and care from males and that they are weak and vulnerable.

The facial expression used in this opening sequence gives the audience a good indication of what the character is feeling or thinking and their relationship with the other character as well as the situation at hand. In the shot at the beginning of the sequence of the young girl looking at her torturer she appears frightened and unsure of what he is going to do next. This suggests that she is weak and vulnerable, providing an adhering stereotype that young girls are weak and vulnerable.

 

The facial expression of the psychopath in the close up shot of him at the beginning of the sequence connotes that he is not of sane mind because he is smiling, however he is holding a knife which juxtaposes the smile and makes the character appear menacing and evil. The psychopath’s facial expression provides an adhering stereotype of a psychopath; however it also provides a subverting stereotype of young adult males as it suggest that all young adult males are psychopaths and have crazed minds.

Another example of how facial expression is used to represent gender and age in the extract is the facial expression of the inspector when he is holding the gun at the end of the sequence because the implication behind this shot is that he is in control and responsible, although he is slightly anxious as to what the psychopath is going to do next. This provides an adhering stereotype that older males are protecting, in control and have high authority.

The location for the sequence was an old church. This provided an atmosphere of ritual, religion and holiness. This was juxtaposed against the action of the scene as what the characters were doing was not appropriate behaviour for inside a church. The location of this scene helped to create the sense of danger, suspense and tension as well as providing a creepy and unusual atmosphere. The location of the church used in the opening sequence provided a subverting stereotype of a church being used for a thriller film location.

The use of lighting in this opening sequence worked well at aiding the representation of both age and gender. The use of the dark lighting on the psychopath connotes that he is a villain and that he is evil, which is an adhering stereotype of the male psychopath. However, this is juxtaposed against the bright and colourful light coming from behind the psychopath when he is at the altar. This bright and colourful lighting represents the innocence and life of the victim which is juxtaposed against the dark and mysterious light used to represent the psychopath. This works well with the representations of the victim and the psychopath at creating adhering stereotypes that the victim is colourful and bright yet this is being stripped away from her by the dark and evil lighting mirroring the presence of the psychopath.

The use of the rope used to tie up the victim’s hands represents that she is a victim and that she is helpless and being controlled by someone else. The rope also symbolises that she is trapped and cannot escape the psychopath’s torment and torture.

The use of the torture weapons also connotes danger and violence especially when the psychopath uses these props against the victim. The implication behind the torture weapons is that the psychopath is irresponsible and dangerous and that the young girl is vulnerable and subjected to danger or harm.

The use of the knife prop against the psychopath provides connotations of danger and violence again and the use of this prop also changes the dynamic in the scene because it is used by the victim when she fights back against the psychopath. This prop used by the victim provides a subverting stereotype as you would not expect the victim to use a knife against her torturer. However, when the knife is used by the psychopath it is an adhering stereotype of the psychopath because you would expect the psychopath to use a knife against his victim.

In addition to all of these props, the use of the gun prop by the inspector signifies danger and violence as well although it is an adhering stereotype of an inspector because it represents authority and responsibility.

Costume can be a very useful indicator of what a character is like and can provide both adhering and subverting stereotypes for characters. The costume for the victim was a white dress. The colour white suggests vulnerability, innocence, naivety and purity which are adhering stereotypes of a young girl.

The costume for the psychopath consisted of a white shirt and a black coat with black trousers. The colour black suggests that the character is a villain, evil and has a sinister quality which is an adhering stereotype of a psychopath.

The costume for the inspector consisted of a white shirt, black coat, black trousers and a black tie. This made the character appear very smartly dressed which added to the impression of him being in control, responsible and a figure of authority which was an adhering stereotype not only to the fact that he is an inspector but also to the fact that he is the oldest character in the scene.

In addition, the make-up in this scene also aided the representation of age and gender. The use of the make-up for the young girl playing the victim was very minimalistic which made the actor appear much younger. The use of the stage make-up creating the wound on the victim made her appear even more vulnerable and this added to the connotations that she was helpless, weak and in pain as well as being vulnerable and innocent. The use of the make-up for the blood on the psychopath also indicated that he was in pain and wounded however in this case the use of the blood was a subverting stereotype because this character is supposed to be strong and powerful. The fact that he appeared weak and injured was a subverting stereotype as it suggested he was inferior to the victim.

