Representation Analysis

    Representation in media depends on the product that is being sold, as the representation reflects the audience, which in turn affects the product sales. Because brands aim to have the largest audience possible, their representation usually focuses on the audience of said product. This is often seen when products appeal to stereotypes that encompass their products, such as beauty products having mostly female representation, and power tools having mostly male representation. While it can be said that products play into stereotypes to keep their audience, it is obvious there is some input from management to keep it this way. However, some brands and companies have slowly started to move away from these stereotypes to become more "inclusive", but there still remains much work to be done. 

    This ad from Tide is a good example of brands playing into stereotypes, while also trying to be inclusive. The ad only has female representation, as the product is mostly bought and consumed by the same audience, female mothers with messy children. However, a tomboy daughter is included, both to appeal to mothers with tomboy daughters, while also appealing to mothers with messy sons. While the ad tries to be inclusive by including a smaller group, it still lacks in representation from other groups, such as people of color, or cleaner children. This limited representation leads to those outside of the target demographic to believe the product is not for them, leading to only a specific group of people buying or relating to the product.

    Every so often we may see an ad that includes much more representation, such as this ad for H&M. The diversity in this ad was much greater than in the previous, due to its message. The ad was to get people to recycle their clothes, so instead of appealing to a much more specific audience, it aimed to include as many people as possible. This type of tactic is also seen in other types of media, such as PSAs, which aim to address the largest group of people possible. When the focus of an ad is not to promote a product, but rather a cause or idea (which is not limited to a certain gender, race, age, sexual orientation, or social class), we end up with much more diversity.

    We can take many more examples from many different sources, but most will show the same thing. If there are specific products with specific audiences, then ads for said product will most likely reflect the audience, and maybe work on increasing the audience for the product. But if there is a much broader idea, such as a message that does not reflect one specific audience, then the representation will most likely be larger as well. 

    Ads can be very confusing as they all try different tactics at spreading products or ideas. However, it's the 21st century, and we need to start pushing for inclusivity. While some brands have started to work on including more and more people, they need to realize that appealing to these hyper-specific groups will only hurt their products by offending the ever growing minorities.

The Thrill of Drama

     Films, movies, and books can sometimes be hard to categorize, often overlapping with many different genres. Two genres that tend to coincide are dramas and thrillers. By definition, dramas tend to focus more on building up the characters and situations, often portraying them in a realistic way. Conversely, thrillers evoke stronger emotions from the audience by having a darker tone and much more exaggerated and fictitious plots. 

    Dramatic thrillers combine these two traits, creating unrealistic situations but portraying them as realistically as possible. Many movies with a target audience of older teens to younger adults (ages 17-21) can be considered dramatic thrillers. However, some more niche sub-genres can appeal to a much more diverse audience, such as psychological thrillers which appeal to older women (of around 40 years). Essentially, dramatic thrillers can appeal to almost anyone, as many modern films and shows rely on the audience's emotional responses to stay relevant.

    Due to producers aiming to make as much money as possible, they primarily rely on audience reception for both ratings and relevancy. To better establish this connection to the audience, more and more thriller films are being made as they engage the audience with the many twists and turns they offer. One of the most common things you'll hear from displeased viewers is that they "lost interest". Many thrillers counteract this, usually by having overarching plots, as is the case with tv shows, or by having quicker paced stories, like in many movies.

    Films such as Breaking Bad, Joker (2019), and The Platform (2019), usually revolve around violence; while others, such as Stranger Things and The Birds, focus more on creating suspense by way of acting. Thrillers are characterized by their use of protagonists that cause or are entwined to the problems, often due to their own flaws. A dark and grim mise en scene is also common among thrillers. Thrillers often have a jarring pace, used to quickly build up tension and keep the audience invested. Close ups, hand-helds, and even high-low shots are used to cause emotional responses in the audience. Simply put, thrillers do whatever they can to cause emotion.

    These vague qualifications can also be muddled as you delve into more specific subgenres. This scene from 6 Underground uses over-the-top action, including pyrotechnics and handhelds to show that the character is at risk. Similarly, this scene from Skyfall uses handhelds to create tension, but has much more grounded action, as well as a greater emphasis on information. However, some subgenres, such as psychological thriller, might meld into a different genre, such as horror. In Joker, Todd Phillips also strived to create an uneasy feeling in the audience. While the movie does contain violence and action, this scene was much more focused on creating the edgy atmosphere of thrillers by using a much subtler approach; a dark and hostile mise en scene. All the movies from which each scene comes from can be considered a thriller, but each scene had its own feel to it. The thriller genre's broad convention of creating relentless environments that cause viewers to feel "on edge" allows for directors to create tone in a creative way, without delving too much into other genres.

    Similarly to dramas, thrillers are marketed as emotional and personal pieces; but they contrast in the sense that thrillers tend to go to a darker side of the emotional spectrum, usually involving distress, angst, and suspense. Posters for thrillers are usually dark and gritty, having much more faded colors than any normal drama would. 

    One example of this is in the poster for Alien.  

    The dark colors, character expression, and environment let us know that the character is alone, and that there is something out there. This bleak message is also shown in the movie, as Ripley is the last survivor in the Nostromo.

    Compare that poster to another one, this time from Get Out.

    Unlike Alien's much more simple poster, the one for Get Out is segmented into different parts, some showing something happy, and others showing fearful eyes. While there is still dark coloring, the focus is shared with the brighter and happier parts, creating a contrasting and disparate mood.

    One of the most popular and recent thrillers you can watch is Breaking Bad. Similarly to other thrillers such as the Walking Dead and Dark, tv thrillers are much more drawn out and take their time to build up tensions. However, all these shows are very much thrillers, from their edgy and tense scores to their uncompromising plots. Even the more self-contained episodes clearly have their own stakes as we follow each and every character, and become invested in what they have to gain, and what they have to lose.

    Jordan Peele's Us is another great example of a thriller. The movie easily encompassess the aspects of your average horror movie, primarily jumpscares and creepy visuals, while also incorporating some action elements, such as fighting and stunt work. This strained retaliation is synonymous with any thriller genre. Us also uses its mise en scene (as seen in this scene) to create an oppressive setting, causing the viewer to feel scared and nervous.

    While dramatic thrillers can cover a range of sub-genres, often mixing more disparate and broader genres, they will most certainly cause your heart rate to quicken and your hairs to stand on end.

Introductory Post

     Hello! My name is Rodrigo, and I'm making this blog to keep up with my AICE Media class. While this is a requirement, I do see myself keeping this going even after finishing the course. I might even change the topics of the blog and focus on just a broader Film and TV blog. 

    I already have quite a bit of experience with Media productions, especially with script writing, cinematography, editing, and everything else relating to the more modern visual arts. I am taking AICE Media as a way to improve my Film-making skills as I use them quite frequently in my TV Production class. Even with the class having started a while ago, I already feel myself slowly improving as I am putting more thought into my productions. 

    So yeah, feel free to stick around and hear about all sorts of tips and tricks on media productions, script writing, After Effects, Premier Pro, Blender, Photoshop, and any other program I pick up along the way.