Evaluation Q2 write up

     2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The age of the main characters are teenagers, around 17 this shows how they are vulnerable which is stereotypical in psychological horrors that the younger generations are more likely to be the victims. The stereotype of well educated British teens are shown in our production through the protagonist Lauren as she is able to solve the mystery of the murder and is shown to be very intelligent. The youth represented in this film appeals to this age audience and this age group can also be seen as less experienced and more vulnerable to the type of events that happen in horror films. For example in the woman in black the children are the victims that are getting killed. 

My production shows the stereotype that young girls are the victims in horror films for example scream we also followed the convention that they are blonde as the dead best friend is blonde. In my opening sequence I also portray the male to be the villain, we represent him as dark,mysterious and evil. He is the murderer of the young girl which is conventional to many horror films this also follows the common representation that men are powerful. However we challenged this particular role as he likes to dress up as a woman to commit his crimes which is explained further in the treatment. This could also be stereotypical of certain behaviours in society that are seen as unusual. We thought this would be more interesting to the audience, also when researching the psychological thriller psycho by Alfred Hitchcock uses the same concept and it was a big hit with the audience as it was unique and very unexpected to the audience. The sexuality we portrayed in my opening sequence is mostly heterosexual as this is traditional this can be seen through the masculine role of the murderer in the black jacket and boots, which confirms the stereotype of the villain being masculine. Moreover through the main female character as she wears feminine clothes with elegant colours. This is also a connotation of the binary oppositions between the men and women. The audience our production would be targeted at is middle class. We have represented class within our production through our protagonist as she can be seen as middle class through the mise en scene of her costume as she is dressed like a middle class teenager. This is also an expected stereotype of a British teenager, creating a sense of verisimilitude. Also through the narrative as Lauren is able to withstand the disaster and solve the enigma. Using the stereotype that the middle classes are more intelligent. Through research we found in psychological horrors the antagonists are usually middle class people. However the antagonist is a mystery to what class he is as he is wearing all black and hiding his face which builds the tension throughout the film. Through sound we have shown how women are more vulnerable  and elegant for example when Lauren is walking through the park her footsteps are very light sounds where as the men's footsteps are clumpy and loud to show how men are more rough and superior, which is conventional to many psychological thrillers. However we have shown many eye level shots equally between the men and women in our production to show how they should be seen as equal also how the protagonist manages to fight back for her life. This challenges the stereotype of many films as women are usually shown as inferior through the camera angles as they are shown to be low compared to man in a camera angle who would be seen as superior and high up. However in some films such as Halloween women are not seen as vulnerable but the men are. We have included the stereotypical convention of the woods being a place of murder as this is a main setting in our production and where Lauren finds a dead body. This immediately builds up tension and the scare factor as the audience usually associate the woods with death. An example of a film that uses this is The Cabin in the Woods and Blair Witch Project.