2.How our media product represents particular social groups

Evaluation (2) - Representation of Particular Groups

Mirrors

The still above shows a shot of a girl looking into a mirror from the film Mirrors and below is a similar shot of a girl looking into a mirror from our supernatural thriller opening. We were inspired by the use of representation in this shot and decided to make our character a young female, exploiting the thriller stereotypes of females in danger.

Both stills show females who are attractive, without lots of make-up, to emphasise their vulnerability in the privacy of their own bathrooms. in both films, this representation of women reinforces conventional ideologies of women as physically attractive, as sexual beings, especially in the still in Mirrors foregrounding the character's naked shoulders, as vulnerable, victims, exposed to danger, even when they are in the supposed privacy and safety of their homes and who therefore would stereotypically need a strong, powerful man to come to their rescue.

Beyond Reflection

In the case of our film, Beyond Reflection, our female character is a young adult who, as shown in this still, still clearly has the open expression and innocence of a younger child, which is still a part of her, compared with the more mature, sophisticated facial expression of the female character in Mirrors. Not only does this accentuate our protagonist's vulnerability but, in terms of target audience, it is effective in inviting younger social groups, both female and male, to want to become more involved in the film as they would be able to identify with our female protagonist's daily lives and routines, such as the way our character holds her hands to her mouth connoting insecurity and lack of self-confidence as she observes her reflection in the mirror.