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The plastic doll, Mary, is a stereotypical Villain in Propps 8 Stock Characters theory. Although this typically means a person who tries to prevent a hero from their good deeds, Mary challenges this in terms of a villain also implying a person (or in this case, thing) that has a certain degree of evil within them which Mary has throughout without having to hinder a hero character. She is represented as a falsely innocent doll which young girls would love to play with and be their friend. Her innocent faade is represented by her bright blonde hair which typically represents being angelic and idyllic, and her light pink dress which represents her female gender, as well as sweet seeming nature. The camera shots that she appears in are generally establishing shots of Mollys bedroom at the tea-party scene. The fact that the camera is not completely focused on Mary all of the time creates a sense of unease in our audience, who feel compelled to watch her throughout regardless. She is portrayed at her most evil when the camera is canted and she gets up and starts walking towards the camera which is a symbol of the canted disruption that is to follow and proves the audiences fears that she is a killer doll. In terms of editing, Marys character is presented as being a very old toy at least 40 years old, as she is shown to be sitting on shelves through different generations from 1961. The camera quality of each shelf shot improves which represents her age. Our theme tune, a young girls voice singing Ringa-Ring-a-Roses, could be representing Mary, as it is left for interpretation whether Mary is singing it or not. The sound Mary creates when she moves is a creaking noise, which is a convention of a Thriller/Horror film however, usually creaking floors or doors as it is an unpleasant sound which provokes a fearful response in our audience; it also represents her age as being a rather old, creaky doll.
How have you represented Gender/ Class/ Ethnicity/ Profession? Are these representations conventional or do they challenge the stereotype? Connect to narrative theories.
MOLLY Gender: Female Class: Middle Ethnicity: White Profession: Primary School Student
Molly is a stereotypical angel, who is worried about and pitied in our opening sequence. Molly challenges Propps 8 Stock Characters theory as, although she is an innocent and good-hearted child, she cannot be classed as a hero because she is not a character that seeks something and also is not the protagonist of our what-would-be overall film, as she inevitably dies in the opening sequence of the film. However, her innocence and goodness are represented through many things. She has short, curly ginger hair which is endearing and angelic which perhaps could challenge the stereotype of red hair meaning anger and evil e.g. Jack in Lord of the Flies and Chucky from Childs Play. Perhaps since her hair is a blonde-ginger colour, this creates more of a sense of innocence rather than a fiery red colour. The fact that she is wearing a school uniform also shows her innocence and purity as audiences realise she is still only in primary school. The fact that the video-camera is motionless whilst filming the tea-party scene creates suspense for the audience, as if theyre sitting and watching in the room with them. Whilst having eyes on Mary, audience members watch Molly too, as they dont want Mary to get her. Mollys childlike nature is presented in her constantly running out of the room for different things e.g. the loo and is perhaps most presented when she knocks the video camera over, which a child would do without being too bothered about picking it up again. The sounds Molly creates are typical to a young child rushing out of the room, speaking happily etc. The editing used in our opening sequence highlights her innocence, as her death is only heard over a blank screen showing her helplessness.