A little bit about representation..

Representation is based on stereotypes. Stereotypes are usually simplified and often an exaggerated representation of a character and also an over generalized belief about a particular category of people. In this case, the specific group that I am going to represent within my project would be women and girls of the ages 14-30. For as long as people can remember, women have always been portrayed as the “weaker” sex and also portrayed as dumb, non athletic, dramatic, only skinny, loves pink, considered objects and more. Let’s start with personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and appearance. Woman’s personality traits are expected to be emotional and accommodating, their domestic behavior is expected for them to take care of the children, cook, and clean the house, many people are quick to assume that women’s occupation should be teachers and nurses, and lastly, for appearance, women are expected to be thin and short. As you can see, not only do people expect women to be this way, but the media world does as well.

To begin, one example within the media of how this group is represented would be the film mean girls. Although the movie mostly states the stereotypes of a high school life and the high school kids, it also shows us many stereotypes that “represent” women. For example, in Mean Girls, everyone is categorized into a group, and the most popular group (which are the mean girls) are known as the “Plastics.” This group’s name is a reference to a plastic Barbie Doll and these girls are mostly popular for their fit bodies, fancy clothes, their luxurious lifestyle, and their luscious hair, and most importantly fake, just like all Barbie Dolls. This film just goes to show that the Plastics, along with all the other girls are judged and criticized primarily on their looks. This happens a lot with women in real life. For example, most people seem to believe that if women are not skinny, then they are not beautiful. Also, the “Plastics” are shown as non-athletic and that only the men can play sports. For instance, as many of the students are in their P.E class, the film shows one of the girls on the phone walking around, one of the girls attempting to catch a ball but cant, and lastly one of the girls being carried by all the guys until she reaches the football field. While nowadays people are less likely to stereotype in their advertising, there are still many ways to go when it comes to the representation of women on screen and on print. With this being said, another example within the media of how this group is represented would be in Magazines. One specific Magazine that does this would be GQ. If you were to search up on google, “The GQ Women” you would see many women on the front cover of magazines half naked, and wearing minimal clothing. This shows the world that women can only be considered sexy and confident if they “show some skin.” When it comes to Magazines, men get cars, sports, watches and abs. Women get makeup, gossip, fashion, and weight loss. Both are getting fashion in various degrees but women get “feminine” magazines and men get “masculine” magazines. For example, the colors red, pink, and white dominate the covers of women’s magazines with more fancy fonts and represents femininity. Meanwhile, darker colors like black, blue, and grey dominate the covers of men’s magazines with bolder and harsher fonts to assert a tone of a dominance design.

Furthermore, I feel that these representations of women are very unfair. Although some women are represented this way, many other women are not. For example, women are intelligent, independent, they value work-life balance, empathetic, nurturing, great multitasks, athletic, and more. This is not considered fair because if media outlets continue to portray women as dumb, non athletic, dramatic, only skinny, loves pink, considered objects and more then many people will continue to treat women the way they are treated now and see them as the weaker sex. As a woman, I can say that these stereotypes are mainly incorrect. Back then, you used to see movies about princesses like Cinderella that depend on a man to save their life and make their life better, but now you see movies like Legally Blonde, where they don’t need a man for them to live “happily ever after.” Honestly, without women, humanity would lose its natural balance.

Finally, the representation characteristic that I would retain is that women are emotional and dramatic. Although there are many women who are strong and show no emotion, there are also women who tend to show way too much emotion. Honestly, I am not even gonna lie, lots of girls are more dramatic, emotional, and sensitive than guys are, and all you women reading this know that it’s true. We can’t help it, it’s just the way we are and the way we perceive things. Think of it like this, who is more likely to cry during a sad movie… girls. Who is more likely to get butt hurt about what others say about them….. Girls. Who is more likely the drama queen….. GIRLS! Now, guys can cry, get butt hurt, and be drama queens as well, but you mostly see it in girls first and that is why they are portrayed as dramatic and emotional. A stereotype that I would challenge is the appearance of women. I am a believer that no matter what size, shape, or form women are, they are always considered beautiful, and I would challenge this stereotype because women do NOT have to be thin in order to be beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, some women are obsessed about things like that, but the majority of women are learning to embrace and love how they look and feel in their own body. This stereotype of women having to be thin could drive them to do things like stop eating, working out like crazy, and getting surgery, but by breaking this stereotype, I would be showing women that no matter what they look like, they will always be accepted and loved. Overall, many stereotypes can be misleading, but they can also be true. Either way, media has been and always will develop stereotypes about different groups.

