Research into Representation

The Revision Express Media Studies text book states that "representation relates to the representation of reality in the media". This relates to the idea that our whole knowledge of somebody in the public eye comes from the way they are represented in the media. For example, our perception of celebrities who we don't know personally, comes just from the way we see them in the media. In order to further my knowledge of this, I have researched into the representation on women in particular as we plan to have a female dominated cast.

In the media, women were traditionally portrayed to be the 'damsel in distress' characters and were usually the victim of whatever is occurring in a film. There were often presented as 'objects' either sexually or emotionally orientated. Angela McRobbie says that men and women are often represented through stereotypes in the media and are often shown in traditional gender roles. For example woman are usually shown as innocent, beautiful, victims. Males on the other hand are usually seen as the aggressive, strong and the hero or villain due to their more masculine traits and behaviours. This idea is seen throughout many films for example in 'Psycho' where women are being punished for their sins by men.

However since this film was made, representations have changed slightly with equal rights of men and women being introduced. This means that now it is more common now to see a female portraying the villain rather than the damsel in distress than it ever has been in the past. A film that supports this idea is 'Jennifer's Body' where the killer is a strong woman. This is due to the changing representations of women in modern society and how they are now seen as more powerful figures.

Compared to other genres of media other than horror, women often play a more active role. This is because they are now seen a lot more as being the hero with the role of the 'final girl' becoming quite popular. This idea was put forward by Carol Clover and suggests that in horror films it is usually the 'ideal' girl who survives against the antagonist. The victims of the film are often the ones who challenge the innocent representation of women.

We have decided to have a female main character who will be portrayed as the stereotypical 'ideal' woman. Her nightmares will connote innocence and vulnerability. Her job as a teacher will emphasize that she is caring and feminine which are some of the typical characteristics of the ideal woman. By doing this, the audience will be able to connect and empathise with her more and want her to survive against the antagonist.

Alternatively, there are stereotypes about how children  too are represented in the media and the horror genre in particular. Stereotypically they are seen as innocent, with a willingness to be loved. Young researchers (aged 10-17) from a British organisation called 'Children's Express' looked at how children are represented in the media found that there are "seven deadly stereotypes". These include; 'children as victims', 'cute kids', 'little devils' and more. It is more common to see the children playing the victim in media, however it is becoming more and more accepted to see the child playing the villain or the 'devil' character in the horror genre. For example in 'Orphan (2008)' Esther's character is a young girl who is adopted by a husband and wife, but isn't as innocent as she makes out to be. Throughout the film she acts as the antagonist.