Obsessed: Representation of Social Groups

8/12/2019 Obsessed: Representation of Social Groups

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ObsessedRepresentation of Social Groups


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Opening Sequence Social Groups The social groups that appear within the opening sequence of

Obsessed is mainly teenagers. We decided to use these

characters for convenience as well as challenging stereotypes

of the older generation being represented as stalkers within the

media. We decided to make the victim, Sarah, a girl in order to allow

the audience to sympathise with her character and understand

her vulnerability appose to a male actor. We also kept the

stalker a male character in order to conform to conventions,

whereby the antagonist is often represented as the more

powerful and dominant figure within thriller films.


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Stereotypes of Teenagers

Within horror or thriller films, children or the elderly are often

represented as being vulnerable, innocent and rely on others for

help and care. Teenagers are often represented as being lazy,

violent, and aggressive, and often causing harm to other

characters. This is conventional and stereotypical within filmssuch as Anuvahood and Kidulthood as teenagers are often

represented with this manner. However, adults are portrayed as

being clever, hard working and diligent. Within thriller films, the

adults are often the characters who are either the antagonist or

protagonist, leaving other age groups such as children or the

elderly being perceived as weaker and innocent characters,

therefore the victims within the films.


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Gender Stereotypes Stereotypically, men are portrayed as the antagonist within

horror and thriller films with the victim often being an innocentand vulnerable woman. The main protagonist also tends to be adominant male figure that tries to protect the victims. A classicexample of a male antagonist and female victim is from AlfredHitchcocks 1960s film Psycho. Within the first few scenes, amystery murderer kills the well-known actress, Janet Leigh,shocking the audience. This has stereotypical features, howeverthe removal as the actress so early on in the film could be seenas challenging the conventions. Women are stereotypicallyrepresented as weak, powerless and delicate, clearly showingthe audience how they may be the vulnerable, and victim withinthe film.


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Conventional RepresentationSarah: Victim

This character had been portrayed in a conventional way as women areoften perceived as the victims within many thriller/horror genre films. Beinga young teenager also adds to vulnerability, perhaps suggesting she isunable to defend herself against the stalker, also allowing the audience toidentify with the character.

The clothing and appearance of this character is also conventional as sherepresents the typical teenage era, through the use of fashionable clothingstyles. The actions used by this character are also conventional, such asthe use of props, showing various images taken by the girl herself andother social media websites she uses such as Twitter and Facebook.

Through the use of camera angles, such as POV shots, Tracking shots and

close ups, the character is further depicted as vulnerable and innocent,adding to the nature of becoming a victim within the opening sequence.


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Conventional RepresentationVincent: Stalker

This character has been portrayed conventionally through the use ofgender. Male characters are often the antagonist or protagonist withinthe films for thriller films, and so by using a male character thestereotypes for the sequence are established.

The use of clothing could be seen as conventional through therepresentation of teenagers as hooded jumpers and popular shoebrands are worn, emphasising the younger, teenage based events thatoccur.

The use of camera angles such as POV shots show how therepresentation for the stalker is again linked to the teenage

generation. These shots suggest a camera of phone is being used torecord footage, showing how the character is using new means ofmedia to capture information about its victim, as well as social mediawebsites.


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Unconventional RepresentationSarah: Victim

Though the representation of gender and age is generally

presented within a conventional way, there are also some

unconventional aspects of her character, such as the use oflanguage. Teenagers are often represented as a generation

who use colloquial language with the use of slang and taboo.

Though there is little dialogue within the opening sequence, the

victim presented as a young teenage girl, uses polite and grown

up method of speech, stating sorry, I did not see you there.This challenges stereotypes as teenagers are often seen as

rude and impolite.


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Unconventional RepresentationVincent: Stalker

The main unconventional aspect of this character is the use of age.

Teenagers, though represented as anti-social, are often not portrayed

as stalkers within the media. Generally, the older generation of men

are presented as the stereotypical view of stalkers, however the use of

a younger actor may shock the audience and give a differentperspective on the issue.

The unconventional aspect of using older methods to gather

information may also seem different. Within teenage generations, the

use of mobiles and social networking are the base for information

gathering. However, this character gathers documents andphotographs, going back to older representations of stalkers, adding to

the mystery and sinister tone of the opening sequence.

Documents

Obsessed: Representation of Social Groups