All aspects of film form including narrative contribute to the representations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity and age) including the ideological nature of these representations -All aspects of a film, from performance to story, can portray ideas about different people and societies

Performance

• Age
• Ethnicity
• Costume
• Facial Expression
• Bodylanguage
• Gestures

Ideology

Ideas and ideals that an individual holds about a concept, group of people, place or thing.

Stereotype

A stereotype is a character based on a fixed and oversimplified idea of a type of person

Countertype

A countertype is a character that is the opposite to what the stereotype would be for that type of person e.g black president

Representation – Sarah Connor

Terminator 1

 

In the first Terminator, Sarah Connor is a very standard representation of a working young woman. She is part of a character type that was present in a lot of movies in the 80’s: young, single, overworked, ditzy, clumsy and average. She’s meant to be a sort of everywoman “normal” character

T2

In the sequel, T2, Sarah Connor is a very different character. She has evolved from the relatable “normal” character from the first film, and has changed from that previous character into a hardened action movie hero style of protagonist. Instead of her first introduction, where she’s late to work and is shown being clumsy and overworked, in T2 she is introduced in a mental hospital doing pull ups on an overturned bed. The character is much more capable and is able to fill the role of the character of Kyle from the first film by herself, and is a much more memorable character than he was. Her outfit has also changed to suit this development, going from her pink waitress outfit to stylish, practical clothing suitable for combat. T2’s Sarah Connor is a more action movie heroine character, a countertype to the working girl stereotype she was in the first film.

REPRENTATION IN TRAINSPOTTING

1. Who is doing the representation? – Danny Boyle (Director)/Irvine Welsh (Original Novelist)
2. Who is being represented? – Lower/middle classes in Scotland, drug users, young adults
3. What social groups are omitted from the representation?- Elderly
4. What messages about particular social groups are being conveyed? – Drug users have a hard life, everyone needs money, life in the UK is not very glamourous for common people
5. Which characters or social groups have power in these representations? – Drug dealers, higher classes, court system
6. Do the characters adhere or challenge stereotypes? – The characters challenge stereotypes, as the drug using characters are portrayed with sympathy and as good people rather than being vilified, and a character that doesn’t do drugs, Begby, is the most villainous character
7. Are the characters typical of films in that genre? – I think that in the genre that Trainspotting is (black comedy drama), the characters are not typical. The drug users would not be the nice, sympathetic characters they are, Begby would not be the aggressive, borderline evil character he is etc.
8. What do representations tell us about the time the film was made and set? – The film is set in the same year it was made (1996), and the representations show understanding of drug use and normal people, as well as showing us that there is a lot more understanding about people in general.
9. How are elements of film form being used to construct the representations? – Boyle uses shots that hold for a long time to create a boring, monotonous atmosphere to make the pubs and streets feel normal and familiar and not at all exciting, like the scene at the London pub after they picked up the money which uses long shots and close ups that hold for a while to make the place feel boring, and more frantic editing is used to show drug use, like the scene where Renton ODs, which uses creative editing of the red carpet framing Renton’s POV shots.

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.

Performance– What carries representation

face ,age, gestures and body language

Stereotype-Definition

How I would define stereotype is a particular person of thing is seen as an image in someone’s head of how they are meant to act. for example when people say girls aren’t as strong as boys are as you cannot judge how strong a person is whether they are a girl or a boy.

Countertype– Definition

A representation that actively seeks to subvert and challenge negative stereotypes usually of a person, group or place. For example a black president instead of a white president.

Sarah Conner representation examples-

waitress-

when she was a server she was very unfocused and ditsy , this was shown when she was late to work. you can tell that she didn’t enjoy working there and she wasn’t going to peruse the job for much longer.

soldier-

when she was a soldier she was very fit and ripped and they showed this so that it would take away her femininity. she was handling a gum and she knew how to do so so you can see that she had transformed into this badass.

Trainspotting Representation-

1.WHO IS DOING THE REPRESENTATION? (DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT) Danny Boyle (director)

2.WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED ? Spud, Renton, Sick boy, Francis and Tommy. who were tragically addicted and affected by drug use.

3.WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE OMITTED FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS? They are more likely middle class but some would say lower class.

4.WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS ARE BEING CONVEYED? Tells the audience how lower class communities are affected by drug abuse and crime.

5.WHICH CHARACTERS OR SOCIAL GROUPS HAVE POWER WITHIN THE REPRESENTATIONS? I believe that the girls have more power as they don’t do drugs really. Also in the first scene in mother superiors house you can tell that the boys are obsessed with the lady or at least sick boy is.

6.DO THE CHARACTERS ADHERE TO OR CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES? Glasgow is seen as a ‘rougher’ city and the movie shows depth of the people and the city.

7.ARE THE CHARACTERS TYPICAL OF FILMS IN THAT GENRE? No, as all the characters are different and distinctive for the black-comedy genre.

8.WHAT DO REPRESENTATIONS TELL AUDIENCES ABOUT SOCIETY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS MADE AND/OR SET? The depictions in Trainspotting communicate to global audiences that Edinburgh in the late ’90s wasn’t always cheerful and welcoming. Instead, it exposes the city’s grittier realities, illustrating how drug abuse often goes unnoticed and highlighting the devastating impact of heroin addiction on both the individuals involved and those around them.

