Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When beginning to create our characters and consider representation and characterisation, we were very conscious of how we would represent certain social groups. We were aiming to realistically portray society, as well as creating relatable characters. This would add to the realism and involvement for the target audience; they could more easily visualise themselves in the film. For this reason we developed conventional representation in many cases, however our representation of age definitely conforms to conventional stereotypes. 

Our film is about teenage life, and explores the peer pressure that young people often experience. It goes past the stereotype that teenage life is very simple and superficial, and delves into the complex relationships and lives behind this. Whilst the revenge trend is fairly unrealistic, it is the nightmare worst possible scenario of what can happen as a result of peer pressure and social media, which are very current issues. It taps into fears of reputation ruin and the desperation this can cause and how out of control this can get. This sends a message about the importance of being independent for teenagers as well as the need for support for teenagers under pressure. It is important to bare this context in mind when regarding individual social group representation. 

Age
In teen dramas, teenagers are often portrayed in an "in-between" stage, experimenting with things such as drugs and sex. They are also represented as irresponsible and are often portrayed as inconsiderate of those around them: parents in particular, and put social callings before educational ones. 

In many ways we have stuck to convention with our representation of teenagers. Firstly the use of drugs is clearly represented. The echo effect gives a psychedelic feel commonly associated with drug taking. The characters also are acting slightly unnaturally and in an exaggerated manner; this also connotes drug taking. 

In this still the echo effect is very clear, demonstrating that the
person whose point of view this is is under the influence of drugs.

This is a negative and conventional representation of teenagers both in the teen drama genre but also in general. An example of this is in Skins. However, whereas drug taking is portrayed considerably more positively in Skins (which was a factor in being awarded an 18 rating), we have represented it negatively, as it causes an apparent overdose. This is a factor in why we 
think that a 15 rating would be awarded if our film was made.

Please disregard the music, I have included this video for its visual effects only.

Whilst this representation of teenagers is evidently negative, I believe that there are lighter and more positive aspects to it. Firstly, the teenagers are represented to be very accepting of each other, be it in terms of sexuality, class, or ethnicity; they are interact equally together. I also find the representation to be fairly realistic, whilst the events portrayed cannot be related to by all teenagers, the majority will recognise this type of scene from their own lives. 

Ethnicity
From our research of teen dramas, we discovered that ethnicity has not conventionally been portrayed realistically and fairly. We found examples of this in various teen dramas: 

• Heather's: the main cast are all white 
• Skins*: the Bristol teens are mainly white British, with exceptions Jal and Anwar. However Anwar's characterisation is strongly based on his ethnicity and he is a very two-dimensional character in comparison to many of the others; his self entitled episode is shared with Maxxie. 
• Mean Girls: The protagonist and 2 of the three other main characters are white (minimal range of ethnicities portrayed).

*Whilst we understand that Skins is not a film teen drama, it is a television teen drama which we find relevant due to the similar themes, characters, and events. 

Anwar in Skins

As a group we felt that we would want to develop our representation of ethnicity in teen dramas further that it has been previously. Within the cast of our film opening there are a wide range of ethnicities, which we feel correctly reflects modern urban society. Furthermore, ethnicity has no effect on character traits; a range of actors of different ethnicities portray a range of roles, behaviours and characteristics. 

                          Ciara                                                          Meera                                                        Sophie

In our film 0:20 - 0:45 is evidence for what I have said about our representation of ethnicity. For example, the two couples are made up of mixes of ethnicities. They are both behaving similarly and are doing similar things; neither couple is doing something more outrageous or degrading than the other. The dancers are also evidence of our developed representation of ethnicity. Meera and Ciara, pictured above both dance in similar ways and have equal screen time. Meera and Sophie also are dressed alike, portraying their characters and ethnicity impartially. 

Meera is on the left and Ciara the right of this still

In summary, our group feels that many previous representations of ethnicity in teen dramas are outdated, and that our representation is fair of modern urban society, and therefore has developed conventions by our representation. This representation is not ground breaking, but realistic. We hope that this is a development in representation that will be seen in future teen dramas. 

Sexuality

Homosexuality is heavily stereotyped in teen dramas. It is considered embarrassing and to be a secret. Homosexual males are often portrayed as effeminate, and less "manly". In general, the portrayal of sexualities in teen dramas so far has not been very wide or particularly positive. Homosexual females are often portrayed as just drunk or having a laugh, and it is sexualised and represented as a fun for men to watch. 

The jocks in Heathers

1. In Heather's, homosexuality is considered an insult, as demonstrated about 13 minutes into the film, when the Jocks are speaking to Jason. The scene involving the jocks prior to the shooting in the woods also treats homosexuality as a negative thing, and relies largely on stereotypes with the use of candy boxes and mineral water. 
2. In the party scene in Project X, there are lots of shots of girls dancing together in a sexual manner and kissing, and the connotation is that this is only happening because they are drunk. This is a negative representation of homosexuality. 
3. In Skins series 1 and 2 Maxxie is the only homosexual character and being gay is a large personality trait for him, and it is focused on greatly. He is a dancer and quite feminine; this conforms to the gay negative stereotype. Furthermore, his character does not have much depth in comparison to the others, and his self entitles episode is shared with Anwar.

Maxxie in Skins

When planning the characters in our opening, representation of sexuality was something that we kept in mind. As a group we were adamant that we wanted to develop on the conventional homosexual representation in teen dramas. Like ethnicity, homosexuality is something that we feel is currently unrealistically represented, and in modern society, homosexuality is mostly and should be treated the same as heterosexuality  We wanted to represent heterosexuality as commonplace and not give much attention to it, just as it would be in real life. This can be seen from 0:34 - 0:49 in the opening. 

Joe (left) Patrick (right)

No focus is awarded to homosexuality. Both Joe and Patrick are not dressed in any way that gives suggestion to their sexuality (in the way that it is conventionally represented). The shot does not linger on them for longer than it would if the couple was heterosexual, making the fact that it is a gay couple seem unimportant. Both characters in the couple have as many definitive personality traits as the other characters: Joe is quite kooky and a hipster, and he expresses a lot of concern for Hannah when she collapses. Patrick on the other hand dresses very casually and is less interested in Hannah's collapse; he has to be called over angrily by Joe. Patrick is also observant; he is the only one that notices Eve's departure.

As a group we think that this is a very realistic version of modern urban society, and for this reason we have developed on the conventions from previous teen dramas. However we have not represented trans-gender people or bisexuality, and this is a development that we hope will be seen soon in the development of the genre. 

To summarise we have researched and are aware of the conventional and stereotypical representations in teen dramas. Where we have decided to or not to conform to a convention  it has been done with the audience in mind and to make the opening sequence more relatable and realistic. 

For more information on these representations and detail on other representations please refer to our representation post.