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How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

The document discusses how different films represent children and social groups through their portrayal in mise en scene elements like costumes, lighting, camera angles, etc. It analyzes how films like Don't Be Afraid of the Dark portray young female characters as innocent through light colors and vulnerable camera positioning. In contrast, Orphan subverts expectations by showing a young girl in dark clothes with a close-up shot emphasizing her manipulative expression. The document also discusses representing the father character in a way that draws from both the modern portrayal in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and the period-appropriate feminine portrayal in The Woman in Black.

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50 views9 pages

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

The document discusses how different films represent children and social groups through their portrayal in mise en scene elements like costumes, lighting, camera angles, etc. It analyzes how films like Don't Be Afraid of the Dark portray young female characters as innocent through light colors and vulnerable camera positioning. In contrast, Orphan subverts expectations by showing a young girl in dark clothes with a close-up shot emphasizing her manipulative expression. The document also discusses representing the father character in a way that draws from both the modern portrayal in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and the period-appropriate feminine portrayal in The Woman in Black.

Uploaded by

alice
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How does your media product represent

particular social groups?

Children are often used in horror films because people have a fixed
perception of what children should be like, sweet innocent and kind,
however society cares about the corruption of youth and the fact that
horror films can subvert these stereo type puts fear into the audience
and has the desired effect. It does however come with difficulties and
challenges but has been proven time and time again. The following are
key examples of horror films in this sub-genre.

Insidiou

Children of
the Corn
The Woman
in Black

The
Children

Orphan

We chose to represent female children as they can be even more twisted


than boys, in this case we took the stereo type and paired it with
something thats the complete opposite, the angel daughter and the
devil demon character.

In the film Dont Be Afraid Of the Dark we see the


typical representation of young females. Sally
conforms to what we think when we visualise someone
her age, gender and ethnicity. The mise en scene is
used in this scene to represent her in the shot and her
placement in the film:

Vulnerable

Small compared
to the spacious
wide shot.

Peach coloured
clothes connote
innocence and
femininity.
Innocent
Weak

Neutral shot
shows us her
facial
expression.

Need
protection

Sill
y
Rule of Thirds:
Set to the side
to draw our eye
to her.

Small

Dark room feels


like its
consuming her
small, fragile
body.

Harmles
Needs
s
In comparison
to Dont Be Afraid Of the Dark, Orphan
uses the opposite and subverts our expectations as
viewers watching a young female, this still in
particular is completely opposite to what we see in
Sallys still.

Twisted

Dark clothing
against her
porcelain white
skin.

An unusual
object to link
with a young
girl.

Demonic

Harmful
Close up shot
of her shows
us her facial
expressions.

Killed
Innocence
Lost
femininit
y
Scenic area
blurred out,
shes the focus
all attention
directed to her.

Manipulative

Dark room feels


like its
consuming her
small, fragile
body.

Blunt
Violent
instrument
We took inspiration from the previous films because
we like the fact that they played up the innocence and
harm these girls portrayed. We however modelled
Elizabeths character as a mix, she has the purity yet
also the demon lives within her.

Single source of
light that is
visible makes
the background
fade.

Dark
Pale face is
almost doll
like
The camera is
placed at a
high angle
looking down
on her
showing her
vulnerability
and
weakness.

Confusion
and angst

Rule of Thirds: places


her and the picture
book to separate
sides as they both
draw your attention.

Searching
Being
for a
consumed
problem
Generally we found that in horror films to establish
by the book
representation of characters through the mise en
scene, using the colours, backdrops and lighting, also
the camera angles and editing are key in order to
show true representation of these characters.

Tracking shots of walking


towards the camera
make the audience feel
personally attacked and
targeted.

High angle shots show


weakness and powerless
victims it makes them
vulnerable and evokes
audience sympathy.

Low angle shots to make the


villains seem superior,
powerful and strong to the
audience. They are
controlling us, watching over
us.

Costumes are old


Shadows and darkness
fashioned which makes
make the scene
them creepier, like a
gloomier, it scares the
Although
notthe
a main part of our film,
the father
is still
forgotten
past, fear
audience
as they
cant
represented in it, we took inspiration
from
thedark.
unknown.
see whats
in the
following films to make Christopher. The Woman in
Black makes Kipps a very feminine father unlike most
in his century, however we discover this is because of
his past.

Weaker
More
feminine

Old fashion
time period,
clothing and
hair set to it.

Natural
background.

Framed in the
centre we are
immediately
looking at him as
he moves toward
us.

Smart

Blue, black
and green
colours used.
Coming out from
within the
nature,
mystery
In comparison to The
Woman
in Black, Dont Be Afraid
and he
confusion.
Of the Dark has Alex,
is portrayed as sterile and a
modern father figure matching the time period of the
film.

Strong

Responsible

High key
lighting
surrounding
him.

Framed in the
centre in darker
colours compared
to the light
background makes
him stand out.

Modern

Grey, black
and dark
colours used

Casual style

Strong stance
asserting his
authority of
Sally and the
situation.
In conclusion we based
Christopher on Alex with the
knowledge of Kipps fitting with his time period. We
wanted him to be modern and young yet still have the
masculine intelligent qualities.

Safety

Modern

Night time is
approaching,
shown in the
medium shot also
showing us his
body.

Young

Framed to
the left
draws our
point of view
to him.

Casual style
Dark lighting makes
the single light source
more appropriate to
make him stand out.

Grey and white


clothing mixes
of light and
dark

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