Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The stereotypical view represented in the media is
summed up by this image from the
London riots, depicting Afro Caribbean teenagers
as hidden, destructive and menacing.

   The opening to our thriller film represents young males who would be considered as ethnic minorities in a rather stereotypical and negative manor. For example, the protagonist in our thriller, John, is from an Afro Caribbean background, his costume is all black and he is wearing his hood up. We presented Jon like this in order to reinforce the stereotype portrayed in the media that young adolescents from an ethnic background are, perhaps up to something shifty when sporting clothing that attempts to hide their identity. The reason we did this was to set up the idea that John was perhaps the character who was out to cause trouble, but in the end he was ultimately the victim. Furthermore, we have represented young adolescent males, from a Afro Caribbean background as intimidating and dodgy within their actions, which is a rather prejudice, stereotypical view to portray. However, as our film progresses we go to turn this stereotypical view on its side by representing John as the victim, due to the fact that he is threatened by the older white male. Therefore, if the film were to be developed our intention was that John is seen as a victim of racism, portraying the stereotype represented by the media as the opposite.

Example of the traditional femme fatale, Eva from
"Once Upon A Time In America".

Hanna, from our thriller opening, Transit

    Secondly, we have represented our female character, Hanna, as a more contemporary portrayal of the femme fatale therefore defying the typical stereotype. For example, Hanna has short brown hair and her costume is not at all provocative or revealing. We portrayed Hanna like this to get away from the typical femme fatale character, with long blonde hair and provocative clothing in order to represent a more progressive attitude to women, in the way that women can fight back and are not commanded by the male character. For example, in more traditional representations of the femme fatale, such as Eva in "Once Upon A Time In America" the femme fatale is a passive victim. 

Lisabeth Salander, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

   We based our female character on the protagonist from the action thriller "Hannah", whereby, the young female character fends for herself against those out to kill her. Additionally, we based the look of Hanna on the character of Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" . However, as events progress in the film, Hanna is found to be dead in the elevator and therefore the stereotype of the traditional femme fatale is partially represented here. We could have perhaps avoided steering back to this representation by portraying Hanna as the killer.

   Furthermore, the older white male character, Bill, is represented as stereotypical in some ways, yet in reflection of his actions towards Jon, he defies stereotypes in others. For example, Bill is an electrician in his early 40's and is presented in typical heavy duty work wear, additionally, he is the antagonist within our thriller opening. We gave Bill this background and costume in order to portray Bill's career as labour intensive, the reason that we did this was to introduce the stereotype formulated that suggests men who are employed in labour intensive jobs such as construction, engineering, electrics, etc aren't afraid to get their hands-on and deal with problems themselves. For example, if someone spoke about them in a bad manner, they would go out and take things in to their own hands. Furthermore, the re-enforcement of this idea allows Bill to become a more intimidating and realistic character as threat is associated through the stereotype.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2010/12/17/electrician-is-guilty-of-dudley-butchers-murder/
A link to a news article that supports the stereotype.

   On the other hand, we have challenged the stereotype of the media's representation of ethnic minorities as apposed to middle-aged white males. This is as films like "Adulthood" represent young adolescent ethnic minorities as intimidating, troublesome and violent towards older white males, where as, in our film we present the exact opposite. An example of another film that challenges the stereotypical view is "Harry Brown", this is as it revolves around an elderly white male acting as a threat to adolescent youth. The reason we did this was to represent ethnic minorities as the victim, showing that the media puts so much scrutiny on this specific social group that it doesn't take in to account the fact that anyone can be a threat and we should show everyone with the same equal view. 

The stereotypical view of young adolescent ethnic minorities.