All aspects of film form including narrative contribute to the representations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity and age) including the ideological nature of those representations.
Ideology: set of ideas, beliefs of someone holds (group of individuals having them same ideas).
PERFORMANCE:
age ethnicity, costume, facial expression, body language.
Stereotype: A fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing.
Countertype: A representation that actively seeks to subvert and challenge negative stereotypes usually of a person, group or place. e.g black president in America rather then white.
Terminator 1: Sarah Connor is seen a stereotyped American waitress. she’s in pink which is viewed as a very ‘feminine colour’. she is around 20, in a scene she is seen being late for work this can provide us with information letting us know she is a hopeless 20 year old who’s always in a rush.
Terminator 2: Sarah Connor is seen as a countertype now. She is seen to have a muscular build which is the opposite to the first film where you seen her in a feminine pink dress. she is also seen wearing black which is seen as a ‘masculine colour’. in this photo she is seen holding a gun and she seems very comfortable around it, indicating to viewers she’s been training and is preparing for war/battle.
Why do you think the director change her character in the second film?
It wasn’t the director who chose her character to be more of a countertype it was Sarah herself. She said she wants the charter to be crazy. She still fights how she did in the first film.
TRAINSPOTTING REPRESENTATION
1.WHO IS DOING THE REPRESENTATION? (DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT)
The director is doing the representation. They are creating what will be viewed by audience/viewer.
2.WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED ? (Identify specific social groups)
The working class, all character are to be seen in the lower or working class status.
3.WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE OMITTED FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS?
Social groups that are getting omitted is children. Apart from the baby that is the only child you see. People aged 20-25 are the Minority age.
4.WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS ARE BEING CONVEYED?
The messages that are being conveyed is that this particular group of people are bad. It indicates to us that they are taking drugs everyday, have a lose of humanity.
5.WHICH CHARACTERS OR SOCIAL GROUPS HAVE POWER WITHIN THE REPRESENTATIONS?
The social group with the most power is the 20-25 year olds as that is how old majority of the characters are. One child is seen and you rarely see anyone older then around 50-60.
6.DO THE CHARACTERS ADHERE TO OR CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES?
These group of people adhere to the stereotypes of working/lower class people. It shows that these people throw their life’s and away and over take the use of drugs.
7.ARE THE CHARACTERS TYPICAL OF FILMS IN THAT GENRE?
As the genre is black comedy I would say it relates to it. The characters being open to drugs but also being comic really relates to the genre.
8.WHAT DO REPRESENTATIONS TELL AUDIENCES ABOUT SOCIETY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS MADE AND/OR SET?
The representations tell the audience that this society at the time was over drug users. It shows us that in Edinburgh used to be a run down place which was a bit sketchy. It enables us to see that most people were in the working class.