9.HOW ARE ELEMENTS OF FILM FORM (MISE EN SCENE/PERFORMANCE/SOUND/EDITING/CINEMATOGRAPHY) BEING USED TO CONTRUCT THE REPRESENTATIONS? A strong example of Mise En Scène in this film occurs when Renton plunges into a filthy toilet, searching for his drugs. This scene takes on a surreal quality, shifting from the grimy reality of the toilet to a boundless, crystal-clear blue water, likely symbolising the euphoria heroin induces. This helps convey the portrayal of desperate young addicts in Edinburgh. In the same scene, the music changes as Renton dives, shifting from a fanfare to a calm ambiance, aligning with the contrast between harsh reality and the bliss of euphoria.

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, meaning that films create meaning and generates response through cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and performance of actors.

performance – age, ethnicity, costume, facial expressions, body language/gestures

ideology – the beliefs which an individual holds about something or someone (could also refer to groups of people)

stereotype – a widely and strictly held view, image or idea of a particular type of person or groups of people

countertype – the opposite type of a certain something or someone, usually goes against a stereotype

example: Sarah Connor (Terminator 1 & 2)

In Terminator 1, the character of Sarah Connor is presented to the audience as a clumsy, young American waitress working at a diner where is seems as everyone is trying to hive her a hard time.

In Terminator 2, is like the audience gets introduced to a completely new character even though it is the same one. This is due to the significant change not only in physical appearance (looking stronger due to muscle definition, having her hair up instead of up, wearing manlier clothes etc.) but also her mindset and personality has taken a turn causing her to seem “crazy”.

Representations in Trainspotting

1. Who is doing the representations? (Danny Boyle – the director)
2. Who is being represented? (younger generation of drug users, middle/lower class)
3. Which social groups are being omitted from the representations? (elderly and very young children)
4. What messages about particular social groups are being conveyed? (younger people can very easily get addicted to drugs and getting out of the addiction is very difficult to stop unless you have a support system)
5. Which characters or social groups have power within the representations? (The mother superior and the parents of the characters but also Renton at the end of the movie)
6. Do the characters adhere to or challenge stereotypes? (when we were first introduced to the characters, they all met the “young drug users” stereotypes apart from Tommy however by the end of the movie, he became like the rest of them)
7. Are the characters typical of films in that genre? (yes because the characters help represent the youth in Scotland at the time)
8. What do representations tell audiences about society at the time was being filmed or set in? (the characters show what the normal experience of young drug users at the time and how easily people can start doing drugs but how it can also change your life drastically)
9. How are elements of film form?

TASK 1: 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.

^ This means that film creates meaning and generates response through cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and performance.

Performance:

-age, ethnicity, costume, facial expressions, body language/gestures.

Ideology: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

TASK 2:

Stereotype – a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Countertype – an opposite image/idea which actively aims to subvert negative notions previously enforced by media/society.

e.g. White president of America (Scandal; Tony Goldwyn) and a black president of America (Morgan Freeman).

Sarah Connor Representation:

She is the female protagonist of the Terminator franchise, directed by James Cameron.

She is a good example of a film heroine turning from a small-town, girl-next-door, waitress stereotype in the first film; to being a badass heroine, undergoing an intense transformation (physically) to steer away from the stereotypes, embracing the countertype of the character, making her more in charge of her life in the second Terminator film.

Representation in Trainspotting

1. WHO IS DOING THE REPRESENTATION? (DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT) Danny Boyle
2. WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED? (Identify social groups) Heroin addicts in Edinburgh, the parents of addicts, partners of addicts, authority figures, children and regular people.
3. WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE OMITTED FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS? People of colour, leading female characters, LGBTQ+ characters.
4. WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS ARE BEING CONVEYED? It’s shown that heroin addicts/addiction isn’t glamorous, that drug abuse does have its highs of euphoria as well as dark and grimy lows.
5. WHICH CHARACTERS OR SOCIAL GROUPS HAVE POWER WITHIN THE REPRESENTATIONS? White men, specifically Begbie – he’s aggressive, violent and controlling to whoever is nearby.
6. DO THE CHARACTERS ADHERE TO OR CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES? They challenge the stereotype that Edinburgh is the nicer region of Scotland, unlike Glasgow which has been deemed “rougher”. Showing the underbelly of the city and its people.
7. ARE THE CHARACTERS TYPICAL OF FILMS IN THAT GENRE? No, they’re all unique characters for the black-comedy/drama genre. For example, Creep (2014, Patrick Brice) is considered a black-comedy, and its characters are very different to the ones in Trainspotting.
8. WHAT DO REPRESENTATIONS TELL AUDIENCES ABOUT SOCIETY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS MADE AND/OR SET? The representations shown in Trainspotting tell the audiences around the world that Edinburgh in the late 90s wasn’t always light and friendly – revealing the darker sides of the city and population, how drug abuse flies under the radar for the most part, as well as the destruction that heroin addiction can cause for the user and the people around them.
9. HOW ARE ELEMENTS OF FILM FORM BEING USED TO CONSTRUCT THE REPRESENTATIONS? A good example of mise en scene being used in this film is when Renton dives into the toilet, searching for his drugs, however it is depicted in a surreal way; transitioning from the disgusting reality of the toilet, into a bottomless body of blue, clear water, this is probably used to visualise the sense of euphoria that heroin can give you. This constructs the representation of desperate, young addicts in Edinburgh. In this same scene, the music used changes when Renton dives into the toilet, going from fanfare to a tranquil ambience, synchronising with the split between reality and euphoria.