Q2.) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our Psychological Horror film opening, two characters are introduced: a mysterious woman (protagonist/first victim), and a dark figure (antagonist).

To present the mysterious woman, we have used specific camera angles and editing techniques, designed to show viewers the mournful emotions of the character, thereby providing an idea as to what her fate may be by the end of the sequence. The character’s lack of ‘action’ within the sequence also connotes a feeling of resignation or acceptance that gives the audience the impression that something harmful is about to happen to her and representing the typical stereotype of most female characters as being vulnerable and weaker the male characters that could be introduced. The female characters’ appearance is

stereotypical for the ‘first victim’ within a horror film, because a vulnerable female character with a pale complexion, pretty appearance, dark, long hair, making her appear helpless and young; therefore allowing the audience to make assumptions as to her role in the sequence as it is a convention to have a female as a vulnerable and inevitable ‘victim’ at the beginning of the

Horror film. Examples of female victims and protagonists in Psychological Horror films are ‘Bug’ and ‘Case 39’.

The dark figure (antagonist) is shown in a dark light, in the background of the camera shot to show the mysteriousness of the character and to hint to the audience that the antagonist is not a good character and holds a lot of mystery. Our antagonist is shown wearing dark colours, connoting the ‘bad guy’ in most genres, and also informing the audience instantly of the characters role as the antagonist. The antagonists’ face is looking away from the camera, and hiding the identity of the person and therefore creating further enigma codes and building the mystery of our opening film sequence. The antagonist is shown for only a few seconds at the end of the sequence, all leading up to the inevitable appearance at the end of the clip, with the suspense of the narration, camerawork and soundtrack. The traditional convention of Horror openings is to reveal the antagonist for only a few seconds. This builds enigma codes for the rest of the film and also engages the audience to identify the antagonist. Typically, the antagonists of Psychological Horrors are often people instead of monsters, in our opening sequence; our antagonist is shown to ‘appear’ human which is a convention of a Psychological horror.

The narration makes the audience assume that the protagonist is the supposed antagonist’s victim. The narrator is the ‘mysterious woman’ seen in the sequence. An extreme close up of the letter which the woman is holding in her hand makes the audience realise that she is the narrator. It also means that the narrator’s discussion of her own death is the immediate death of the woman in the sequence. This tells the audience the woman’s fate.