Evaluation - Question 2

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our opening sequence predominantly represents the stereotypes of gender. This is represented through our two key characters, where we have Megi a girl who plays the victim, whilst her abuser is a male. This represents the stereotypes of gender because females are often portrayed as weak, inferior and vulnerable compared to men.  Megi, who plays Lucy in our sequence, represents a typical vulnerable school girl. She has been kidnapped by her male abuser (although we don't reveal this until the end of the sequence) and the fact that she has been physically abused shows how the male had control and dominance over her, to which she could not prevent. Her bruises and cuts portray this. The use of mise-en-scene in the flashback also illustrate how Megi is a normal school girl, as shown through her uniform, whose innocence falls victim to her abuser. A contrast is also created as males are usually stereotyped as wearing a blazer, tie and trousers but in this context we are challenging the stereotype as Megi wears this type of uniform.

Her abuser is also dressed in black trousers with black shoes. Black is a colour that has connotations of darkness, evil and sinisterness so therefore it reveals a lot about his character for the audience and we can assume that he has harmful intentions. His dominance over Megi shows how he asserts his authority of a male, as males are usually stereotyped to be strong, controlling and superior to women.

Our characters conform to Levi-Strauss's theory of binary opposition, as we have Megi who is good, whilst we have the abuser who is bad showing how they represent opposites in personality and intentions.