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

My characters:

Ewan (the protagonist/victim) is the main character in my production and he falls into the social group of young adults. He is represented as a stereotypical drug addict, as he has a filthy appearance, tormented psyche, as well as the grimy surroundings, which help emphasise his character. In addition to this, is the fact that he is around the same age as my target audience, meaning that most of the viewers can relate to the character more in a sympathetic way, as he is only young.

Nawe (the main antagonist) is the same person as Ewan, so in that context they are both the same age and gender. I did this to show that Ewan has really gone insane and that he is scared of himself the most. I made these two characters the same as having an antagonist who is the same age as the protagonist, creates more conflict between the two, meaning that the audiences hatred increases for Nawe. The character overall is represented as evil, brutal and haunting, as he is the one that makes our protagonist go insane.

The Homeless Man (other antagonist) is a character that is represented as revengeful, spiteful and loathing, as all he cares for is wanting revenge on Ewan. To help show who his character is he wears a bin liner to represent that he has nothing. He represents a small social group in society, one that I think gets ignored too much, thus the reason I created him. I did cast a black male in the role so that black viewers may have more of a connection to the character, good or bad.

The Dead Mother (last antagonist) is a character that represents a social group that is older than my target audience. I made her this specific age so that the production felt more realistic, and also due to the fact that this social group can again have a closer connection to the character. I kept her silent and ominous to highlight the fact that she has been the most mistreated character, which in return makes her scarier.

What films inspired me:

When planning my production I took inspiration from horror films that I felt had a feeling of mental violence and torment, ones that didn’t include a lot of gore or heavy effects, but more silent and subtle fears that we all have. I did this to gain an understanding of target audiences as well, so that I knew who to advertise my production to. By doing this I found that all the films I was taking inspiration off focused in the same target audience as me.

A Field In England:

This film in a lot of ways includes a lot of the same themes as mine: fear of ourselves and what extent humans are willing to go through to get what they desire. The antagonists in this film are two males, who put these three men through mental torture just to get what they want. I felt the antagonists in my production and this film are similar in the ways I just pointed out, and I think the use of non-violence, mentally not physically, add a lot of depth to the characters, making it more tragic and depressing overall. I think that since all the antagonists are male, it helps add to the representation that all males are really in fact evil in some way. There are no women represented in the film, which again helps re-enforce this general representation of men and at the same time allows the social group of women to have increased hatred for the villains, as the lack of diversity means they have no one to relate to. My production is also similar to this film as all of the characters in A Field In England are between that 15-30

age range. This helps as both productions allow for the characters to be sympathised more with, as the viewing audience are a similar age to them. However, even though this film is set way before mine, all of the characters are represented in their own unique ways, but also have the stereotypical conventions that apply to them, such as dominance, strength and awareness. This mix, which I feel my sequence has as well, helps create a conflicting approach for the audience as they struggle to decide whom to support more.

Eraserhead:

Eraserhead, I feel is the film that inspired the most. It has a small cast, allowing us to focus more on the characters as actual people and the creepy surroundings that they live in. The protagonist in production is very similar to the one in Eraserhead, as they are both represented as tormented individuals who are just trying to escape. They are both counter-types to their usual stereotypes, as they are quiet, caring and in fact innocent people who are getting what they don’t deserve. They are also similar as they both represented as young males, allowing social groups such as young men to empathise more with the characters, as they can put themselves in their situations. My production and this film also have a lot of the same themes/tones, such as isolation, fear of the future and fear of the people who you may have wronged in the past. There is a motherly figure in the film who like mine is represented as ominous and disturbing, through her use of minimal dialogue and

weird behaviour. This representation contrasts with the usual perception of mothers, (talkative, friendly) and I feel that this contrast in my production and the film helps create a sense of uneasiness and surrealism.

Donnie Darko:

This film is similar in a lot of ways with my production. First of all the time setting is roughly the same, meaning that the costumes and language can relate more to different social groups, something my other tow films cannot do. Second of all, the similarities between the two protagonists are very sparse. They are both younger adults, late teens, which means the younger audiences I am aiming my sequence for, such as 15, can have more of a connection to the characters than with Eraserhead and A Field In England. The parts I liked about Donnie Darko, which I liked were the parts where the protagonist in Donnie Darko is represented as weak, timid and sad. These counter-typing qualities allow us to really feel pity for the character as he cannot help the inner demons, which lurk in his mind. I included these same principles in my production, as male characters who show vulnerability and sadness are often empathised more with the social groups such as young women and adults females, who for the most part are not represented throughout any of these films in much detail. I feel that my character’s weaknesses (Ewan’s), which outweigh the strengths allow for general audiences, aged 15-30, to understand what torment he is going through and in the process feel sorry for him, rather than not.