How does your media product represent particular social groups?
For this question I will be comparing our main character (Liza) to three other similar characters in other films. This will help shed light on how we constructed our main character to represent a particular social group.
Cabin in the woods
Dana (Kristen Connolly)
Both characters are playing the same roles in their separate films. They both play as the virgin victims in an extreme horror movie and there where certain adjustments to the actors to made them look like a pure and innocent virgin. Firstly we focused on the clothing, as you can see they both resemble the same style of clothing. They both went for simple clothing that isn't too revealing and not very colourful. This shows that the characters do not care about attracting men's attention with their bodies or clothing, which ultimately makes them seem quite innocent. They both also look as though they have no make up on, which makes them seem pure and natural. This would relate to some women in today's society that do not feel like they have to act, dress or look like anyone else. A way that our character deviates from the stereotypical norm, is that she gets killed first. Usually in extreme horror movies (especially Cabin in the woods) the innocent individual lasts to the end and ultimately survives however in our case the innocent female is killed which is likely to give the audience a shock.
Scream
Drew Barrymore (Casey)
The similarities between are apparent just by comparing each of the images however there are some obvious differences too. Firstly I would like to address the clothing on both of the characters. They both seem to have gone for the comfortable plain look because they are both wearing warm plain jumpers. This could indicate that they both don't care about their appearance. However when we delve deeper into their characters we learn more about their personalities. For instance Casey has blonde hair which links her to the stereotype that blonde girls are stupid and very girly which is completely contradictory to our character which is a brunet. You can also clearly tell that Casey is wearing make up and it is revealed in the movie that she does have a boyfriend. Casey is also portrayed as rather flirtatious when speaking to the stranger on the phone which then ultimately makes her seem less innocent and more overtly flirtatious. Liza's dialogue was limited to calling out people's names which would indicate that she is shy and quite.
In those cases Liza is seen as more of an innocent character which makes her fit the social stereotype of innocent female victim in horror films. A similarity that stands out most out of both characters is that they were both killed in the opening sequence of the film which completely goes against the social stereotype.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Katie Cassidy (Kris)
The characters presented share a fair share of differences when it comes to physical appearance For instance Kris shares the same colour hair as Casey which again, fits her in the stereotype of blonde women being unintelligent and very girly. The fact that she wears quite a bit of make up also adds to the assumption that she is a flirtatious girl. Kris also wears bright and revealing clothes which would imply that she is seeking male attention. Liza on the other hand, is a completely different story. She wears dark and comfortable clothes which isn't very revealing and she is also wearing no make up at all which suggests that she is not interested in attracting men.
Moving onto similarities. Both characters are being pursued by a person who wants to kill them. On one hand we have Liza, she is being tormented by a writer who is writing her death which that it coming to life, and on the other hand we have Kris, she is being stalked by a killer in her nightmares which she can not escape from.
Conclusion
Overall I believe that our character has,and has not conformed to the stereotype of a female teenager in a horror film because she is portrayed as shy and innocent which is generally not the case with most teenagers in horror films. They are usually loud, out going and flirtatious. To indicate this stereotype much more clearer the characters are usually blonde to show that they are very girly girls and overtly flirtatious. On the other hand female teenagers in horror films are usually considered weak and defenseless which is relateable to our opening because our character is victimized and eventually dies. The camera angles used in typical horror movies usually consists of close up camera shots of the face to show extreme emotions which is exactly what we ensured that we included in our film opening. Another camera angle that is commonly used in horror films to express weakness and vulnerability is the high angled shot. It is often used for the victim before his or hers death. We failed to incorporate this shot in our opening which is something that I wish we added.
Villain Comparison
Christian (Die-ary)
Hannibal Lecture (Silence of the Lambs)
Hannibal Lecture quite of similarities and differences in the way they are presented in the films they star in. First of all i would like to point out that there is a large age difference so that will effect most of the visual aspects which i was going to discus, such as the hair and the clothing. Christian is actually wearing rather formal and smart clothing for his age which makes him seem older and more mature which is not a usual convention for teenagers in horror films. Whereas we usually see Hannibal with a plain white shirt which makes him seem plain and bland which is completely contradictory to his personality.
Hannibal is a psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer which makes him a very good reader of the human emotions and he is also quite intelligent. Now Christian is a young author with a gift that allows him to write the deaths of anyone he desires, he is also rather intelligent in the way he speaks and writes. this makes them quite similar it that respect. Another important point worth mentioning is that the viewers never see Christians face in the opening. This is very common in horror movie, the villains face is usually shown later on in the movie in a dramatic fashion.
Shots that are usually used to express Hannibal Lectures and any villain's dominance and power are low angle shots. We have also implemented a low angle shot to express Christian's power when he is writing. We also made the scenes which Christian is in darker by editing the shots. This helps make the character more mysterious and threatening. In Silence of the Lambs they take a similar approach by making his scenes be in a secure prison. This immediately makes the viewer think that he is dangerous and threatening.
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