Pinpoint: Evaluation of Representations

Our male gambling characters could be seen as stereotyped as in scenes they are seen doing what they are always portrayed as doing, typical round table used and chips etc as we can see in a scene in Ocean’s Eleven and Rounders.

Poker is commonly stereotyped as a male game and in our piece we have inadvertently ensured that this stereotype has been continued. In this scene we follow their expressions and their focus on the game and in many films we see the same camera angles of their expressions and then their ‘hand’ or their view of the table. We have female characters who are part of the 'gang' but did not include them in this scene so maybe we are guilty of the kind of "biased and limited" stereotyping Pickering disapproves of here.

In our scene the use of bright light has not followed the norm of surroundings that gamblers are normally situated in, they tend to be in low lit rooms basements / casinos. This obviously reflects the age of our characters and softens the representation, making it seem less worldly and intimidating. This is something we were conscious of so we added humour to our piece to make the softened representation a deliberate feature.

Everyone looks round in synch

In this scene we represent computer geeks stereotypically as they know what they are doing are able to hack through any inscription. They are also never dressed the same as the other characters always either scruffier or smarter and do not seem in keeping with the other part of the team. Our ‘hacker’ fits this as he doesn’t seem to wear the same things as the others do, plus he is represented in a more laid back fashion in his mannerisms and his walk. Here the age of our characters works well as teenage hackers is a common media stereotype and is believable.

In ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ the hacker is represented positively as he is very much in control of the situation and knows the ins and outs of what needs to be done, he has done his research, much like our character as he manages to crack a code quickly and efficiently.
They also are all shown using computer technology which is typical of how they are portrayed, knowing how to use technology expertly. So this is almost a positive representation of teenagers here - because there is secret admiration for their ability and fear about what they could achieve.

In our piece men are represented positively and negatively as they are playing traditionally male and female roles as there is a large cast of characters, even though we have female characters in the cast too. We are following along the same lines of representation as ‘Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels’ and other heist films and therefore bringing stereotypical characters into play archetypal roles that are needed for the heist plot.

As in 'Reservoir Dogs' the strongest characters are male. This could be seen as outdated but in a genre film, people are less concerned with breaking new ground but the same mix as usual, which is what we were trying to achieve.

The costume in our film is close to that of 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Ocean's Eleven' which could be portraying how rich/seeming rich men want to be portrayed and what role they play in the task at hand, the smarter dressed you are the more involved etc. Whereas women in our piece are dressed generally casually showing their status - they do not seem to have benefitted financially. This could be a negative representation of women; but a lot depends on the ending of the film as often it is grees that leads to the undoing of characters in heist films. if women are seen as not greedy, they are also harder to trap. So a lot depends on how the film resolves.

Pinpoint