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

EVALUATION QUESTION TWO

This evaluation question will be looking at how my media product represents particular social groups through the four technical areas that are; mise-en-scene, camera, editing and sound. I will first be focusing on gender.

Firstly, from the very inaugural of my media product, or the opening sequence to my thriller, the mise-en-scene portrays the female character as self-sufficient and strong. This is due to her wearing a suit, which are primarily and typically worn by men, breaking the stereotype of women wearing dresses and being exceedingly womanly. From the very beginning shot the character is portrayed as a countertype of the typical female that is portrayed in the media, due to her costume but also how she grabs these particularly important, almost confidential looking files, meaning the power she has within the workplace is projected on screen. However, she then begins to put on lip gloss which, it could be argued, is a typical thing for a woman to do, it is very stereotypically feminine. Furthermore, her hair is curled and it is evident she has spent time doing it, which again is a common stereotype for women to care for their appearance. 

Despite this, I feel as though the character displays how women can be feminine and enjoy things like makeup and hair, yet still be strong and self-sufficient, it displays how women don’t have to be tough or butch to be strong willed, it is breaking the typical belief in the media that women are either excessively feminine and ‘girly’ or excessively butch and almost masculine. The character is somewhere in between, disrupting the idea of women having to be one or the other. Also, a sense of authority is depicted when the male comes into shot as he is dressed in a rough leather jacket, jeans and boots, yet the strong female wears a suit and heels. This gives the impression that the female has more money, and possibly more power and it becomes more apparent as the clip continues that the female also has more control of the entire situation, displaying authority and a sense of pre-eminence. Additionally, the fact that the woman is able to beat up a man displays yet more authority and

            Secondly, the camera shots, angles and movement also play a part in how the characters are portrayed. Throughout the shots of the female character on her own, she is always level with the camera to display a sort of level with the audience. This then alters as the woman gets out of the car and the shot of her shoes is displayed as the audience are then level with her feet, displaying her power and watching her walk away entices the audience as they feel lower than her, due to them being physically lower due to the camera shots as well as the control that is depicted from her simply walking away in heels. 

            This sense of supremacy is then reinstated as the male walks into the frame. He is physically lower than her as he runs out from the car, where he has been ducking and hiding from her, demonstrating the fear he feels and again makes the audience question who has the power at this moment due to it usually being the men that have power, but yet again the female character breaks those boundaries and stereotypes which is reflected in the camera angles. Furthermore, there is a shot where the female has just escaped the grip of the attacker, and is observing him get up and turn round ready to try again, and at this point the sun is on her back and she looks predominantly heroic and powerful. The shots of the fight scene are rapid and short to exaggerate the violence of this scene, and the fact that most of the shots focus on the woman display how she is predominantly the one in control, which yet again breaks the stereotype of women being fragile and helpless.

            Thirdly, the sound of the sequence is important and how it alters throughout depicts the characters and the authority they have within this scene. In the beginning the sound is not very prominent and is rather quiet to show how the female by herself is rather relaxed and at this point there is not a lot of tension being built. As she gets out the car, the slam of the door is a rather stressful sound and means the audience then become prepared for something to happen, after getting out the car is when the sequence becomes exciting and to build suspense the sound of the flick of the knife is used and makes the audience feel uncomfortable and stressed when it comes to the safety of the female character. This distress is then reinstated as the attacker runs up behind the woman the sound of his footsteps becomes louder and as he grabs her from behind the slap of the files on the gravel is loud and made evident through the shot of it falling, this distresses the audience and gets them prepared for a fight scene. Throughout the fight scene the sounds are quick and there is a mixture of noises of feet shuffling, jackets being rubbed and pulled and the sound of the knife swinging is exaggerated to put the audience on edge and build suspense.

               Lastly, the editing of the fight scene in particular is incredibly quick to show how fast the fighting is and how the female still has the ability to keep up and is able to avoid everything the attacker has. Also, at the very end of the sequence, the fight scene is paused to show the title and after the title leaves, the woman is shown standing up from beside the body of the attacker, who is presumably dead, and tapping his face with her black heels. She then walks towards the camera, where the files lie as she bends her knees to pick them up delicately and walk away. This ending shot displays her as being enormously powerful and the fact that the man is lying there and she hasn’t got a scratch on her. Also, the black screen with the title gives the impression that they continued to fight, but that showing that on screen is unnecessary as she was able to beat him easily and it suggests it was almost boring for her.
            I am also looking at the way in which my media product represents class and status within it. To begin with, the female lead is dressed in a black blazer, white shirt and black trousers, along with a pair of black heels. This portrays an idea of the female being high class, and the fact she is in a suit implies a sort of authority, or status. This idea of high class and authority is then reinstated for the audience when the attacker appears on screen wearing a leather jacket, dark jeans, boots and a white t shirt. The contrast between the lead female's clothing and his rather rough clothing is evident and displays the difference in job the two may have. Furthermore, the overall look of the attacker is a lot rougher in comparison to the well-kept lead female. It is obvious the lead female looks after herself and cares for her appearance however this is not evident at all for the attacker, meaning the audience could unintentionally assume she is of a higher class.
          Some of the shots of the female lead are taken from below. This low angle makes her automatically look of a high status and perhaps even heroic in some circumstances, for example in this shot:

Grace looks particularly heroic and the camera angle makes her look to have power and authority, the sun behind her also helps to add to this idea of her being of a high class and status.