Representation

By Annie Roebuck

Representation

We tried to fit to gender stereotypes as much as possible when it concerned the characters Amy, Charlotte and Lucas. When it came to Violet, we

wanted to stray away from stereotypes so much that she became creepy and

unusual.

Young women

Amy and Charlotte are our examples of stereotypical young girls. They’re both very natural and dress in a similar ways. Young girls often don’t wear much make up and tend to dress to what is considered fashionable. Amy and Charlotte both dress smart and are wearing clothes from mainstream shops.

They’re often shot together and this because young teenage girls don’t tend to be alone. Many teenage girls are always with a friend and we tried to portray this. Violet on the other hand is featured on her own a lot and this juxtaposes how Amy and Charlotte are featured. In the first shot they are holding hands and it is to show that they are not strong enough to run alone. Women are often stereotyped as being weak and the less dominant gender. In horror films especially so we captured this connotation.

Young womenAfter seeing Amy and Charlotte together and united we then get two tracking shots of Amy and Charlotte separately. This Is to show that they are now separated and a lot more vulnerable than they were when together. This is a common stereotyped used and we tried to portray it as much as possible. The next time that Amy and Charlotte are shot on screen is when Amy has been murdered. This is to represent how women are weak when it comes to being alone.

Young women

Violet is the character that breaks all gender stereotypes. She doesn’t like pink and she wears too much black clothing. She is closed off and unlike Amy and Charlotte she is alone on screen most of the time. Throughout the film she is shot in her bedroom. Her bedroom surroundings are dark and this is to represent what kind of person Violet is. A typical gender stereotype of women is that they have bright pretty bedrooms but Violet is the opposite of all gender stereotypes.

The two times that Violet is seen with another character she is doing something creepy and weird. This is juxtaposed with the way Amy and Charlotte act around each other because Amy and Charlotte are helping each other where as Violet is alone and repelling against anyone who is around her. Violet is dark and behaves in an unnatural way. She bends and creeps where as Amy and Charlotte behave normally. Throughout the 2 minutes Violet stands out as the ‘odd’ character.

Men

The main male character is Lucas and he isn’t portrayed in a particular way because the film mainly concentrated on attitudes of women.

Lucas is presented as a character on his own, a lot like Violet, because he is the only male. Lucas represented as a strong man. Being strong as a male is a

typical gender stereotype and in this shot he is seen running at great speed with long confident strides. This is in comparison with the short slow steps taken by the women characters,

Men

The other male shown is Violet’s dad. He is wearing plain clothing to, again, highlight that Violet is a very weird character. She is odd so it would be assumed that she has weird parents. He is caring and doesn’t get angry when Violet reply's in a angry tone. Men are represented as being the more sensible gender through out the film. Violet’s dad being older doesn’t retaliate when she is angry where as Lucas shoves Violet into a tree and this is a common stereotype of age. The younger are considered to be the violent beings and the older the calmer. Our film shows this.