Transcript of question 2 for my Evaluation
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The document summarizes the character development and representations in a story. The female protagonist Taylor is portrayed as a vulnerable yet determined young woman from a dysfunctional working class background. The male protagonist Sam seems to come from a more privileged upbringing and takes a protective role over Taylor. Stereotypical gender roles and racial representations were considered but ultimately challenged in the characters' design and portrayal. The mother character reinforces stereotypes as an aggressive, demanding working class woman.
Transcript of question 2 for my Evaluation
- 1. Slide one - Taylor The female protagonist, Taylor's character conforms to stereotype in being working class and poor, young, feminine, vulnerable, scared, lonely, isolated and misunderstood, with a dysfunctional home life and lazy abusive mother. She is not based on any specific character but is an amalgamation of many such types in British TV soaps. The setting and her costume and body language make this quite evident. Her body language is quite confident and determined when she is leaving, but once alone she is visibly diminished, and when Sam arrives she is clearly subservient and readily does as she is directed. When filming, I did try to obtain a high angle shot looking down at Taylor as she sits on the step talking to Sam (making her appear weak and powerless), but only a quick flash remains seen of this shot, because much was edited out. Slide two - Sam The male protagonist, Sam is perhaps from a more privileged background, (apparent from his accent - we have no other clues at this stage on which to base this assumption), which makes his story all the more intriguing. Sam is a figment of my imagination rather than based on a previous character or conventional stereotype. Based on Levi-Strauss's theory, this first impression might also suggest that he went to a good school, had a more luxurious home, middle class parents, and has more educational qualifications, and perhaps even as a consequence, that he is more intelligent and trustworthy! Slide three - Dominant male photo Also in typical gender role, it is the male, Sam, who takes control and protects the weaker and more vulnerable female. He emerges from above, signifying and effusing confidence, power and superiority (while she sits forlorn on the step), which is another common convention. I did attempt a low angle shot looking up at Sam when he sat on the step chatting with Taylor, but I misjudged his height and the height of the tripod, so it ended up more at eye level! That said, Sam is also clearly mixed-race and in the past, being black, he may have been shown in a as more subservient or 'street/urban'. Racial stereotypes have clearly been challenged in recent years, and I did not want to dress him in low slung jeans, a puffer jacket and baseball cap! Indeed, both wear the normal attire for a teen, with nothing too designer, and Sam's wild hair, gloves and camouflage jacket readily elicit the stereotypical image of a 'new age traveller' type. I am happy with the costumes and the props. Slide four - Mother photo The female protagonist’s mother has been represented as a working class aggressive, lazy, rude, bullying and quite masculine woman. The audience is shown this from the strict, demanding tone that the mother uses when she shouts “Taylor, where's my dinner?” and the fact she is just sitting shouting her demands. Some may say that this character is represented as masculine as she is not behaving the way a typical female would behave and speak. The snarling expression makes her a little feral and animalistic. She is evidently the dominant presence in the house. Some may associate people of a working class background to people of low standards.