Evaluation of Representation of Social Groups

Representations and the Heist Genre

• Our representations are of young people as the whole cast are teenagers. This is not what you might expect in a heist film where the characters tend to be middle-aged.  This is seen through several heist films such as Ocean’s Eleven and Reservoir Dogs.

 

• Therefore I think it is useful to look at our representations in connection with the heist genre as this is why many media film representations arise - not because the film producers are consciously thinking about them but because they fit the demands of the plot / genre.
• Having a young cast does change their representation - they are not as able to be menacing or to pull off big business-related cons. Therefore they are smaller-scale and more likeable.
• Therefore the representation can become more humorous.
• There are movies for example ‘Gone in 60 seconds’ and ‘The Italian Job’ that shows men and women can work together as a team. However, heist films are often seen as 'male' films with women in very minor roles. We have made our male and female con artists equal - the way the credits appear helps to show this equality. They take full part in the heist and are seen as a full part of the team.

More traditional female 'love interest' role in heist film

 

 Strong female role in our film

• In classic heist films, the main characters often live a luxurious life and seem to aspire to become even wealthier.

 

Ocean's Thirteen

• We also have a gambling scene and have tried to make it look wealthy and luxurious. Our characters are wearing suits and are playing in a large house.
• Of course, as they are teenagers, the classic casino venue of a hesit film would not work so we have had to adjust to a private card game. Again, this softens the representation and adds to a comic feel, such as when all the characters look round at the same time.

 

•  The hackers always stand out from any other con-artists because they dress differently and their style is different. They don’t dress as formally as the rest and go for the almost casual look. This is what we have done in our film as well. Representing young people as hackers is easier than trying to suggest they can pull off a big business deal or con a rich person or rob a bank. This is because young people are commonly represented as being comfortable with technology, often more so than adults.

 

In Summary

• Representations for us are dictated by the age of the cast and the genre (heist)
• Because of the genre we have to represent our characters as likeable villains.
• Because of their age they are even more sympathetic, pull off small-scale crimes and are more comic in their representation.
• Men and women are represented as equals because of the need to appeal to a generation that is used to this.