2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Here, I have backed up examples of my points with screenshots from my opening sequence, and at times, compared them to the portrayal that can be seen in the film 'I Am Number Four'.

Age:

The young people in our opening sequence are shown to be trying to cope and overcome a serious issue, and we would see how these characters  - represented as mature and responsible young people - deal with this sensitive issue:

'I Am Number Four' features many fights within the film, therefore portraying the youths in the film to be quite menacing as they frequently engage in violence:

Disability:

Below is the character in our opening sequence that has a mental illness. Overall in our film we've represented mental health in quite a negative way; we show audiences the drastic measures taken by someone who is suffering - viewers witness the threatening actions taken by this person - and they would see how she is a danger - not only to herself, but to others around her. The inclusion of frequent close-ups of the character in our opening sequence make her seem quite intimidating to audiences:

Race:

A character in our sequence that is powerless and defenceless against other characters in our sequence. The use of close-ups on the blood make these characteristics evident to viewers:

Which contrasts to how white people are usually seen in films: strong, powerful and heroic:

Class:

Below are shots from our opening sequence that allow viewers to see one of our characters take part in her daily routine of work, and also show her to have a busy lifestyle. The use of a long shot helps to determine the setting being a place of work, therefore helping audiences to understand what her daily life is like:

By allowing the character to have expensive possessions, we can see that she is quite privileged, and it also indicates her class:

Gender:

When framing Jess' character, we used a low-angle shot as it helps to emphasise how dominant and powerful this female character is in our sequence:

The use of make-up in our opening sequence helps to stress how vulnerable and helpless this male character is in our film:

This contrasts to how gender is usually portrayed in films; in this screen-shot from 'I Am Number Four', it shows the male to be stronger - seen by this being the character with the weapon, and the female character to be following him just so she is safe - implying that male characters are always there to save others, while females are in danger and in need: