YM- EVALUATION (2)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our opening sequence focuses on the social group of young, white males. Having males in our opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the appearance of this social group in thriller movies as stereotypically men are seen as stronger both mentally and physically and are therefore more able to handle the action and severe events that often occur in thriller movies.

We are portraying this social group in a rather negative light. Our opening sequence suggests to the audience that young, white males relate themselves to drugs and trouble due to the obvious fact that the protagonist has got himself into trouble and therefore is facing the consequences. There are implications weaved into our opening sequence through the flashbacks that the cause of all the trouble is a drug deal.

Mise-en-scene plays a major role in constructing this representation of young, white males. Stereotypically, young, white males in bigger cities appear to dress in tracksuits and hoodies and we conformed to this stereotype by dressing our protagonist in this.

The emergent ideology of this social group says that young, white males live in run down areas where the habitants come from a low economic background. We have decided to keep to this stereotype and pick a location that conforms to this ideology.

In terms of camera work in presenting this social group we use in our opening sequence, the repeating close up of the money in the first flashback reinforces the stereotype that teenage males constantly find themselves in trouble.

Using a male as our villain as well continues to conform to stereotypes that say women are weaker and more vulnerable than men.

The way we presented this social group in our opening sequence isn’t really challenging the social norms related to this social group as today teenage males have a reputation of causing trouble and being a nuisance in society, particularly in large cities- which is the location of our opening sequence. Therefore, I wouldn’t say there is anything ideologically disabling about the way we have presented this social group in our opening sequence.