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

By Adam James Newton

Social GroupsMost works of media represent various real-life social groups, whether directly or through proxy. All these social groups possess stereotypes, and it is up to the creators of the work to decide how they should be represented. These representations can be positive or negative, and can reinforce or challenge stereotypes.

Social groups can include:

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Social Class

• Sexuality

• Gender

• Physical Ability

Of these, I have decided that the social groups with the most relevance to my work are age, social class, and gender.

Social ClassOur portrayal of people with high status simultaneously challenges and reinforces stereotypes. Imagery such as a large house and smart clothing are stereotypes of people in a high class and can be a positive representation as it represents pride. The confident manner of walking employed by the character is a slightly more negative stereotype of them being care and struggle free is also implied by the walk.However, some conventions of the high class is broken in our piece. The character is shown to be paranoid, as demonstrated by him keeping an emergency weapon in places such as his fridge. Paranoia is not a trait associated with the rich, and also challenges the above idea of their life being care-free. It also challenges the perception of smart clothing as a stereotype as he is shown looking dishevelled in his bedroom before tidying himself up and walking downstairs. This implies that some level of his confidence may be a façade, and this kind of weakness is not commonly associated with the rich.

The other character in our piece can be seen as an extension of the representation of the upper classes, despite actually being of significantly lower statu. He wears a smart work shirt, which is an item of clothing associated with the middle or upper classes. However, his dishevelled and scruffy look implies that he has fallen in status at some point. Aspects such as his possessions reflect this new status. He drives a cheap car in comparison to the gigantic house, and the camera becomes shaky and the editing choppy to contrast with the person of higher class. He is shown as angry at the person of higher status, a common stereotype of people in lower classes. This can be seen as a negative portrayal because anger is a negative trait. However, the implication that the character has fallen in status due to the actions of the higher classes and is taking his revenge can be seen as a positive portrayal depending on your personal political leanings.

AgeOur two characters appear to be of slightly differing ages, with the homeowner being the younger of the two. This challenges stereotypes, as it is often believed that older people are also of higher status compared to younger people. Making the younger one the owner of the mansion defies convention. Despite being played by younger actors, the characters are supposed to be older. This fits in with the stereotype of adults being motivated by money, which leads to disputes and attempts at revenge.

GenderThe only characters within our opening are male. This implies that women are not important within the contest of this setting, and it also upholds the stereotype of people who commit crime being exclusively male. A negative stereotype that this setup provides is the idea that men are devoted to more ‘masculine’ ideas such as that of petty revenge and violence being used to solve problems. The lack of any feminine perspective implies that masculinity is more important rather than a balance of the two.

EthnicitySimilar to the portrayal of gender, the cast of my film opening is made up of only one social group as both me and Joe are white. This will have the side effect of reducing representation of other ethnic groups. One stereotype that stems from this casting is the idea that white criminals tend to be of higher status than criminals of other ethnic groups, becoming far richer as the ownership of a large house and the smart clothing both suggest.

In conclusion, I believe that my piece contains representations of various social groups that both use and challenge traditional stereotypes. Of note is that there is a lack of representation of people of differing ethnicity, age, and physical ability, and this could be remedied further on in the film. The lack of this representation could in turn make some groups feel marginalised as a result. The opening does not make any reference to sexuality, and so characters are ambiguously defined and can be interpreted in different ways as the film develops them.