Within my sequence that I created, the main character is a female called 'Bettie'. Bettie is the antagonist who has a lot of power and dominance and can overcome any other character. Within her role as the antagonist, she has a hidden identity of a cannibal and murders people this way by eating them. This gender role is subversive as Bettie is a female and this gender is stereotypically the weakest. Typically, male characters tend to overcome any female characters as the females tend to be more weak making them more vulnerable. Furthermore, Bettie is represented through the hidden identity throughout the majority of the sequence so that her identity is not revealed and so that she blends in with the characters. This means at the point where her identity is revealed, the impact on the audience will be bigger and better as the audience would be more surprised and shocked that she is not the vulnerable character they thought she was. She is dressed in a casual manner such as jeans, white converse shoe and a black jacket on top of a jumper so that the identity isn't given away and to look normal. Also, this will help create a more relatable relationship between her and the audience as she will look like any average teenage girl and our female target audiences will find that this appearance is similar to their own therefore resulting in a more relatable relationship. I have included this character so that the sequence creates a bigger surprise towards the audience and makes the sequence more unique as a female antagonist isn't common and would build better relationships. Betties representation only changes when the identity is revealed and at this point she now has the addition of blood around her mouth. This would appeal to the audience more as it would interest them more as it's something they haven't seen before so they become more engaged and build an alternative relationship. Furthermore, they become more interactive as the female is having more dominance than the males and this is unusual within any type of genre.This also appeals to the target audience as they are the same age range at 15-17 so they can find it more relatable as it can be a similar scenario to their everyday lives so it benefits them more and they have the ability to build a better relationship. Also, Betties character as a student can relate to the audience as the majority of the target audience will still be in school so this makes the character more relatable.
There are also two other characters who are both male however their role within the sequence isn't as big as the role of Bettie. Both of these male characters are very similar as they share similar characteristics. Both characteristics are represented in a subversive ways; Kane end up being one of Betties victims so this displays that he is obviously weak and not strong enough. This is subversive representation of this gender as males are stereotypically stronger than female however this male character appears to be weak and clearly was vulnerable. The other male seen within the sequence is Freddie. Freddie's character hears Kane scream after Bettie attacks him and then shortly after he discovers Betties true identity. Once Bettie reveals her identity to him, we see a view of him portraying a frightened facial expression which shows that he is clearly fearing this female character. Furthermore, just by the expression we can see that she is more mentally dominant. This is a subversive representation of this gender as this male is being cowardly towards a female which isn't expected of this gender as males are expected to overcome females both mentally and physically. Both these characters appeal to the audience as the audience automatically become more engaged as they are shocked that two male characters are both acting in a subversive way. Also, the feel more sympathetic towards this characters and build a more closer and trusted relationship because they are keeping the same identity throughout in comparison to Bettie who changes which causes a change in the relationship with her as she betrays the audience. This appeals to our target audience as they are the same age group as these characters and also are living the same role as a student as a 15-17 years old therefore they can find it more relatable. Also, the target audience would feel more engaged as they see two males being weak towards one female so they may change their opinions and views of who is the more dominant gender.
Your analysis of question 2, demonstrates a proficient understanding of how you chose to represent your characters towards your audience. You have focused on the conventions of a thriller well, as well as, considering how you would like to subvert them too. The points that you have included on the narrative and mise-en-scene, also helps to demonstrate your understanding of how your characters appeal to your target audience.
ReplyDeleteAim to include images to support the points that you have made.