Evaluation Activity 2

"How does your media product represent particular social groups?"

 

 

Our film opening represents particular social groups in that we have in our film opening combated the negative implications thrown up by the use of drugs and the negative effects that they can have on an individual’s life. Therefore, I believe that we have represented the particular social group of teenagers who abuse drugs and substances for recreational use.  As a result, our target audience will be those affected by drugs and although we appreciate the fact that this can indeed be anyone at anytime in their lives who is affected by drugs, issues are profoundly common amongst the age range of 15- 25 year old adolescents and whilst our target audience may appear to be of a niche ranging we believe that our film can successfully appeal to many in the age range who have been affected by drugs at some points. By no means at all is our target audience for our film opening, simply those who have used or abused drugs we are also targeting those people within the drug users’ family or close friendship group as through doing this the film opening is able to successfully appeal to a wider audience who will be able to experience our film opening.

Like Zach, I have chosen to compare the main protagonist of our piece, Toby Scott to Mark Renton; the troubled and partially flawed protagonist from Trainspotting. The similarities between these two characters are many. Primarily, it is the fact that both protagonists have to accept, acknowledge and then confront their addiction problems in the prying open world with little opportunity to combat their respective addictions with professional help or support from a counsellor. The differences between the two characters lie in how the drugs affect them on a personal level with Mark’s addiction being far more noticeable in a physical sense, being for the fact that the drugs affect him in a physical way (i.e: scars and other physical markings) whereas Toby’s suffering is far more subtle and more of a burdening mental strain than anything else upon the character.

  

Both characters are quietly confident in admitting that they have drug addiction issues, although whilst Mark Renton is very open, frank and outgoing in his personality as a result of his drug experiences, by contrast Toby Scott is a recluse hiding away and in isolation almost out of shame for his addiction issues.  However, as the webcam sequence reveals as a consequence of choosing to withstand his addiction no more he becomes far more confident and approachable as is revealed through the way he is able to record his experience of events on a webcam as a result of his newfound confidence since becoming less reclusive in his nature.