stereotypes

Slide 1

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Slide 2

Gender Stereotypes
Female
The murder victim is a female, therefore it supports the female stereotypes of them being quite vulnerable and weak as well as the typical 'damsels in distress'. The female is only featured in the film for a few seconds, showing that the male characters overpower her and that they play a significant role, therefore giving the impression that they are more important. Furthermore, the woman conforms to gender stereotypes as the narrative is based around what happened to her, so even though the male roommate has a dialogue and is featured in multiple scenes, it is the woman who the viewers are interested in finding out about. It is usually the females who are the victim in murder mystery films and when we looked into our similar products, the film 'Manhattan Murder Mystery' portrayed vulnerability and weakness in women through this. Both the detective and the roommate are male, reinforcing the stereotype that they are dominant and are in control of the situation.  Due to the roommate being male, it is expected that he is waited on, however he is shown as independent and capable of doing things for himself and he isn't dependant on his female roommate, therefore subverting the stereotypes of men being sexist towards women. Even though they are seen as the more dominant characters, he wants to know what happened to his roommate, meaning that he is caring and isn't arrogant about the situation. 

Slide 3

Occupation & Age Stereotypes
Furthermore, the male detective is clearly of an older age which gives the impression that he holds and maintains power during their conversation as he is seen as intimidating to the male roommate due to his occupation and the status he holds. The roommate is fairly young, therefore he is stereotypically irresponsible and immature, therefore by being put through this interrogation he is being presented in a way where he reinforces this. On the other hand he is wearing a suit which could suggest that he is viewed as an authoritative figure at his workplace, however the detective is more dominant and holds the floor in their conversation due to the authority he has when he enters the house. 

Slide 4