Question 2 - Miss Georgiou

Question 2

In my thriller opening sequence, the main victim of the narrative is a female character. The audience see her represented as being weak, due to her not being able to defend herself from the killer, as well as innocent, as she is seen wearing a white shirt, with a brightly colored costume connoting innocence. This has been done to connote to the audience that she is a weak character and won't be able to defeat the killer, increasing audience interest as they want to see how well she will do, as well as showing the audience that she is innocent, increasing sympathy for the character because she will eventually die and she doesn't deserve it. The innocent portrayal of the character supports her age of being a teenager. This shows that gender has been stereotyped in my opening sequence because it portrays the female as being weak, a common stereotype of female characters. The age of the female adds to the stereotype of the victim being weaker as she is physically undeveloped compared to the older male killer, and will be unable to oppose him physically.

In my piece, the killer is a male character with a stereotypical portrayal and is experienced at killing people. The killer is presented as being a sinister character by the way of his costume, which is a dark tracksuit with a black face mask, he also carries a knife that he uses to attack the victim. This has been done to connote to the audience that he is an evil character based on how he chooses to wear black clothes and uses a knife with the intent on killing people with it. He is an older character as he is able to properly use a knife as if he has experience with it, meaning he will be able to kill his victims quickly and efficiently. Gender is still stereotyped because it is common for the killer to be a male as he can, stereotypically, overpower the female characters and get away with his killing spree.

A relationship is created between the audience and the female victim because she is seen as an innocent character. The victim wears white to connote that she is a good character, unlike the killer wearing a darker costume. This has been done to connote to the audience that she hasn't done anything wrong to deserve being set upon by the killer. The purpose is to have the audience want to support her and want her to survive, making the audience pay more attention to her character and beginning to know more about her throughout the scene to see if she can overcome the killer in some way.

A relationship is created between the killer and the audience as they dislike him and know that he will cause trouble. In my thriller opening, the audience see the killer pursuing the victim throughout the sequence. This has been done to connote a to the audience that he will bring death with him and cause trouble for the characters for the film by potentially killing them. The purpose of this is to make the audience dislike the killer as they know he will kill someone and not be brought to justice, while also killing many people who don't deserve it. This also creates fear in the audience as they can see how strong he is and how dangerous he is and that he might hurt them if he gets the chance.

A relationship is created between the audience and the narrative as it begins very relatable. Through an establishing shot, the audience see the victim entering her house and, through slow-paced editing, see her going about her day. This shows the victim as being an ordinary person just going about her day, as she does mundane things before the killer appears later on in the clip. This creates a relationship between the audience and the narrative as they can relate to what the victim is doing, everyday chores, and can see themselves in her shoes, making the attack of the killer hit them on a more personal way as they can see themselves in the role of the victim.

The audience feel fear throughout the scene as the killer is represented as someone who can find his victims, no matter what they try to get away and no matter who they are. The audience see the killer get knocked back by the victim and, through a low angle shot, see him break through the front door and attack the victim with a knife. This represents the killer as being strong as he can break through a door and get to the victim, as well as being able to use a knife against the victim, something that will kill her quickly and brutally. This creates fear in the audience as the killer is represented as someone who can move around quickly and catch up to his prey, being able to kill them without being found.