One social group that my project features is students. It represents students as intelligent and independent members of society. This is show in numerous shots for example in the scene where Joe and Lyndsay’s character’s find a body on the stairs they appear to check if she is aright before they move, this shows that they are independent because they didn’t have to wait for an adult or someone else to take control of the situation (as this would’ve probably cost the person they founds life) but instead dive right in to help. This also demonstrates intelligence because it suggests that they knew what they were doing in terms of first aid or diagnosis because they were able to check her without aid. This same thing is demonstrated again in the scene when they are crossing the hall.
In this scene they also demonstrate sensitivity (something linked to intelligence) as when finding another body they know there is nothing they can do about it, they recognise the situation they are in and are able to adapt to it. They also show that they are able to recognise paths because by continuing down the hall they are showing that they have located the direction of the cause of the deaths by following the trail of bodies. I have represented them like this because my target audience is students (teens and young adults) so representing them like this will make the consumers feel like they are being valued (positive politeness) as they are shown as useful members of society therefore they will enjoy the film more and be more likely to buy it.
However they are also represented as necessarily violent. For example when Joe’s Character finds out that Adam has caused the deaths of the people he just found and that Adam’s character can’t be reasoned with (being a zombie and all) he reacts by trying to bludgeon him with a stick. Though this is a violent reaction it could also be considered necessary. Joe’s character knew that Adam’s had killed people, therefore he knew that it was quite likely that he would be killed. As a pre-emptive strike Joe decides to attack first. He also knew that Adam couldn’t be consolidated in any other way so attack was the only was to prevent Joe from being killed.
Another instance of necessary violence is when Lyndsay’s character is revealed to own a firearm. While violent this is also considered necessary when she says “just in-case!” this suggests that she is often in situations that require her to be armed therefore her carrying a firearm is justified. It also would’ve saved her from Adam had she not chose to take her own life. I chose to add this element because zombie films usually feature firearms as a convention so I wanted to put that in there. It was also used to save some money as having Lyndsay’s character kill herself off camera they was no need to make another blood pack (a blood pack is what we used to make Joe’s character being eaten more realistic) which would’ve cost money and time. Joe’s character using a stick to attack Adam was also a small homage to ‘Shaun of the Dead’ as melee (blunt, hand-to-hand) weapons are used primarily in ‘Shaun of the Dead’ as Joe’s character’s utterance of “Fuck this” is also a homage to the dialogue spoken by Ed (Nick Frost) in that production.
The students in my film mostly appear to follow the ‘alternative’ culture too. I have represented this culture (or rather those who follow it) as kind natured and brave people. This kindness is shown again in the scenes where my two protagonists find bodies. Rather than leave them and go about their day (as honestly most people probably would) they stay and make sure they are OK before moving on. They’re bravery is also displayed by the fact that they carry on through the school even though their fellow students have been killed and they knew the culprit is close by. They would know this because having inspected every body they come across they would probably realise that they were fresh.
They also appear brave because when faced with the thing that they know has killed two people already they don’t loose their composure and even attack it. I wanted to include this representation because I follow the alternative culture myself and wanted to portray them in a better light than they appear to be in currently.
In conclusion I have represented students and followers of the alternative culture in a good light, showing that they are kind natured, intelligent and brave. Had my project featured any other social groups I may have portrayed them differently as my opinion on both of these groups is bias as I belong to them myself,
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