AS Coursework Evaluation: Question 2: How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

As said in the video above, our coursework piece represents different social groups. The only character seen in the piece is a teenage girl, who can be represented in two different ways. The character can represent both teenagers and women, depending on the view the audience takes. 

For example, the character can be represented as a teenager due to the way the character is both independent and still vulnerable and in need of support. This is shown by the way the character walks home, she is still careful and vigilant despite the approval of her being out and the fact that she is old enough to take care of herself when alone. 
The character is also represented as a teenager via the actions displayed once the girl is home. Once in her room, the character immediately resorts to flicking through the social media site, Twitter, on her phone. This would be unlikely for many other generations as they have not grown up with these sites or technologies so may feel significantly less interested or less comfortable around using these technologies. This also shows how media convergence is relevant in the character's life, showing how it is very natural for her to use a device intended for other purposes, in order of reaching out to the online world and the internet. This also shows the zeitgeist of teenagers today as this is what they are most likely associated with and a way in which we can relate to our target audience as they will automatically connect with the idea of using social media and will also identify with the character more due to the idea of them feeling as though they have similar interests to her. 
Another way in which the character represents teenagers is the fact that she is clearly not fully grown up yet. This is expressed through the way in which the character still has her childhood teddies on top of her wardrobe along with family photos. This clearly shows how she is not entirely ready to let go of the idea of being a child and is still clinging onto the moments where she would have been looked after by her parents and didn't have any worries.

On the other hand, the character can be seen as more independent as a woman. The dark clothes of the character suggests the idea of a strong woman as they are wholly dark and plain, showing how the character is much stronger than initially thought at the beginning of the thriller opening. A feminist would agree with this as they would believe the woman to be as strong as we could expect a male character to be (feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. source: https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=feminism+definition). 
It may also be considered that the character, as a woman, could be seen as quite busy and social due to the fact that she is walking home so late, suggesting she has clearly been to some outing or work commitment. This is opportunistic as the character becomes presented as confident and committed to whatever task is laid before them.

As aforesaid, the character clearly represents different social groups via different aspects of the piece.  If we had included more characters, our coursework piece would have represented a wider range of social groups. This is something we could consider if we had to re-do the piece.