How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Taylar W.Smith

My media product uses the conventions of drama/action films to portray a stereotypical class – homeless people. Homeless people are usually stereotyped to be dirty, desperate, insignificant, powerless and generally just ignored most of the time. In the opening sequence I have mainly focused on representing this typical ‘hobo’. However, I feel I have challenged some of the stereotypes too. I think I was fairly successful with this.

The first shot where you see my homeless character is a wide shot, which shows him from a distance surrounded by massive trees and foliage and not much else. There isn’t anyone/anything else in the frame, and I think this makes the character appear small and alone. It makes him seem insignificant.

I feel this supports the stereotype that homeless people are alone and helpless in the world, and that they have no one (friends, family).

However, I have also challenged the typical view that homeless people are insignificant and are often, if not always, ignored. I used hand-held shots of the character through the branches, to give the impression that he is being watched. This opposes the stereotypical view that homeless people are ignored and aren’t of any importance or significance.

I have also represented the homeless class through the use of mise-en-scene. My character’s costume is based very much on the stereotypical view of homeless people - dirty clothes, ‘rough’, worn out.

I have used natural lighting to give a more natural, untamed feel for the environment and also the character himself.

The character is limping in pain throughout the sequence, which connotes pain and possibly an injury, as he has a gun as well, implying that he has been shot. He is also constantly aware and looking behind him, almost in anticipation of someone following or stalking him. This links well to the stereotype that homeless people are inferior, helpless and always aware and scared.

I used a combination on a wig and a beard, made to look ‘scruffy’ and untidy. This is to denote rough living and the lack of hygiene, which is also stereotypical of homeless people.

The character carries a gun through half of the sequence. The gun, serving as an action code, very well connotes violence and death.

The setting is a woodland area. The woods are calm and in a way tranquil, with no visible signs of civilisation. This connotes that the homeless man is trying to get away from people. This helps support the stereotype that homeless people don’t like other people’s company. Furthermore, the woods are also grubby and dirty, reflecting the stereotypical lifestyle of a homeless person.

In my opening sequence, I have used both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds which contribute to my character's representation. In terms of diagetic, I included both the sound of the character's movement and ambient sounds (e.g. birds in the background). These help convey more realism into the product, and in turn helps the character seem more realistic to the audience. There is no dialogue in the entire sequence. I feel this endorses another stereotype that homeless people don't often converse with others, and are lonely people. However, others view homeless as being begging, 'in your face' and always in the way, so a stereotype can also be opposed here.

Also of significance is the music. I recorded the music only with an acoustic guitar, and then added some effects on to it afterward. I feel the acoustic-only sound of the song relates well to the earthy, rural feel I was looking for in both the character and his setting. The effects included reverb and some delay, which I added to give the sound more atmosphere, and to give a distant feel. This distance helped portray my character towards the typical view that homeless people are distant from others and more often than not alienated.

The editing of the opening sequence is fairly simple and slow-paced. There aren’t any complex transitions or fast cuts. This supports the realism of the sequence, which helps suggest that the stereotypes are real, and also helps the audience relate. This is key to representing characters well.

Golden Globe nominated film, Into the Wild has both suggested and challenged media stereotypes of homeless people. Whilst conveying the typical expectations of what a homeless person would be like – clothes, hygiene, living area especially – Into the Wild also challenges a significant stereotypical view on them. Homeless people are often associated with an inability to succeed in life, but the main character in Into the Wild, before becoming homeless in the narrative, was a university graduate and a top student, with quite a lot of money. I tried to portray the character in my opening sequence in more than just one light, but I feel I wasn't as successful as I would like to have been. I feel like I have supported the stereotypes more so than I have challenged them. Still, I am happy with the final outcome and how my main character has been represented.

Golden Globe nominated film, Into the Wild has both suggested and challenged media stereotypes of homeless people. Whilst conveying the typical expectations of what a homeless person would be like – clothes, hygiene, living area especially – Into the Wild also challenges a significant stereotypical view on them. Homeless people are often associated with an inability to succeed in life, but the main character in Into the Wild, before becoming homeless in the narrative, was a university graduate and a top student, with quite a lot of money. I tried to portray the character in my opening sequence in more than just one light, but I feel I wasn't as successful as I would like to have been. I feel like I have supported the stereotypes more so than I have challenged them. Still, I am happy with the final outcome and how my main character has been represented.