1. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
2. As this is only the opening two minutes of what would have been a full film, we haven't
challenged the typical stereotypes as much as we would have liked to if we would have
continued filming. In the first section however, we do challenge the typical stereotype by using
a male as the main character who in this case comes across as a very vulnerable character due
to his close encounter with a zombie. Also, I believe towards the end of the two minutes we
challenge the stereotype too due to both male and female news reporters which gives our film
variety.
3. When using both males and females for our news presenters all camera angles and positioning
was kept the same to show that both males and females are equal. We decided to do this to
again challenge the stereotype that men and women aren't equal. Throughout the rest of our
film male actors are used. In all of these cases the males are either zombies or extremely
vulnerable to turning into one. We decided to use male actors as we wanted to change the
typical view of actors throughout the film. This is because women are usually seen as the
vulnerable type which can be seen as sexist and unfair. We also used a low angle shot looking
up to a male zombie which we decided to use as a fear element as it looks like it is from our
main characters view. Also because it looks like the zombie is in power and they are taking over
which again challenges usual stereotypes as in usual horror films the humans end up over
powering the zombies.
4. When representing social groups throughout our film we wanted to try and represent them all
as equal to again break stereotypes. Although we donât see many female figures throughout
the first two minutes of our film, when they are seen, they are represent as equal to the males
due to camera angles and the same role they are playing. If we were to go on and create the
rest of our film we have decided we would film it so the female actors get the lead roles and
become the stronger people to break typical stereotypes of the females being vulnerable.
These stereotypes are seen in films such as World War Z as we see the male characters being
the ones to give orders and lead the way. However, in films such as Quarantine 2 we see the
stereotypes being broken which is what we would like to do with our film.
5. In our film young people are used as the actors and represented through the characters as we are
following a general stereotype with horror movies in that teens are usually interested in this genre
of movie and also tend to be quite thrill seeking. In our film the young people are seen to be quite
laid back and not bothered by the situation at first. This is seen through the part when our main
character is slowly getting out of bed and getting dressed whilst on the move. However, as this is a
typical stereotype of young people, we would like to try and challenge this if we were to go on and
complete the rest of our film. The typical stereotype is also seen when another one of our
characters is lounging on the sofa.
6. Men are used as the main characters throughout our film. However, we are challenging the
stereotype by making them seem vulnerable as seen through the âdreamâ. This is shown through
the non diegetic sound as it is a piece of music which builds tension and panic which fits with the
action taking place I the shot. We wanted to do this as it makes our film seem different to others
as males are always seen as the superior gender which we found was unfair and needs changing
as both men and women share most of the same responsibilities.
7. There are no parents or adults present in our film to express the fact that the main characters
are students and meant to be living alone. Also because the adults are not present it makes the
characters seem more alone and vulnerable because they have no one there to protect them or
make decisions for them meaning it may be harder for them to decide what is the right thing to
do in the situation which again adds a sense of fear as for most of us our parents are present the
majority of the time for guidance.