Evaluation Question 2

HOW DOES OUR PIECE REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

Our piece has particular representations associated with gender and age. Here I will break down how we have represented these two groups in terms of mise-en-scene, sound, camera work and editing.

Gender

Through our two male characters, we have presented males as the source of action. This is a common stereotype as males signify strength and resilience, which is associated with action.

 

Our mise-en-scene shows the male characters actually move around the setting, which poses as a direct link to the stereotype that males are active in action roles.

 

We accentuated this through our use of camera work here, where we used a close up of the feet running.

The non-diegetic sound of the music works hand in hand with the mise-en-scene that presents our male protagonist as strong and powerful, another stereotype associated with the male sex. The music builds tension as a result of this character, showing his power and control over the situation. This is emulated by his costume, presenting him as dark and mysterious as his hood hides his identity. If a mystery can cause such disruption in a scene, it must be strong and powerful.

 

 

Despite the sense of action and control from the male characters, there is an essence of vulnerability shown through our male teen. His expressions show fear and worry, which is not necessarily expected of a male character due to the common stereotypes. It could be said that by placing him in a dangerous situation, we have challenged the idea that men convey power.

 

 

When it comes to the female character, we chose to represent her as vulnerable when left alone. The mise-en-scene shows her to be in an open space throughout the opening, which highlights her solitude.  

 

Our use of camera work is very important in the female representation. We used extreme close-up shots to make it feel as though her personal space is being invaded, which foreshadows her suggested fate in the hands of the antagonist. We also used downwards panning shots to give the idea that she is being watched.

 

The over-the-shoulder shot displays our female character as completely alone yet being closely watched. The suggestion that the antagonist will attack her is very apparent through the build up in music, which really adds to her vulnerability.

 

The diegetic sound of her gasp highlights her shock and fear at the situation. This then again shows her weakness and helplessness.

Despite the fact that the stereotypes that we represent are not accurate in realistic day-to-day life, they are the idea's that are normally presented in horror films. Therefore we made sure that we materialised these idea's in our piece in attempt to keep with the conventions of horror.  

AGE

The youth of the protagonist characters is shown through the innocence of the game 'hide and seek' and through the actors obvious age.Teenagers are often represented in all media as reckless and irresponsible. Our piece does suggest a sense of this, as they are in a dangerous situation, however they are not the reason for the danger. Instead, we have presented the youth as slightly exposed and defenceless.

By Emili Hone