How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In our opening sequence MUTE we have represented several different social groups such as women, teenagers and ethnic groups. Visually, throughout our opening sequence there is only once character displayed on the screen, this being 'Hannah', she is portrayed (at the beginning)to be an innocent and vulnerable teenage girl, which follows to become seriously a corrupt and Gothic character towards the end. With the use of our voice over different ethnic groups are represented to mostly be antagonistic as in many western films this is the conventional view.
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| Hannah - MUTE |
Women in the Media
In film (and everyday life) there are strong stereotypical views on females which represent them to be seen as predominantly weaker and inferior than the male gender. Throughout history women have always been seen as worth less than men - only within the last century were women allowed to vote (due to the suffragette movement)! The traditional role of women is conventionally to get married, have children and then they are seen to subvert themselves to their dominant husband; Because of the stereotypical vulnerability that they hold this conventionally makes the women be the victim in many horror films. In the media, women are usually represented in two binary opposites; one being a Madonna and the other being a Whore - this is theoretically known Sigmund Freud's Madonna/Whore Complex. An example of a film which includes this theory is a scene in The Breakfast Club (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EbZ_F4VbwE) where two of the only female characters are discussing the subject of sex. A Madonna is a woman who is seen to be the pure angelic virgin who men would want to be the mother of their children, opposed to the whore who is woman to mess about with in the mean time before the men settle down. Also, in the media women can be viewed as simply a sexual object to give sexual pleasure and made to be more desirable to the heterosexual male, this is known as Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze (1975). In the media the male gaze may be achieved through seductive shots of the women which make them appear desirable. The editors of the film may use effects such as slow motion to exaggerate the sexual nature of the women an example of this is the opening sequence to Jennifer's Body (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_jriX8B_lY) , where the camera slowly traces up Megan Fox's body it forces the heterosexual male audience to appreciate and find satisfaction in her youthful body.
Teenagers in the Media
In the media teenagers are stereotypically represented as rude, lazy and disobedient. Films and TV series such as Skins and Project X display the teenage generation to be rebellious towards society conventionally by what they do in their free time; this may include illegally consuming drugs and alcohol in addition to having dangerous unprotected sex - because of this the view of them being irresponsible. Teenagers are also conventionally seen as misunderstood by the older (and younger) generations because of their adolescent surge of hormones. Although, most teenagers in society don't conform to these negative stereotypes, the few that do are the ones who create the negative image which is commonly held. Another damaging stereotype held by people is that teenagers are seen as violent
and intimidating. In the British television drama Top Boy, it illustrates the unfortunate lives of teenagers living in a conventional council estate in Central London; the teenagers are entangled in the growing drug culture and hang round the streets of London in intimidating gangs. TV Show's alike this set the destructive over exaggerated stereotypes against youths- if they are depicted this way by the media, it may influence the way people build up their ideologies towards the certain group.
Ethnicity in the Media
In western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America the media often represent different ethnic groups in very different ways. As Britain is predominantly known as a Caucasian population the 'White man' is represented and signified as very powerful and authoritative over other ethnic minorities. Historically, the white man has through time always been seen as empowered purely due to the fact of the British colonisation and the slave trade that took place in numerous third world countries - because of this, the ethnic minorities were seen as the white man's possessions; even though this ideology is harsh and racist it was entirely true less than 100 years ago. In the American made film Zero Dark Thirty the middle-eastern Islamic men are represented to be evil, linked to Osama Bin Laden and are the prisoners to the white men. Alvrado's Four Key Theme theoretically backs up the point I have previously made, it stress' how ethnic minorities are represented in film as scary, 'other' and most definitely the enemy. The usage of different languages is enigmatic to the British/American audiences as there is a mystery as to what is being said and expressed; this leads to a the representation of other ethnic groups to be sly, sneaky and untrustworthy.
Representations we have used in MUTE.
In our opening sequence, as stated aforementioned in the introduction, there are different representations of Women, teenagers and ethnic minorities. With our usage of 'Hannah' we have created several conventional and unconventional features to represent Women and Teenagers. Our usage of the Spanish voice over also signifies conventional views of ethnic minorities in the media.
Conventional:
Some of the representations and characteristics that we have used in MUTE to form the character 'Hannah' are seen as conventional when looking at 'women' and 'teenagers' in the media. Throughout our opening sequence there is an ever-present hint of sexuality from the Hannah throughout; this supports theorists such as Laura Mulvey and Sigmund Frued. The sexual nature may be identified through the mis-en-scene such as Hannah's lollipop which she is filmed to be sucking on - this to the audience may have two separate connotations: the first being Hannah is child-like by eating and holding sweets, whereas the second being Hannah is a sexualised young lady with the lollipop prop being displayed as a sexual innuendo.
