Evaluation 2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my film I used two teenage girls, Beth and Jasmine, aged 17. I chose to subvert the ideology of thriller films and not use a man as the films main antagonist or protagonist because women are often overlooked in society as being able to fulfil a main role, and in comparison to men are not normally portrayed extensively. I for these reasons decided to subvert conventions and use women so that the film could represent women in a variety of roles, both as an antagonist and protagonist, to show that they too are versatile and have the capability of violence. I used young actors to play on the negative stereotype of youth and gang culture which is both real and perceived. In todays society the media is extremely damning of the youth of our country, I wanted to show that although some teenagers do comply with such expectations other dont. Ive done this by using my antagonist to represent the dangers of gang culture and the negative stereotypes, but have also used my protagonist to suggest to my audience that not all teenagers in fact are a part of a gang, but some instead choose to live as the rest of society would accept as normal, and are not violent or anti-social as youth are often portrayed to be. I chose not to include older actors as youth are often not portrayed and are isolated in society, something which I wanted to reflect by including only that age group. Also, one of my actors is white and the other mixed race. I did this as I didnt want to discriminate, and wanted to represent the whole of the youth of society, not just those who are white or just those who are black. I wanted to represent that people of this age group dont discriminate amongst each other, but instead tend to protect one another and stick together. However the storyline then pits the antagonist and protagonist against each other; I did this to suggest that although youth do stick together, they still have to face adult issues and there are often disputes and misunderstanding that can escalate. The diversity of the two characters also suggests this same volatility and conflict within the age group.

A rural, isolated location.

I filmed in a rural location, again subverting the usual conventions of a thriller. Normally a thriller is set in a rough, urban environment to create unease in the audience however, some films such as Alfred Hitchcocks The 39 Steps use an unusual, rural location to emphasise the isolation of the protagonist from the rest of society. I, for similar reasons, decided to use a rural location so that my protagonist would seem more vulnerable to the audience to portray that teenagers although they can appear to be confident and stubborn, actually often conceal other feelings. Additionally, for this particular film I thought it more fitting to use a rural location as it was possible to make a safe place seem dangerous to reflect the changeability of the social group being shown. The time period shown is of todays society because I wanted to reflect by only showing women and youth that even in todays modern society, discrimination is still rife, despite many countries priding themselves in being accepting of everyone. By doing this, it also suggests that discrimination, if any, is often hidden and an avoided topic in society. This is partly done by me not having included any adults in the film as it suggests that generations feel uncomfortable discussing anything of true importance with one another conveying an idea that often youth are overlooked or largely ignored by those in society who are in an older social group.

An example of a shot that shows my antagonist, but which does not reveal the whole of her face. I have tried to give my film a sense of realism and fit in with modern ideas by switching between the lives of the two girls and not showing the face of my antagonist to suggest an idea of being watch and surveyed, but by not revealing her face also convey an idea that its something the person being watched is unaware of. Something present in todays society is a fear of stalking and being constantly watched by other people and technology, such as CCTV, which is increasingly being used in a wide array of locations. It reflects an unease in modern society that everything a person does is documented and kept, whether its online posts and images or text messages; people now have less privacy than ever, and by having the protagonist being unaware of being watched, it mirrors how people in society also seem to be letting it happen. This is also partly why I used younger actresses, since I wanted to

represent that fact that this is a problem mainly affecting the younger generation as they generally use social networking sites and text messaging more than other groups in society.

An example of the different filters used for the perspectives of my two characters. In the opening I have used two perspectives with a different filter for each. A black and white filter is used for my antagonist and a usual colour for my protagonist; I did this to represent the diversity of the youth of today. The black and white suggests that they can be distant and disinterested in the rest of society, preferring to remain around people their own age however, by leaving the other in colour it contradicts this suggesting that not all of todays youth feel this way. It conveys an idea that others fit-in with society and whats expected of them, choosing not to challenge society but instead conform. In terms of sound there is little dialogue because I wanted to reflect how young people arent a large voice in society today and instead are largely overlooked by other social groups such as politicians and those older than them. The only dialogue used is questioning, representing how todays youth are having to ask huge questions of themselves about their future as they are unsure of whats going to happen, much like my protagonist. As well as dialogue, I also use two different sound perspectives for either character to represent their differences and how within the social group of youth there is much diversity of character despite how they might be portrayed and pitted together and labelled. Both soundscapes do however include a strong underlying beat reminiscent of a heartbeat to represent how although different, all youth experience things which cause them fear and/or discomfort. It also represents the vulnerability of youth as they have yet to form their lives as adults. Additionally, I use many close-ups and extreme-close-ups of the teenage actresses in my opening to reflect the intensity of the emotions that youth feel, represented by the close proximity of the camera to them.