Genre #2 : Horror!

1. Horror
2. Horror is a very popular genre that has the intention to scare, frighten, startle, or disgust the audience by using feelings of terror. Not to mention that horror is also overlapped with the supernatural fiction, and even fantasy. Usually, the aim of a horror film is to stimulate the audience’s nightmares, along with fears. At the same time, the plots in a horror film usually consist the intrusion of an evil event, person, or force in somebodies life. Due to this, horror films include suspense, jump scares, and uncomfortable situations, in order for the audience to feel their heart racing or jumping out of their chest. The Horror genre targets an audience of the age 15-25. The reason for this is that most young adults and teenagers enjoy thrills. These thrills are more likely to excite a younger audience rather than exciting an older audience. Lastly, a common thing that each horror film has is to include either death, monsters, and blood.
3. While making a horror film, many production techniques are used, to produce a feeling of fear and startle throughout the entire film. An important production technique is Mise-en-scene which includes low-key lighting. People fear the unseen and unknown. Low key lighting is often used in horror films to create a creepy, mysterious, and dark atmosphere. They are also used to enhance shadows and darkness. By doing this, people will feel more vulnerable and threatened as they are unable to see as much. Another production technique in Mise-en-scene would be the costumes. Costumes play a major role in any film due to the fact that they aid in developing representation. In horror films, costumes are very important because they add to the mise-en scene of the film which will help create a very uncomfortable feeling, due to the fact that the costume represents “sinister” characters. The fact that the character wears dark clothes represents the tone of the film and makes it scarier for the audience. It will also help the audience identify if the character is a protagonist or an antagonist and also help the film become a lot scarier and suspenseful. These costumes are either usually dark or covered in blood, and makeup. Also, another production technique in Mise-en-scene would be the location, or setting of the film. Many horror films use a range of different locations like haunted houses, graveyards, rural locations, and suburban houses. Usually these locations are isolated, in order to make it harder for the victim to escape. For example, if the film was to take place in a haunted house it would normally be featured during the night, in an old and abandoned house that is broken down and solitary. Typically, haunted houses mostly involve a tragic accident to occur within the location, like somebody dying in the house or cursing it, which causes it to be haunted. Also, in these production techniques, common shots are used in order to heighten emotions. For instance, many close-ups are used to show possible importance of people or specific objects. When films use this production technique, it makes the audience feel a connection, in order to increase fear. Not to mention that many horror films use Non-diegetic sounds like high pitched sounds, violins, or suspenseful music in order to build suspense and change the emotions of the scene. Then, many of the same colors are always used in horror films, which are dark colors. Two of the main colors that are used are Red and Black. Red creates a feeling of danger, blood, and energy and also stimulates a a faster heartbeat/ breathing. Black creates a feeling of negative, power, and submission and stimulates a feeling of negative connotation, fear, and the unknown. Color does way more than just stimulate feelings, it also represents the role of characters. For example, if someone is wearing black, they would most likely be seen as evil, or negative in the film. On the other hand, if someone wears the color white, they are seen as angelic an innocent. You get the difference? Lastly, many objects are used in horror films like guns, knives, crosses, dolls, old TVs, mirrors, cameras, and way more. These objects make it known that the audience is watching a horror movie and add more suspense into the film.
4. The Conjuring- The conjuring is one of the most famous horror movies and is very popular. The Conjuring is about the story of how paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, were called in order to help a family who was being terrorized by a dark presence in their home. The investigators are then forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, where they end up finding themselves caught in a terrifying case. To begin, the lighting in the conjuring is consisted of natural lighting and low key lighting. For example, whenever the scenes would be shot outside, they would use natural lighting, which includes the sun. Whenever the scenes would be shot inside the house they would use low key lighting which heightened the fear and anxiety because of the unknown in the darkness. The costumes of the family and the investigators include pale colors to capture their innocence and earthy colors that are associated with the 70’s. These costumes add a soft texture to their warming family environment against the chilling forces present in their surroundings. On the other hand, the evil force that is terrorizing the family looks like a nun who is dressed in all black. The fact that the nun is wearing all black suggests that the evil force is the villain or the bad guy, with a lot of power, and negativity that is terrorizing this poor family. Also, the location that the family lives in is a farmhouse that is isolated, old and almost broken down. If you have watched the movie, you notice that when the family moves in, the house is creepy, and needs lots of renovations to it. The conjuring also consists of faster and higher pitched non-diegetic sound which is used just before and during the big event, this creates a more scary effect and suspense to the scene, whilst also hopefully scaring the audience. Lastly, objects like crosses are used in this movie, but are used differently. In the conjuring, the use of crosses is turned upside down which represents “a symbol of atheism, humanism, and the occult. Several black metal bands use an inverted cross to call attention to their supposed devotion to Satan. Upside-down crosses appear in horror movies as a signal of demonic activity.”
5. Saw- The movie saw is about a man named Jigsaw who kidnaps people that have done bad things in their life that somehow relate to him, and forces them to do things they would never do in order to survive. Usually the things they have to do are serious like either hurting themselves, or hurting someone else. It is considered a game that forces people to think, like a “jigsaw puzzle” and do things under pressure and time. Although this “jigsaw” is doing something bad, he can never be charged because he is not killing these people, the people are killing themselves. In this movie, the lighting that they use, is always dark and low key. Just like The Conjuring, this lighting heightened the fear and anxiety of the viewers because of the unknown in the darkness. The costume that the victims use are normal clothing that ranges from the ages of 20-40 years old. On the other hand, the bad guy named “Jigsaw” usually wears black and shows that he has power of everyone who is being forced to kill. The location is always isolated when it comes to the movie Saw. In all 8 movies, the location is usually an abandoned house, and an abandoned warehouse. These locations are isolated and hard to map, due to the fact that he doesn’t want his victims to escape. Lastly, their are many objects that are used in this movie. There are knives, cameras, saws, an even a doll. This movie is so good!
6. 

