How have I chosen to represent social groups in my thriller?
Representation through camera, sound, editing and mise en scene
Age
In our thriller we have subverted gender stereotypes, presented Barry (older male) as a naive older man, who is easily manipulated by a younger woman. The camera shot of Barry tied hostage to the bed, demonstrates his vulnerability and weakness in comparison to the dominance of the female. We have suggested that Ava (female lead) is a typical seductive murderess who uses her sexual image as a way of overpowering the susceptible and finally murdering them for something she desires. A shot of Lynne pulling up her stocking in the tracking shot, demonstrates completion of a job she's just performed- in this case murder. She's done what she's come to do.
An example of this gender transition would be within Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall's relationship. In which case she (25) married him (89) for money, using her power of beauty and sexual nature.
Anna Nicole Smith and Howard Marshall
Gender
The tracking shot, and lack of editing we used in our thriller, was done as a symbolic representation of Ava's determination in manipulating the male in the situation, as if proving the subvert of stereotype. The tracking shot is also able to demonstrate the setting of the atmosphere in the motel, again emphasising the male naivety, letting himself be lured into a tacky motel without suspicions. High angle camera shots of Barry support the aim to subvert the stereotype of male dominance. He is seen to be inferior and weak, comparing to a straight-on, medium shot of Ava suggested her strength over the situation, and declaring her sexual nature.
An example of the female dominance idea we wanted to achieve, is female serial killer Johanna Dennehy. Dennehy who stabbed 3 men to death revealed she did it "to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish and I got a taste for it". The difference between this case and our thriller plot, is that our murderess has an objective, with the men as her obstacles- the only thing to do is seduce them and destroy them. Whereas with Dennehy there is no seduction involved, she is driven by pure 'sadistic lust' and is said to have 'no remorse'.
Headshot of Joanna Dennehy Article on Dennehy's case
Disability
The social group of disability is presented in our thriller, through the fact a serial killer could be labelled mentally ill, as it is argued no one in their right mind could murder more than twice. In our thriller we highlighted one form of disability. Mental disability was represented through Lynne taking pleasure and exercising her boredom by killing Bob. By representing Lynne as the antagonist, we automatically presented mental disability as a negative aspect of Lynne’s character. However despite this, we represented a type of mental illness which is typically portrayed negatively by the media, namely psychopathic or sociopathic. We represented Lynne as a psychopath rather than a sociopath as typically psychopaths are more likely to cross the line of moral behaviour whereas sociopaths are less of a threat to society. Therefore, by exploiting this fact, it would be unlikely we were ridiculed for representing mental disability as negative. The film 'monster' demonstrates a type of mental illness as it is argued Aileen Wuornos was mentally harmed by her childhood. She grew up with her Grandparents as her mother left and her father was a drunk (who was convicted of sexual offence against children and later hung himself). She was raised with no true aspirational adult figure, and had no way of forming an attachment for development into adult life. She was never loved. There is always a reason why people turn out the way they are, and in this case Aileen Wuornos was mentally scarred.
Overall, our thriller subverts most social class stereotypes. For example gender was demonstrated through our chosen cast- we chose a male and female as our leading roles. Stereotypically, men are seen as dominant in society, going out to work compared to the women, remaining at home to care for children. In contrast to this, our thriller presented the women as passive aggressive, with authority and power of the man in the situation. Generally, in big budget films the male is the leading character, presented as a hero for example, fighting someone/something to save the world for example 'Superman'. We have completely challenged the stereotype by demonstrating the female as a practical, dominant murderess. Hollywood films refuse to present women 'like men' therefore must either be the typical housewife, or a murderess. To gain a position of power, women must adapt the traits and authority of a man.
Male and Female Stereotypes
Age is another social group bought up in our thriller. Arguably we both conform and subvert age stereotypes. One stereotype would be the fact that you would expect someone of an older generation to have control and authority over a situation, however we again have conflicted this, with our female character being younger and with control over the older man. However, we have also reinforced the stereotype with the naivety of an older man, to fall for the seductively deceitful younger women. An example of a real life situation like this would be Anna Nicole Smith, a playboy model who was married to J Howard Marshall- she was 26 years old, he was 89 years old. This is a clear example of a younger woman, marrying as a pursuit of money from a wealthier man.
Disability is also displayed in our thriller, with the idea of a murderer being mentally disable. Ava (female character) is a serial killer, and the only explanation truly for people like this, is that they're mental state is not healthy. We based Ava on Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer who murdered only 7 men. Our thriller fits closely to this representation of a woman.
Aileen Wuornos
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