Evaluation - Question 2

Chloe Eustace

Evaluation: Question 2-

How does your media product represent

particular social groups?

There are two main characters within my opening thriller sequence, I have included the use of a main antagonist and the main victim, because they are easy for an audience to relate to and build a relationship with. 

The antagonist (pictured to the right) is represented as a conventional antagonist in my thriller sequence because she wears dark black clothing including black boots, a black coat, and a black hat as well as dark trousers, so that the audience can tell that this is the antagonist and that something bad is going to happen, by the way that she is dressed. The antagonist is straight away presented with a weapon as part of the costume which again is conventional as the antagonist typically will have a weapon in sight. This type of character I decided to use in the film because the antagonist has a hidden meaning and a hidden background from the audience which allows the character to draw the audience in from the opening sequence making them want to watch on and see why this character has been portrayed the way they have. The use of the dark clothing was so that the antagonist looked like someone from a thriller film, but the antagonist in a thriller film is typically a male but I decided that the antagonist would work better within our thriller sequence as a female. The antagonist is presented as a bit psychotic and obsessive, due to at the beginning of the sequence she is looking at t6he victim on Facebook and surrounded by pictures of other victims that she has possibly murdered or going to murder. By having the character represented this way in the opening sequence it creates an enigma to an audience as they want to find out what the reason is for wanting this victim.

The victim in my thriller (pictured left) is a female which is typical and she is presented as a young person who has been stalked and then gets murdered. The aim of this character is to draw the audience in as they get to see a bit of a background in the opening sequence as there’s a flashback on why the antagonist wants to murder her. She is presented in an easy way so that the audience can relate to her and feel sorry for her. This is done through the use of the outfit that she is wearing is easy for any teenager to relate too as she is wearing typical teenage clothes like, leggings and boots. She is wearing a hat (pictured above on the right) that is an animal which shows an audience that although she is a stereotypical teenager she is vulnerable because she is wearing a hat that would be considered stereotypical for a child to wear, allowing the audience to build a relationship with this character in my thriller because they feel sorry for her, as they are aware that she is the victim and that something bad is most likely to happen. There is also the use of the headphones (Iconography) that she is wearing, showing her listening to music, this is a typical teenage stereotype and represents the victim as unknowing and slightly clueless at what is going on around her which is why it helps lead the audience to a conclusion that something bad is going to happen too this character. An audience again can relate to this character because she is oblivious to what is going on around her and this is stereotypical of a teenage girl who is wandering the streets. The reasoning behind why the antagonist has chosen this typical teenager going about her business is unknown but draws the audiences attention because she isn't doing anything out of the ordinary. 

The gender of the victim is presented in a stereotypical way because she is represented as a typical teenage girl who is being followed. It is conventional within thriller films that typically the victim be female because they are considered to be vulnerable and easy victims. She may not be represented typically female from what she is wearing as she is just a regular person and she isn’t going to any kind of occasion but the audience would understand and recognise that she is the victim as the fact that the victim is typically female in a thriller as this is conventional.  From her costume the audience can be aware that she is vulnerable because they can easily see that she is young so they can build a relationship with this character because she is young and vulnerable leaving the audience feeling sorry for her, as they know that the chances are is that she is going to die. For the antagonist gender isn’t necessarily represented in a typical way as the antagonist is unconventionally female but she is presented in a male way by wearing dark clothing in order to blend into the environment and hide the fact that she is there to murder someone.

The characters would appeal to the audience, especially the victim as she is someone who is just a typical teenager and would be easy to relate to, because they may see themselves in her shoes. Thus allowing the audience to feel sorry for her, and concerned for this character as they know that something bad is going to happen. The audience antagonist would appeal to the audience because she is conventional in numerous ways to thriller films, meaning that the audience would want to connect with the tension and suspicion that this character creates as well as the enigma that she presents to the opening sequence setting up the rest of the film, and causing the audience to want to know what happens.