How does your media product represent particular social groups?

How does your media product represent Particular social groups?

 

There are only two characters in my thriller opening are polar opposites in terms of costume and this could suggests that they are from very different backgounds and very different social classes. The setting of the house suggests that the home owner (victim) is not middle class but also not struggling for money. In the shots we can see that the house is smart and kept tidy unlike a stereotypical working class household.  

 

The victim is wearing a normal suit and is dressed as if he is getting prepared for some sort of meeting, whether that is a professional meeting or a dodgy meeting is not revealed in the opening scene. The smart suit does suggest that he does have money and may be middle class. The use of a middle aged man suggests that he has been deliberately targeted by the younger attacker. The man is living in what could be described in a typical house. Quite often in a film a character in a smart suit can often be portrayed as powerful, James Bond is a prime example, however in my film the man in the suit is not depicted as a powerful man but as an ordinary man who is not really powerful at all as the audience find out shortly after we first see him. The fact that he is quite a short man could again show the danger he is in and that he is vulnerable. 

 

Often in a thriller film some characters have special traits to make them stand out from other characters but in my film the victim is depicted as being a normal stereotypical middle aged man. I chose to do this because I feel that it represents today’s society.

 

When we first see the hooded attacker he walks out through the gateway. The gateway acts as frame around the character. This highlights that he is a very important character in the story line. It also emphasises that at that moment in time he is the most influential character in the scene. This may not represent characters dressed like him in other films as often they are seen as criminals but not powerful criminals. They are often seen doing the ‘dirty work’ for the gang leaders who may often be in similar costume to the victim in my scene. The darkness that we see all around him could be seen as being a reflection of his character and personality.

 

The attacker is wearing very different clothes to his victim. The tatty jacket suggests that he is from a working class or even lower social class. The use of the scruffy jeans also shows that he is short of money and may have to wear the same clothes several times a week due to a lack of money and this could suggest why he has turned to stealing cars. The theft of the car can be seen as a stereotypical act by someone dressed like that as often in society hoodies are often seen as trouble makers and thieves by people. The attacker is also concealing his identity which is often what armed robbers and car thieves may do.  This is similar to the killer in the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. In that instance the features of the

killer are not revealed at all but in my film the audience can see the physical build and gender of the attacker but not the facial features.