Evaluation Question 2

Script


Question 2


How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I researched typical abduction victims in thriller films and compared them to my main victim in my film opening to represent a particular social group. My victim was played by my sister Mia Tanguy who is 12 years old. I chose to include her because she represents an innocent child victim which I have experienced in many films such as 'Taken' where Liam Nelsons daughter gets abducted, Ransom where the son gets taken and a wire in the blood episode opening where a young school girl gets abducted whilst walking home from school.

Firstly, Maggie Grace, an actress who stars as a 20 year old daughter/victim in the film 'Taken' presents a typical middle-class background. We experience in 'Taken' that age is not an issue when it comes to being a victim of abduction therefore there is no difference in having a 12 year old female victim compared to a 20 year old female victim. Similarly to my featured victim, Maggie Grace is a female and females are usually seen to be the stereotypical versions of 'easy victims'. 

Secondly, the school girl who stars in one of the opening sequences of one of the 'Wire in the Blood' episodes has understandably not had much experience in acting being that she doesn't actually star in the episodes at all and just in the opening. This links in with my actress of my sister being a young school girl who hasn't had much experience in acting career and has only participated in acting in school drama and in my media product. The costume of the young girl was chosen primarily due to reinforce her age and vulnerability, I took up this idea and dressed my main actress in her school uniform.

Thirdly, Brawley Nolte starred as a young boy at the time of the release of Mel Gibson's film 'Ransom' (1996) an American thriller. In the film he was a vulnerable young boy who got kidnapped, this suggests that those most vulnerable in society are liable to being kidnapped and also supports the reason behind my choice of a young actress. He has also starred in another thriller 'Affliction'. He is dressed in casual clothes to reflect how easily these abductions can happen as it could've been any minute of any day.

To conclude, I believe that my actress Mia Tanguy aged 12 years relates to all three of these actors\actresses and would attract the same target audience consisting of a fan base of people interested in kidnapping thrillers. I would say all three actors/actresses are young and vulnerable, however others being slightly younger than the others. Therefore I think that Mia would be a successful representation to social groups as she fits the conventions of a typical young victims role in a thriller film.