Evaluation Q2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When making a film, social groups must be represented accurately to make the film convincing to the audience. For example, if a businessman was filmed wearing a tracksuit, the audience would not believe his position in society and therefore question the rest of the film.

'For Your Eyes Only' was an inspiration to our film, as the plot revolves around missing or stolen documents. The James Bond franchise is also extremely popular, as the leading role is very dynamic and likeable. We wanted to adapt this feature of the Bond films and take it into our own film. There are a few similarities between our characters that make this link apparent. Both Bond and Cohen (the 'good guy')are wearing smart suits. This indicates the social class they hold (Cohen would be a middle class working agent) and their position in business - in this case they are both government agents. This immediately demands some respect from the viewer, as we know that the character is high up on the social and business hierarchy. In this picture, both characters are wearing red ties. This makes them stand out on screen against darker backgrounds. However, Cohen is holding a briefcase whereas Bond is holding a gun. The different connotations behind these items is very important in creating suspense just through the character; with Cohen, we know he is important but we are not sure why as he is only holding a briefcase.

The Bourne trilogy was also an inspiration to 'Outsider' as it is all about government agents constantly chasing someone. The costume we chose for Rico's character (as the 'bad guy') mimics that of Jason Bourne. Rico's character would be working class, and this is represented in his casual clothing. The darkness in their clothes suggests that they do not want to be seen and want to remain anonymous - this arouses suspicion in the audience which creates suspense, as they can sense that something is going to happen. The casual nature of their clothing suggests that the characters want to blend in to the crowd, or just not stick out at all. This also arouses suspicion, as if they were completely innocent the character would have given this no thought.