Task 2How does your product represent particular social groups?

By Lauren B

In our opening scene our characters, the teenage girl who suffers with sleep paralysis and an unidentified but presumed male who is anonymous antagonist.

The first social group, gender. We have represented peoples dominant genders by having the main character as a female. Also, by having the antagonist as an anonymous person that is presumed to be male (as we used a male actor), it shows that we have shown gender in a positive light as we are showing the varying different genders people have; like gender fluid, etc.

Secondly, we have shown peoples age by the using teenagers to portray the same age group. However, we have not shown varying ages, but as the antagonist is anonymous we cannot be sure about their age (again through filming we used a teenage actor). Furthermore, we have positively used props to represent the main character being set in (her) teenage girl's bedroom. We did this by using stereotypical things we thought know would be in a teenage girl bedroom; such as, perfume, food (like chocolate, crips, etc.), phone, clothes, etc.

Social Groups

Thirdly, we have represented how people can suffer from mental health in our film, as the main character is suffering with sleep paralysis attacks. We have tried to show how it can affect a person and can cause people to hallucinate from either the lack of sleep or from the prescribed remedies. Also, how this can make a person very vulnerable.

Fourthly, within the film we have only shown peoples ethnicity through the main character as she is a white and British/South African. However, our crew all have a different culture/background/ethnicity.

Lastly, we have mainly shown the C1 to E class. This is because the bedroom that she has shows the parents to probably be apart of the C1 class. However, the main character is a teenager and we do not know at this stage of the film that she would have a job; but for most teenagers around her age – 19 – would have at least a weekend job. This will make her more relatable to our target audience as well.

Social Groups

The main character's characteristics are shown through the mise-en-scene; Costume – the light clothing for the main character shows her

innocence/vulnerable, however, she also wears light grey pyjama bottoms which could reference to her not being as innocence/vulnerable as the audience may think.

Lighting – as the sequence opens when it is low-key it could show how she could have a dark side – which is furthered by the mirror prop. This is because it could show her as having multiple personalities.

Actor – as the actress was a teenager like our character, we have represented age and or target audience will relate to her more.

Make-up/hair – we decided to keep her make-up and hair natural, so that all teenagers/target audience could relate to her.

Mise-en-scene

This is also shown in the camerawork when we tried to show her characteristics and the storyline at the same time. We did this by also showing our main social issue, mental health. As our main character suffers with sleep paralysis, and that is the main theme of our film (as she cannot tell if there is someone really there or that it is just a paralysis attack, and she is hallucinating.) We showed this through the camera by using different camera shots/angles (which is also conventional to our genre) of her struggling to decide whether it is reality or not.

Camerawork

From the start you can tell that the main character is very vulnerable, from the sharp, tense music. This is furthered through the edited close-up, on the post-it-note that states that her parents will not be back till Monday. This is because her being left on her own, when she is struggling with her sleep paralysis is makes her more vulnerable to someone and for her to hallucinate.

Sound & Editing

Our representation of a both of our characters are shown as typical teenagers as; In real life; A stereotype is that they are lazy and have very messy rooms – we have accurately shown this through

our use of props in the main characters bedroom. However, another stereotype of teenagers is that they are rebellious – which she does do not replicate

yet the antagonist does. Also the antagonist adheres to that all teenagers wear black, however we mainly chose to do this

costume to further how anonymous they are at the start of the film. In film; In most psychological thriller films the teenager is shown to make the audience uneasy as they are

unpredictable – we have shown this with the antagonist, however the majority of the film the main character seems to be the victim. This could adhere to the stereotype, that women are always the victim, and could by taken negatively from gender social groups. As well as we have represented the antagonist as a male, which could further this. However, we are not shown during the opening that she is the victim to another person, only to her sleep paralysis attacks.

For example – we showed this like the black swan mirror scene, although it is the same character in and out of the mirror. However, this adds more tension to our film as within the Black Swan you can automatically know that she is hallucinating. Whereas, in our film as it is another character it is most likely that she is not, because of the flash backs with them.

Representation

Natalie Portman The Black Swan

Kezia and Zack Paralysis (our film)

Same lighting

Back of both of the main characters.

Key;• Difference/Countertype• Similarity/stereotype.

Same character

Different character

Both wearing white top and grey bottoms.

Also, wearing black top under

Both characters in the mirror reaching for something.