How have I used representation to create meaning in my film opening from last year?

Representation was used in a number of different ways during the course of my film opening to give the footage meaning, and also comparison to perhaps a real life situation.

Firstly the teenage boy who can be seen running at the start of the film opening is wearing clothes that may be stereotyped by a lot of people to be worn by young 'yobs', as he is wearing a tracksuit and trainers. When making the film opening I thought it would be a good idea to dress this character in these clothes as it would portray a representation of what many people in modern society would expect a lot of young boys to dress like. In a way the representation of these clothes and the surrounding area which the boy is running in, would create a visual image in the readers head of a deprived area, this is a good way to really show the genre of the film opening (crime), as these things would conform to stereotypes to that of areas which are deprived and therefore have higher crime rates.

The appearance of the characters and also the violent actions which take place between them could be seen as something that happens in the real world. This in a way conforms to Jean Baudrillard's hyperreality theory as the footage is simply simulating the real world but at the same time is distorting what actually may be real.

The action of the main character running could suggests to readers minds that he has done something wrong which he needs to run away from. This is likely to be what the readers will first think simply due to the age of the character, his appearance and setting around the character. This conforms to a stereotype that teenage boys in deprived areas often get themselves into trouble and perhaps commit crimes. As this plays on modern day stereotypes it could be seen to conform to David Chandler's theory that representation always involves the construction of reality.

When looking at the fight seen between the two characters in the film footage, a dominant ideology of male's can be seen. A particular dominant ideology for males rather then females is that males are more physically violent as a whole. This scene in which one of the males is stabbed in the stomach, would conform to this dominant ideology of males being more violent, as both the characters seem to have no hesitation in what they are doing.

An age representation is also shown by the characters in the film opening. Both these characters look young perhaps between the ages of 18 and 22. This would conform to the stereotypical dominant ideology that young males between these ages, are most likely to commit crimes and be involved with criminal activity rather then males of any other age range. Again this follows David Chandlers theory of construction of reality within the film opening footage.