How does your media product represent particular social groups?

By Amirul Islam

In our film opening, there are 4 types of social groups, these are;

The older & younger generation

Males & FemalesThe representation of these social groups are shown through the characters in our opening,

Representation is how an individual or group are perceived by society based on stereotypes created by the media

In our opening we are introduced to three characters;

The young male jogger The old woman/killer The detective

All these characters have many stereotypes surrounding them, they can be both negative and positive

Stereotypes of a Young Male

There are many stereotypes that come with a young male, such as being;

Disrespectful to authority Lives for sport and physical activity Bad-mannered and ignorant Indulged into technology Lazy but strongThese stereotypes may be reinforced into

someone's mind when they think of a young male, however I suggest the stereotypes vary depending on the person actions and appearance.

A mood board for Young Males

The Young Male in our Thriller The jogger in our opening, “Young

Eyes” is represented as a young male who is listening to music while running. The audience assumes that he is a normal male too indulged into his music and interested in his physical activity. The cross cuts between the old lady and him suggest they will collide and the audience start to think “he’s not going to help her” or “he’ll run past”,

However when he helps the old lady with her bags, he is represented as a polite and kind young man to the audience, the previous stereotype are abolished and the audience is left shocked he helped her.

I think we represented the young male in a positive light

Stereotypes of an old ladyThere are many stereotypes of an old lady,

many of them being really innocent, here they are;

Helpless and Vulnerable Weak, Frail and Slow Kind hearted, Sweet and Cute Crosswords, Newspaper, Like to bake Very wise Boring

A mood board for an Old Lady

The old lady in our Thriller The old lady in our thriller, is represented as an

innocent old lady at first. The audience realises she is old due to her slow movements. Her props were also good to highlight she is old. The audience instantly realise she is weak due to her bags which seem to be heavy for her,

However when she kills the jogger, the audience realise she is not an old lady. But a younger person in disguise. This shocks the audience as she seemed innocent but in fact she isn't. The audience also realise that the female is more superior than the male as she killed him. This challenges the stereotype that males are more dominant than females. Also it highlights that the female cannot be a victim but is a villain which goes against the stereotype that woman are victims.

It is clear that our thriller put old ladies and females in a negative light.

The Male Detective in our thriller

This is only stereotype we actually followed as a detective is meant to be a dominant male who is tough and confident,

The detective in our thriller has a rigid and tough voice which reinforces his manhood and his dominance. The audience may be glad to realise that this is a stereotype they are familiar with.

The detective is represented a positive thing even though he was heard for a few seconds. He wants to stop the killings which the audience will admire. He is represented as a hero just like a detective is stereotyped to be.