This sequence has been edited in a linear fashion so that the scene plays in a chronological order. The opening sequence uses shot/reverse shot where the camera cuts from one subject to another and back and forth, this mirrors the fact that the action in this scene is quick and goes back and forth between the three characters. The use of the shot reverse shots works well with the different interactions between the three characters and helps with the continuity of the scene and also at mirroring the fact that when the inspector and the psychopath are talking, the victim is untying herself. This suggests that the older generation are oblivious and the younger generation are quick to act and are smart enough to figure out how to get themselves out of situations like the one shown in the extract.

The use of the match on action of the inspector putting the gun down made the action appear uninterrupted and this connotes that the inspector knows what he is doing and is very controlled and careful in his movements as he is aware of the danger that the psychopath could potentially cause.

The shot duration of this sequence represents the mood of the sequence. The use of the fast shot duration when the victim stabs the psychopath with the knife provides connotations that the younger generation are quick to act and that the older generation move much slower than the younger generation. However, this is a subverting stereotype as you do not expect the young girl to stab the young adult male psychopath which shifts the dynamic in the scene. The fast shot duration of this shot makes it appear to the audience that it happened a lot quicker than it actually did which presents the young as agile and quick and the older as slow and unaware of their surroundings. The use of the fast shot duration also serves to convey the urgency of the scene.

However, this is contrasted with the long shot duration of the psychopath playing around with the torture weapons at the altar and the purpose of this is to enable the audience to focus upon the small details providing character detail. The long shot duration also creates anticipation in the scene and makes the character of the psychopath appear more intimidating and crazed because the audience are unsure as to what he is going to do next, providing an adhering stereotype of the psychopath.

The use of sound was very effective in the opening sequence. The use of the diegetic sound of the humming of the psychopath was very effective at setting the tone of the scene as well as providing connotations that he was insane and made him appear immature and childish which is a subverting stereotype of a young adult male. However the fact that he is humming implied that he is crazed which is an adhering stereotype of a psychopath.

The use of diegetic sound of the sound effect of the knife stabbing the psychopath was very effective at building the world of the film for the audience and it also made the stabbing appear much more realistic. The sharp, harsh sound that the knife made was very uncomfortable for the audience and connoted pain and also mirrored the victim’s terrified and anxious quality.

In addition to this, the diegetic sound of the dialogue in this scene works to give character detail and also hints at the plot. The dialogue of the psychopath helps to imply that he is insane and his dialogue also serves the purpose of telling the audience that he is holding the young girl hostage and he is torturing her. The psychopath’s dialogue is very fragmented and repetitive which further connotes his crazed mind.  In contrast, the inspector’s dialogue is very controlled with a calm manner which alludes to the fact that he is a member of authority and that he is responsible and knows how to handle the situation. The dialogue also suggests that he has done this before and so his speech appears very natural which provides an adhering stereotype of a wise older male who is an inspector. The fact that the young girl who is the victim has no dialogue adds to the fact that she is frightened, weak and vulnerable.

The use of the non-diegetic soundtrack playing underneath the entire sequence works well at creating the mood and atmosphere of the scene and the crescendos and diminuendos in the soundtrack worked in sync with the tension in the scene. The non-diegetic soundtrack was used as parallel sound which supported the narrative. The soundtrack that was used was a very tense, atmospheric and creepy soundtrack which worked well with the action happening in the scene.

In conclusion, the representation of age and gender are shown as both subverting and adhering stereotypes with the representation changing when the victim stabs the psychopath. This is demonstrated throughout all four of the areas of representation; camera, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. The young girl is usually represented as being weak, vulnerable and innocent which would be an adhering stereotype of a young girl and this is sharply contrasted against the subverting stereotype of the young adult male playing the role of the psychopath who instead of representing a responsible and sane young adult male represents a deranged and menacing character. This explains how there are a range of subverting and adhering stereotypes of both genders and ages used in the representation in my opening sequence.