How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Girl GroupsIn most of the teen films we researched, there is a prominent group of white teenage girls, usually of 3 or 4. There is a stereotype of one girl being the leader and the popular one in the school, and having a couple friends who always go around with her. We replicated this in our opening, with Tiffany being the popular girl, and the other two characters running to her after they receive a text, portraying them as being submissive. This goes against the normal stereotype that women are not good at working together, because in our opening they are teaming up to take revenge, similar to the film ‘John Tucker Must Die’. The stereotype of girls being competitive is slightly changed as instead of being competitive with each other, they are competing with boys.However our opening supports the stereotype that girls are manipulative as the voiceover explains how the girls are planning to get payback on a boy.

In other chick flick type films girls can be represented as being self obsessed, for example there are often shots of girls putting on makeup and getting ready, and even taking selfies like in this gif from Wild Child. We showed this stereotype by having Brittany in the bath with a facemask on, showing she cares about her appearance.

Boys Although no boys are shown in our opening, they have still been represented as if they are the enemy to girls. This has been shown when Tiffany rips down the pictures of her ex boyfriend to imply that she has more power over him, going against the stereotype that boys are stronger than girls; physically and emotionally. This representation of ‘boys vs girls’ is similar in other teen films such as ‘John Tucker Must Die’.

TeenagersOverall, in our opening teenagers have been represented as being split into groups/ ‘cliques’ and the rivalry and competitiveness between them have been highlighted. It also shows that teenagers are sociable as they are always keeping in contact through their phones. The establishing shot of the school implies that this is where the teenagers spend most of their time, and is an important place to them and in the film. This is where most of the film and other teen films are set because it is realistic and relatable to teenagers.