Teenagers in the Media
In the media teenagers are stereotypically represented as rude, lazy and disobedient. Films and TV series such as Skins and Project X display the teenage generation to be rebellious towards society conventionally by what they do in their free time; this may include illegally consuming drugs and alcohol in addition to having dangerous unprotected sex - because of this the view of them being irresponsible. Teenagers are also conventionally seen as misunderstood by the older (and younger) generations because of their adolescent surge of hormones. Although, most teenagers in society don't conform to these negative stereotypes, the few that do are the ones who create the negative image which is commonly held. Another damaging stereotype held by people is that teenagers are seen as violent
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| Project X |
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| Skins |
Ethnicity in the Media
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| Zero Dark Thirty - Torture Scene |
Representations we have used in MUTE.
In our opening sequence, as stated aforementioned in the introduction, there are different representations of Women, teenagers and ethnic minorities. With our usage of 'Hannah' we have created several conventional and unconventional features to represent Women and Teenagers. Our usage of the Spanish voice over also signifies conventional views of ethnic minorities in the media.
Conventional:
Some of the representations and characteristics that we have used in MUTE to form the character 'Hannah' are seen as conventional when looking at 'women' and 'teenagers' in the media. Throughout our opening sequence there is an ever-present hint of sexuality from the Hannah throughout; this supports theorists such as Laura Mulvey and Sigmund Frued. The sexual nature may be identified through the mis-en-scene such as Hannah's lollipop which she is filmed to be sucking on - this to the audience may have two separate connotations: the first being Hannah is child-like by eating and holding sweets, whereas the second being Hannah is a sexualised young lady with the lollipop prop being displayed as a sexual innuendo.
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Another idea to support Frued's Madonna/Whore complex is Hannah's white outfit. The outfit Hannah is wearing denotes purity, innocence and possibly virginity the conventional 'Madonna'. As a result, the representation of teenagers is seen as conventionally 'childish' and highlights and signifies Hannah's immaturity.
Also, in our opening sequence there are several close up shots of Hannah unconscious in a bath and she appears to be being washed by another person. In addition, there are several high angled, extreme close up's of Hannah's face - both represent women as being vulnerable which is definitely conventional in the media and especially films in the horror genre.
Our Spanish voice-over (spoken by our antagonist) meets the conventional representation of ethnic minorities. The voice-over creates a confusion to the audience as to who is speaking and can make the audience fearful of him - this is backed up by Alvrado's Four Key Racial Theme.
Additionally, at one point in the opening sequence Hannah is filmed whilst she is crying; this is conventional as women are seen as emotional and hormonal, this gives Hannah a weakness.
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Unconventional:
On the other hand, in our opening sequence we have represented different social groups in many unconventional ways. Throughout the scene, it is clear that Hannah is extremely independent because she is the only character that is seen on the screen and (from viewing the opening sequence) it is clear that she is always alone. This challenges the normal convention that 'women are dependent on others' - stereotypically dependent on men - as they are conventionally seen as inferior and vulnerable so it is unusual and unconventional to see an independent woman.
Unconventional:
On the other hand, in our opening sequence we have represented different social groups in many unconventional ways. Throughout the scene, it is clear that Hannah is extremely independent because she is the only character that is seen on the screen and (from viewing the opening sequence) it is clear that she is always alone. This challenges the normal convention that 'women are dependent on others' - stereotypically dependent on men - as they are conventionally seen as inferior and vulnerable so it is unusual and unconventional to see an independent woman.
Another unconventional feature we have used which challenges the representation of teenagers is 'happy' Hannah. In the first part of the opening sequence Hannah is seen to be laughing and chatting away to an unknown/invisible (to the audience) person. Conventionally teenagers are seen as miserable and uncommunicative, in the part 1 of the opening sequence Hannah is represented as the binary opposite.
We chose to represent Hannah in this way to the audience so people can really get into her corrupt character and understand why she is the way she is; how manipulation towards an innocent character can physically and emotionally scar them. The juxtaposition between Hannah at the beginning and end emphasises the massive change in which she, the victim, has undergone to get to where she is today.
We chose to represent Hannah in this way to the audience so people can really get into her corrupt character and understand why she is the way she is; how manipulation towards an innocent character can physically and emotionally scar them. The juxtaposition between Hannah at the beginning and end emphasises the massive change in which she, the victim, has undergone to get to where she is today.
