AS G321: Evaluation - Representation

How does your media production represent particular social groups?

In our final media production both genders are represented, however, the male stalker is not identified at this point in time. We decided to keep the primary character female because most likely in horror films, a male is considered the most important as they will end up being the 'hero' of the 'damsel in distress'. Therefore, to contradict this, we used a woman to represent the film and themes that are involved. 

Women are usually sexualised within this genre which is one of the reasons why horror movies are rated 15/18. However, our media production does not include any sexual references, as our target audience is for young teens and it may be inappropriate to show our main actress this way especially since her lifestyle seems very professional. 

We decided to present female representation and social class through a video where we use a whiteboard and marker to simply show why we chose a character of colour and what statistics were shown for black actors/actresses. 

The female stereotype of being innocent and vulnerable is emphasised within the film as she does not yet have a 'hero' to protect her from danger, which could possibly represent her weakness at this point in time. Whereas the stalker in the film is already portrayed as a dominant and tough character who is a danger to 'Ava'. 

Gender stereotypes goes back to the 1800's, it was only in the 1960's feminists made movements and gained supporters and questioning the female stereotypes. Women are often objects of beauty and domesticity, often appeared as seductive or as mentioned above sexualised. Most films especially of the horror genre don't acknowledge womens strength, power and independence, in fact they are usually portrayed as unrealistic and hyper-attractive. However, it is becoming more common especially in the sci-fi franchise such as the Hunger Games and Divergent to include women of courage and force.

Therefore, within our film we wanted to show the independence of women especially in the middle class who are of colour. This is because, the audience do not have to feel empathy for an unrealistic female, as this wouldn't add realism or horror over a everyday hard working woman. Overall, we are happy with our choice of character because it challenges the female representation in current horror movies.