Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

THE VICTIM

 

This shot depicts the victim of our horror movie opening. We think this character represents female teenagers of today. She is shown to be doing her hair and makeup which could tell the audience that she cares about her image like any ordinary teen. as she hears footsteps and begins to look for her mother, she is easily distracted from her search when she sees her iPod. this could be seen as common behaviour of a normal teenager.

The victim is shown to be dressed up and a shot shows her putting fake blood makeup. This could suggest that she is accustomed  to going out to party's like most teenagers.

We also avoided the typical stereotype of a blond always being a victim by selecting someone with a different hair color, this contrast from most horror movies, like "Sream".Our main character is also slightly younger than someone who is usually victimised in a horror movie. this gives our horror movie an edge due to the fact that most movie makers refrain from killing younger, more innocently portrayed characters. the fact that the girl looks, and calls out for her mother shows that she is still dependant upon her parents and gives her a sort of innocents.

This character could also be interpreted as belonging to a middle to high class due to the fact that she has enough money to go to parties and spend money on cosmetics and an ipod. She also speaks in a higher pitched voice which could suggest that she is of a high class and has a dressing table in her room.

THE KILLER

Our tormentor, like most, remains anonymous throughout the opening. However, an audience can still pull out characteristics from what kind of social group we intended this character to belong in from his outfit, surroundings and actions. It is visible that he is of a working class as he is wearing an apron and wielding an axe at the end shot (this may or may no be visible). The speed at which he swings his various weapons could also suggest that he is accustomed to physical labour.

We have supported the stereotype of most killers being  males as they are usually seen as the most violent gender. We chose a male character to be a killer a a female character would be unlikely ably to go through all the physical labour of killing someone, such as, dragging the body  to different locations, carrying weapons and holding the victim captive in the first place.

The surroundings the killer takes the girl in the second set also shows the audience that he is of a low or middle to low class as the shed is small, dusty and crowded with old things. The surroundings could also tell the audience that he is uneducated and unprepared to commit homicide as he would be unable to clear up the evidence appropriately.