Representation of social groups- Question 2.

The main character in the thriller will obviously be the little girl. Her character is largely influenced by the character of Nina in Black Swan. They are both portrayed as tortured artists (ballerinas) who express their feelings through dance; it is the only time they can truly be free.

Their characters are also similar in the sense that they are all alone in the world, which is clearly shown in these stills, with them being alone and isolated in an empty room or corner, and the camera is tilted slightly so that it seems as if they have a lower status; they are presented as being vulnerable, which which is similar to the usual stereotypes and generalisations of women in the media. The bland colours of brown and grey, as well as the dim lighting enhance the idea of them being lonely as these particular colours are usually associated with emptiness.

Only one character is shown in our thriller opening, however, two sides of this character are portrayed; in the beginning she is a tortured artist; bursting with talent and passion for dance, but in the second half, a more mean, mentally deranged side to the girl is brought out. This goes against the stereotype of girls being vulnerable and cute, and this change in personality is represented also in 'The Orphan' with the protagonist Esther rapidly changing her personality from a sweet little orphan girl to a deranged, sadistic 30-year-old woman. We wanted to have this psychotic element to our thriller also, and so the representations of our protagonist was largely influenced by Esther in The Orphan.

How a character is represented to the audience is largely based on visual cues for example through costume and mise en scene. In general, the colour black is associated with dark, evil things; when there is lots of dark colours in a particular scene of a movie, the audience can sense something bad will soon happen. In comparison, white has connotations for purity, innocence and peace. The Black Swan uses these colours as mental triggers for when something bad will happen, also to signify when the character will act good or evil. We went against these representations in our opening as we used a white rather than black night dress for when the girl is clearly show to be a bit psychotic, however we used a black tutu in the beginning in order to foreshadow that something bad will happen later, or circumstances will soon change.