Evaluation - Question 2

How does your media represent key social groups? 

Within my film opening I have used characters which some people may argue are a stereotypical group of teenage girls, girls who enjoy making someone else's life a misery for the case of occupying there own. Within the film this stereotype would be correct, it has also been portrayed in other films where a group of girls has cause serious chaos or pain for another group of people/person. 

The girls within divine decree represent various stereotypes of young girls and bring up maturity issues and many other aspects. Many film producers have used this particular social group within their films in a same situation or similar as the girls used in my media. 

For example within Divine Decree Bryony is one of the main characters, she is part of a group of girls who aren't very plesant towards a girl younger then their age group, as they continue to bully her Jade gets more and more depressed until she cant take anymore as she takes her life the girls don't seem to notice, not until  their life's start to change in a way they could never imagine. 

I chose bryony to play one of the main roles within the film opening due to the fact that she fitted the character profile well, she is naturally pretty and is always smiling, although Bryony is not a bully (outside the film) she was able to  play the role very well due to the fact she has 1 twin sister and a younger sister so is used to arguing. She is a typical teenage girl and although she was quite optimistic about being filmed once she got into it she really enjoyed it and became very enthusiastic.

I chose Sophie to be in my film because she again fits the stereotype of a typical teenage girl - involved in makeup, fashion and likes a bit of gossip, despite Sophie not being a bully in reality she also played the role well as growing up i'm sure we have all seen some spiteful behavior - not only within films, but also within reality. 

Melissa is a naturally feisty person and again a typical teenage girl, she is very enthusiastic and confident and therefore suited her role well, she also has siblings and therefore is used to arguing and the odd tug now and then! Due to the fact that this is an everyday situation within reality and many people are witnesses to this behavior of others all the girls were able to adapt to their roles well from what they have seen in films, on the news and by the typical stereotype bully character. 

(Bullying:  - the act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something - blustery: noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others. It comprises repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group abusing those who are less powerful) 

I chose to use girls within my film opening in opposition to boys due to the fact that I could relate to how the girls may be feeling in certain situations and then portray this within my film, it is also a common stereotype that girls tend to be nastier and in some ways more violent than boys due to the fact that boys generally tend to fight however with girls the verbal abuse can hurt more. By using girls within the film to pose as the bullies it makes the film slightly more scary, due to the fact girls are stereotyped as being weaker and not as able to protect themselves in opposition to boys, resulting in the girls appearing more helpless and endanger in opposition to boys, for example when Bryony (the first girl) answers the phone it becomes apparent that she is scared by her high pitch scream and the  panic as she runs, if a boy was to have played this part it may not have been as effective because the scream creates tension and an eery, enigmatic atmosphere. 

I also chose 3 girls to play the bullies with 3 different personalities and ways of presenting themselves concerning their style and also features such as hair and make-up, although they are all of similar height and weight group which represents they are of similar age. However, the diversity in personalities and styles shows that they all have individual personalities despite them acting as one when bullying the victim (Jade). 

For my victim I did not choose a particular way for them to dress concerning styles such as: emo, geek, goth or anyone particularly unfashionable, I also chose quite a normal and pretty character who would fit into whats seen as being a 'normal' social group to demonstrate the fact that despite people from these certain groups being targeted because they are different,  it represents that you do not have to be 'out of the ordinary' or have an individual style to be targeted. I also chose a girl to play this role due to the fact that bitching is more common among the female gender. I chose the character to be younger due to the fact that bullies generally tend to pick on someone younger than them to make them feel more significant and powerful - leaving the victim feeling weak and more threatened by someone of an older age group. 

I think the 3 bullies used within Divine Decree are similar to those characters used within Sority Row and also Saw.

Sority Row is similer to Divine Decree due to the fact the girls used within it are typical young girls, and again they do not realise that how there 'fun' could lead them into a nightmare that they cant explain. The girls used within both films are typical stereotypes of young girls and both portray the vunerebilty of girls. The girls within both films have all done wrong and all pay one by one therefore the others know what is coming next, both films demonstrate how the girls immaturity and wickedness leads them into trouble. They are all part of a close group and throughout the film it shows how their disagreements come out concerning each of their individual views on the situation. 

The girls within Sority Row are all of a similar height and build and again take lots of time and interest in fashion and their appearance, despite their similar height and build, like in Divine Decree they all have their own personalities and features giving them their own individual identity - some girls being quieter and others more confident, each having their own weaknesses and fears, and similarly to the girls in Divine Decree they are also in the situation they are in for attempting to make someone else feel bad about themselves to the extent he kills the girl he thinks he has hurt, and like in Divine Decree someone is always watching. 

The girls in Divine Decree are also similar to those within the Film 'The Final' again they are typical teenage girls who choose to pick on someone weaker than them, however within this incident the girl is of an emo fashion, and therefore this film also portrays typical bullying today.