Question 2

Hi!

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product represents the teenage female social group as: reckless, flirtatious, confident and ultra-feminine, through the characterisation of Naomi. Naomi's character is of the same age and gender and this will allow our audience to relate to her. These aspects of that social group were represented in a variety of ways, using a combination of editing, mise en scene, sound and camera shots and angles.

Girly

One of the ways in which we planned to showcase the stereotypical girly-girl aspect of teenage females was through Naomi's costume. Naomi's dress sense and make-up all represent the ultra-femininity; the close-ups of her applying make-up allow detail and a closeness with the audience, making the viewer feel as though they can identify with her actions and personality. Applying make-up is a key part of most female's daily routines and is considered a very feminine activity, enhancing this idea of teenage females being very girly. Her outfits are very feminine; sporting a bodycon skirt and revealing top which shows her bra straps, Naomi's image is very feminine, and combined with her heels, paints her as a very effeminate character.

We used heavy feminine mise en scene throughout the opening sequence to convey the stereotypical "beaty-queen" aspect of teenage females. For example, we decorated the room with PINK as the central colour, using pink-themed furniture such as the bed, with hot pink duvets, pillows and fluffy blankets, as well as books with pink covers and pink accessories dotted around the room. The colour connotes ultra-femininity, and its major presence in the scenery reemphaises the presentation of female teenagers as "girly-girls".

The titles appearing over-the-action throughout the opening two minutes were very feminine. Inspired by the titles in "Legally Blonde", they were PINK, and in a swirly font which oozed girlishness. The hand-writing script also relates the opening sequence to the audience, as the majority of the viewers are still in education, and the dotting of the 'i's in stars or hearts again represents the girly element of Naomi's character and teenage females.

The panning shots also displayed a range of ultra-feminine items to the audience, representing Naomi and teenage females as girly. The selection of Vogue magazines imply an interest in fashion and appearance, a typically girly interest, and the literature such as "50 Shades of Grey" trilogy and "The Imperfect Girlfriend" are romance books, aimed at a female audience, highlighting her very effeminate character and that of teenage females.

Laura Mulvey's theory about girl's getting ready based on what they think men will like is reflected in our opening sequence, featuring Naomi getting ready. The camera acting as the man, Naomi dresses in a short skirt and revealing top with a pink bra, a stereotypically 'slutty' outfit which she believes would attract males, in other words "dressing to impress a man".

Confident

We wanted to seperate Naomi's character from the generic conventions of romantic-comedy protagonist e.g. girlyness, shy or awkward, innocent. We included the girlishness, however we chose to portray Naomi and her social group, teenage females, as confident.

Naomi's mannerisms represent her as confident throughout the opening sequence. Checking her appearance in the mirror and then pouting suggests she's secure in her appearance, her movement throughout the clip is strong and purposeful, her walk almost a strut. The reverse shot of her walking through the door of her bedroom and closing it behind her adds a fluidity to her journey and implies she's confident in her movements and actions.

Her costume also demonstrated a certain coolness and self-belief. Walking in heels around the house in shoes difficult to travel in suggests she feels secure enough to use them on a day-to-day basis, and the leopard print and red layers dennote self-assurance. Her nudity in front of open curtains and wearing a slinky dressing gown also suggest a sense of security in her appearance and a confidence in exposing herself so readily.

Her short skirt and revealing top further highlight this aspect of Naomi's personality, and the red lipstick is a bright, daring colour which connotes confidence, all representing teenage females as confident and self-assured.

Flirtatious

We presented Naomi and teenage females as flirtatious in a number of ways.

The panning shots included close-ups of beauty products like "Glow Job" moisturiser and "Thick and Fast" mascara, and reading literature such as "50 Shades of Grey" trilogy. Both products include sexual innuendo in their brand titles, implying Naomi is flirty and playful. Similarly, the sexual innuedo of her undressing in front of an open window suggests a flirtatious nature, and her pout in front of the mirror reemphasises her playful personality.

The mise en scene of her photographs with males at various dates highlights her flirty character, suggesting she's popular and friendly with a mixed range of friends. There's an insinuation that she's also had a number of boyfriends, implied through the photographs of her alone with only one guy, which is generally percieved as a picture of couple. Lastly, the text from Aiden, referring to her as "babe" and ending in "xx" suggests he's her boyfriend, and presents Naomi as flirtatious. Both are terms of endearment which suggests they are romantically linked (although not a couple) and give that impression to the viewer, as well as piquing their interest regarding who Aiden may or may not be.

Reckless

Lastly, we portrayed Naomi as reckless. We developed the titles so that although they were inspired by the style of the credits in "Legally Blonde", they'd be individualised to represent two aspects of Naomi's character. The main colour of the titles is pink, representing her girly-girl personality. However, we adapted the style so that the titles were shadowed by a black outline, which would represent the edgy, reckless aspect of Naomi's personality, as black connotes danger and recklessness. This developing of a generic convention adds a sense of originality to our film and the slight twist in the plot showcased through the titles might interest people enough to watch the film.

Naomi's costumer also her recklessness. Leather jackets are usually associated with "biker chicks" or "bad girls", traditionally reckless groups of people and through using similar clothing, we relate those aspects of the stereotype to Naomi's personality. However, the jacket is from H&M, is a feminine style and brown instead of black, downgrading the image of "bad girl" to a lighter reckless quality. The use of the stilettos with leopard print and red layers in the platform highlight her reckless, carefree personality. Leopard print is associated with being wild and outgoing, while the red suggests a confidance and carelessness, all building an image representing Naomi and teenage females of being reckless and carefree.

A combination of each of these techniques generated the reckless, flirty, girly and confidant representation of Naomi, and as a result, the social group of teenage females. The protagonist's character is strongly stereotypical, particuarly regarding what people would expect to see from a main character in a romantic comedy, however we worked to differentiate her from the generic convention of female leads by making her reckless, flirty and a little more self-assured. I think the inclusion of these qualities make Naomi's character more realistic and the audience, I hope, will feel they can identify and relate to Naomi a lot easier as a result.

Pheebs, OUT! ;)