Q2/ How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Represent ing Particular Social Groups

My film has demonstrated both conforming and subverting to stereotypes. On the subject of gender, the plot is controversial and there is no definitive rule on stereotypes. On the one-hand, we have our hit man, who is actually a woman, murdering a man to obtain the USB for her employer. This goes against the typical conventions of a thriller as usually the term ‘hit man’ is self-explanatory, a man usually plays the role (for example Anton Chighur in 'No Country for Old Men'). The fact that a woman plays the role gives an element of power to women in general an subverts from the stereotype that all women are weak and helpless. An example of where women are taking up the roles usually played by men is in the film The Avengers’ in the form of the Black Widow, although where my character lacks the smooth, sexual prowess of the femme-fatal role the Black Widow plays, they are both on the front-line in terms of getting their hands dirty.





However, there are still elements of character stereotypes within my film such as ‘The Hirer’. Since he is a man and his employer is a woman, it still implies that men still hold some degree of supremacy over women despite the power they emanate to the audience. Although, it is debatable that it is the woman who goes out and does the man’s dirty work may also suggest that men depend on women in certain aspects of life. However there is another character in my film, ‘The Witness’ who follows the conventions of a stereotypical woman. At the sight of a body, she flees in terror and at the

end when she is eavesdropping into the killer’s phone call, she is almost pathetically terrified (though the affect was supposed to illicit sympathy for her rather than encourage a popular stereotype of women being weaker). She is a stereotypical woman in the sense that she is helpless in the situation.







In terms of age, all of my actors are teenagers, regardless of the fact that they are supposed to be playing adults, so unfortunately my film still portrays teenagers in a certain way (mistrustful and sly). With the category of race (despite all of my characters being Caucasian) my film subverts to the classical hegemony role since the

character in my film who gets murdered is a white male. Sexuality is not really portrayed in them opening, and remains neutral throughout, so there is little to comment upon. The class in my film, however, is stereotypical. The thriller genre is a blue/white collar crime menagerie, where the employer is an upper class citizen (made noticeable by his rather sophisticated accent) and the killer is of lower status (emphasised purely by the fact that she is killing people for money).