REPRESENTATION

Representation is the way in which different groups in society are represented in media (film etc). There are 7 key groups that generally make up society, which are as follows: race, age, gender, class/status, sexuality and state of ability.

It is clear that these specific groups are represented differently in film, and more specifically those of the thriller genre. For example males and females are generally depicted in very disparate ways. Males are stereotypically seen as the hero (and are quite frequently the protagonist), they are meant to be perceived by the audience as both physically and mentally strong and powerful and exhibit certain attributes such as being emotionless, independent, brave and clever.

Women on the other hand are normally one of two types of character in a movie of the thriller genre, the 'damsel in distress' (where the woman is being rescued by the male protagonist above) or the 'femme fatale' where a woman uses a combination of her intelligence and sex appeal to manipulate her victim- normally the male protagonist described above also. Laura Maulvy theorizes that women in media are hyper sexualised and are used for the pleasure of men.

Women are also portrayed as the maternal figure in film typically of the male protagonist. they tend to support the character in making more emotional decisions. this type of female character also is typically the 'damsel in distress' also. This is shown in the image below in the Dark Night Rises (2008).

there are also different representations of people according to their age. It is clear that the representation of both the young and the old starkly contrast. the elerly are normally portrayed as