Character Profile

Actress: Maliaka Adabra

Character Name: Ebony
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Features: Black hair, Brown eyes, 56, darkskin

Representation: Maliaka tends to deliver more masculine traits in reality, making it

easier for her to conform to the homosexual (lesbian) stereotype during the
production. She is also very easy going and bubbly too. Maliaka is a very reserved
individual who hardly expresses her emotions, similar to how I will be portraying her
character, Ebony, in the film. I have provided her with this name specifically as it is
more masculine than feminine, matching her persona. She enjoys playing a vast
variety of sports, basketball in particular. Ebony delivers characteristics that are the
opposite of what Zoe would portray, which is useful as it will give the audience a clear
insight of their personalities and what type of background they may possibly come
from. Throughout the film, I aim to illustrate a clear representation of Ebonys identity
through the use of different microelements. Her monologue (voice over) will be the
prime use of non diegetic dialogue as the audience will be listening to Maliaka whilst
watching the actions of both characters and their relationship. The incorporation of
her monologue will allow me to illustrate her masculine side as well as the close
strong bond both females share. Ebony will be represented stereotypically
conforming to the gay female stereotype as they are often expected to have
piercings, wear male clothing for example, which is shown in the film as she wears a
navy Hollister jumper and gets changed in to a baggy t shirt and jeans later in the
scene, similar to The new orange is black.
Film Influences: Whilst researching different films focusing on female representation,
I came across Orange is the New Black. This is because, whilst analysing this film, I
realised that they use a diverse representation of women and the black females are
presented differently in comparison to the other actresses. The fact that they look
masculine and very unfeminine conforms to the stereotype of what an audience
would expect to see as a typical female lesbian character when referring to women
in film. This relates to my representation of Ebonys character as she contrasts the
expected representation of a gay female.
Character influences: I decided to create my characters representation, focusing on
Orange is The New Black. Majority of the black females in the series, are
represented as being more masculine than the white females. Therefore, I thought I
would take the same approach, especially as Maliaka has piercings too.