HOW DOES OUR MEDIA PRODUCT

REPRESENT SOCIAL GROUPS

By Dan Rickwood

WHAT IS A SOCIAL GROUP?A social group is a certain subset of people that can fit together as a similar unit due to job type, financial status, renown or simply just the clothing that they wear. Social groups are a part of everyday life and representing them effectively in film can be difficult due to the costume changes and general demeanor.

THE HERO DETECTIVEOur hero is a grizzled detective by the name of Walter Baines who is an honest cop but will go outside of the law if necessary to prove or disprove innocence. Our idea for the detective came form an amalgamation of different heroes from across many genres and also many detectives from popular media. We realised that for him to have the driving force behind his actions and the protective and honest personality that he possesses then he would need to have a shocking backstory. We realised that the death of a family member due to crime would be a good driving force as he would wish to put away true villains while protecting those who are good and innocent. The death of the daughter, we realised, would fulfil this goal due to her being the epitome of innocence and good because of her age and because of the bond that they would have due to the mother not being present. Our hero is much like Commissioner Gordon with his drive and moral standings on how the world works, he is also similar in appearance and the ability to go outside of the law to bring justice to his streets and his life.

THE MYSTERIOUS VILLAINIn our film, the identity of the villain is purposely hidden to add an air of mystery to the film and so that the viewer will stay engaged and try to figure out who the villain is alongside the hero. This is very similar to Keyser Soze in the film “The Usual Suspects” in which his identity is kept a secret and a mystery to create suspense and keep the viewer engaged. When his identity is finally revealed it is shown that the main protagonist, Verbal Kint, is actually Keyser Soze and manages to escape the police. This reveal at the end of the film is very memorable and has created one of the greatest and most elusive villains in film. We thought this was a good idea asit makes the film more engaging and means it has a more compelling storyline.

THE CHIEF OF POLICEThe Police Chief is an overworked and underpaid individual whose stress is apparent in his general demeanour and how he is dressed. This unkempt look is shown across many overworked heads of office so we thought it would be appropriate to show off the fact that he works hard and has little regard for his own welfare, only the safety of his city and his people concerns him. This is much like Quentin Lance from the TV show “Arrow” and is where we took most of our inspiration from for the Chief. Our Chief, however, can be easily misguided in who is the real criminal which is shown by the fact that Walter is working both with and against him to protect and innocent and catch a villain.

THE INNOCENT VICTIMIn our film, the victim is Walter’s daughter, and as shown in the flashback she is killed by an unknown assailant. In the flashbacks we tried to make the daughter seem as innocent as possible to make the audience feel sorry for Walter and be shocked by the events that transpired I his own house. We tried to make the little girl appeal to parents’ sense of protectiveness, this is why we dressed her to look as innocent as possible and tried to create a loving family scene for the villain to interrupt and ruin forever.