By Fred Shepherd

HOW WE REPRESENTED SOCIAL GROUPS

TEENAGERS

• Since our film features only teenagers/young adults we understand that the world the film

is set in is run by young people. However it represents teenagers as violent people shown

by the sniper killing one of the boys. However it also shows the main character as mature

and in control of the situation. He works his way out of danger and promotes the good

side of the social group.

• Teenagers are shown in movies (often in the horror genre) to be naïve and generally

stupid and clueless until something major happens to them. They are also shown simply

as party animals and immature, we wanted to break these stereotypes by showing

teenagers as an aggressive group that adapts well to survive.

MALE CHARACTERS• Following the typical action thriller convention the main character of our film is male.

However he is not portrayed in a conventional way. The use of heartbeat and breathing

sound effects emphasize the characters fear and take away the macho façade that many

main characters have in thriller movies.

• It is also unusual in the case that there is no effort to fight back against the sniper and

only escape which on it’s own shows a sense of either cowardice or survival instinct.

• However the male character is given a stereotypically male vehicle in the form of a

muscle car. The way in which he drives it is aggressive and shows that the character is

confortable with driving thus evoking another stereotype. This stereotype has been used

in many films throughout history, Bullitt is one of them. The character is given more

masculinity by his choice of car.

FEMALE CHARACTERS

• The female character in our film is atypical of a female character in an action thriller.

Conventionally the female character would be the love interest for the male main

character, however instead she is a sniper. This is a positive stereotype as it shows an

ability precision and breaks down they typical gender roles. The position of power in the

scene is also positive as it doesn’t just show equality in the scene but also a power shift.

• It could also be argued that the representation shows females as violent and murderous

which is obviously a negative view. To be a sniper it often takes a lot of emotional

detachment and the female character seems to have that.