     

Sources:

“Horror Films.” Most Influential, Significant and Important Films in American Cinema - The 1960s, www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html.

“Why Costumes and Make-up Are Still so Important to Horror Films.” CineVue, 25 Apr. 2018, cine-vue.com/2018/04/why-costumes-and-make-up-are-still-so-important-to-horror-films.html.

“What You Need to Know About High Key vs. Low Key Lighting.” The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat, 3 Jan. 2018, www.premiumbeat.com/blog/high-key-vs-low-key-lighting/.

Lets get started :))

1. Genre: Drama

So lets talk a little bit about Drama and what the genre contains. Drama is a very broad genre

and contains many sub-genres. It is a genre that relies on the emotional development of realistic

characters and aims to tell an honest story of human struggles. Drama is also structured with

climaxes to keep the audience emotionally connected while also relating to the character. The

plot mostly consists of :

Realism

Some form of journey

Heightened emotion

Plots with a twist

And as I mentioned above, a protagonist that’s easy to relate to.

At the same time, in dramatic films, they often always contain a happy ending or a

“happily ever after.”  Now that you know a little bit about drama, lets move on to production
techniques!

3. Not only in dramatic films but in all films, the production techniques such as sound,
special effects, lighting, mise en scene, composition and movement of camera shots
and angles, and music are all used to shape and develop the film. Many of these techniques
are involved when making a dramatic film. For example, lighting creates mood and in the way
its angled, it also changes the picture. A soft lighting can suggest romance, a bright lighting can
suggest happiness, and a dark lighting can suggest a feeling of being gloomy or upset. Typically,
in dramatic films, the main lighting that is used is bright, and maybe some soft lighting. Once the
plot twists and something bad happens, the lighting then turns from bright to dark. Another
common technique used are the use of props. The most common props that are used in
dramatic films include: guns, alcohol, knives, phones, and drugs. These are the main props
used because some of them associate with the lives of teenagers or young adults. Along with
props, there is also setting. Settings in dramatic films are very important because they allow the
audience to see the atmosphere that the characters live in. Not only does the setting do what I
just said, but it also reflects on the character’s personalities. For instance, this might include
an apartment or house. Another important element of a Drama is the use of costumes. Depending
on the type of drama, clothing may vary. Clothing also allows for the audience to have an automatic
opinion on the character. For example, if the film was a teen drama, the characters would most
likely use hoodies, or designer clothing. Color also has a strong role because it helps resemble
feelings and more. The color may vary since drama has maybe sub-genres. If the film is a fighting
movie the colors might be dark, and if the film is a romantic movie then it might include lighter colors
like white, and a hint of red.

