evaluation question number 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Age

We wanted the protagonist of our production to be a young teenager.
WHY
We believed that teenagers are not experienced enough and curious about everything so they are more likely to try drugs.
HOW
We tried to show that by setting up a room which is pink for her bedroom. Also, the language and the subject of the main character and her friend’s conversation reveal that she is younger. For example, she cares about her appearance when she goes out, she is discussing her night out with her friend, she isn’t married.

Gender

We wanted a female to play the main character.
WHY
We wanted to follow the stereotype of females being weaker, more emotional and more vulnerable in certain situations. Usually girls are the ones getting attacked.
HOW
We’ve shown this by having the girl in a location which implies danger e.g. the river and the possibility of her dropping in it. We also showed it by making her have ripped tights and smashed make up, this symbolises that she is in a bad condition and she is emotionally unstable.

As an antagonist we chose a, tall, white, and dark hair guy. We wanted him to wear a hoodie because usually the way of dressing represents different social groups. In this case the antagonist is dressed in a way that expresses his status and it could relate him with a delinquent or a person that experiments antisocial personality which relates him to a person that goes against the norms of society by committing crime or being deviant. Hiding his face was a way of making him look more suspicious and to create tension. His age is not clearly identified because we can hardly see his face but by the way that he dresses he looks like a young adult. This is a way of relating him with people in society that are seen as dangerous and create more suspicion and tension in the moment that he is walking behind the girl.

Ethnicity

We chose a white girl to play the main role.
WHY
We used the stereotype of a teenager who follows westernized fashion and lifestyle. Movies usually use as a stereotype white girl because since long ago they have been having more freedom that other ethnic groups. We did not want to challenge the stereotype so we followed what is usually seen more often in modern British society.

Class and statusThe class and status it is not really clear , but it could be working class and middle class people because they are more usually related to drugs and going out to parties. The drug that we have chosen as we researched it is not the most expensive one so many people could afford it, it is not like cocaine that just rich people would be able to afford paying for it every day.

Sexuality
We wanted her to be an ordinary girl so she can relate to every teenager. We chose her to be straight because the majority of teenagers are straight.