4. When advertising for films, lots of trailers, talk shows, and film posters are very popularly used.
For example, having a trailer that shows the main plot of the film, but not spoiling the movie to the
audience is one way that these films are marketed. Also, having popular celebrities in these films
can help increase the excitement of the film, and also make their target audience want to watch the
film even more. Since Drama is such a broad genre, the target audience may vary by sub-genres.
Some sub genres include: Romantic comedy, Comedy, Melodrama. These films mostly target a female
audience from the ages of 15-50 years old and are usually called “chick flicks.” However, drama films
that are targeted to male audiences are usually called “guy crys.” For example, in theaters, film posters
are used to promote and advertise a film and are usually displayed inside and on the outside of movie
theaters, shops, and elsewhere on the street. On TV, talk shows can be a television or radio show in
which various topics are discussed with the main characters of the dramatic film and listeners, viewers,
or the studio audience are invited to participate in the discussion. Also, promotional tours, interviews
and merchandising is also used when marketing these types of films.

5. Film #1: A Star is Born. This movie is about a musician who falls in love with a struggling artist.
Right when she starts giving up on her dream about becoming a famous singer, the main artist coaxes
her into the spotlight. When the young girl’s career takes off, their relationship starts to break down,
as Jackson (the musician) fights an ongoing battle with being an alcoholic. This film embodies the
genre drama because it relates to human struggles. Most dramas include alcohol, which is one of
their main props. In this movie, the musician has struggles at the beginning with alcohol and as he
falls in love, his alcoholism progresses even more. Due to his struggles, every time he drank, he
was a completely different person and would verbally attack his girlfriend at times. Due to this, he
commits suicide to save her from all the trouble he put her through. This resembles to real world
human problems because many people struggle with this addiction and with the thoughts of suicide.
In many dramas, they aim to tell an honest story of human struggles, in which the audience can relate
to. Lastly, this movie includes two very popular celebrities. Ally which is Lady gaga and Jackson
which is Bradley cooper.

6. Film #2: Dude. The movie follows four high school girls as they navigate the loss of a friend from
their group, and deal with life as they approach their upcoming high school graduation. In the
beginning of the movie, these four friends are inseparable and wild. They are the typical high school
group. They go to parties, do drugs, study, and have their own love lives. When they lose one of their
friends, everything starts to go downhill and life as they know it, completely changes. Like I said
before, the most common props that are used in dramatic films include: guns, alcohol, knives, phones,
and drugs. In this movie, drugs is the main use of escaping their emotions toward losing their friend
and helps them cope with what they're dealing with. Along with props, the costumes in this movie are
very relatable to what teenager where these days. They often wear hoodies in school and designer
clothing at parties which resembles the personalities and the lives of young teenagers. Lastly, this
movie includes one very popular celebrity which is Lucy Hale as lily.

7.

       

            

         

Bibliography
“Drama Films.” Most Influential, Significant and Important Films in American Cinema - The 1960s, www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html.

“Drama (Film and Television).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_(film_and_television).

Burton, Nikki. “Group 14.” Conventions of Drama Genre, 1 Jan. 1970, bca2media2013group14.blogspot.com/2012/09/conventions-of-drama-genre.html.

Welcome to my journey!!

Hi!! My name is Valeria Parra and the purpose of this blog is to introduce

my AICE Media studies project. I am so happy to announce the genre that

I will be researching for my film opening, but first, let me tell you a few things

about myself:

I am 16 years old
I was born here but my parents were born in Colombia and I love traveling there
I love spending time with my friends, family, and boyfriend
I love turtles and penguins !!
I used to play soccer when I was younger for 2 years and I’ve also danced for 10 years.
I am the opposite of lazy and a total NEAT freak!
I love children and would also love my career to include children
Im usually always smiling and being positive :)))
Lastly, I love staying in and watching movies

Now that you know a little bit about me, lets get started. A few weeks ago,

in my AICE Media studies class, my teacher had explained to us what our

Cambridge exam was composed of. We are allowed to choose between a

Film opening or a Magazine and my partner and I decided to choose the

film opening. I decided to work with one other person because not only would

we get things done quicker, but it would also help us brainstorm and combine

our ideas together. Within our film opening, I plan on picking a genre and

researching about that genre and in the near future, deciding what genre

we would like to use. I already know what genre captures my attention but

researching about it will help me learn way more than I already know now.

Lets get started ;))