Within the Black Widow there are different social groups represented through characterisation, costumes, editing, camera work, props etc. The main social groups that are present in this film are:
- Teenagers- male and female
- The girly girl teenager who loves nothing more than to sit and mind her own business in her room. This teenage girl social group is also shown as being the Daddy's girl the with all her rich lush toys.
- The rough teenage boy who loves nothing more than terrorising and causing trouble. This social group isn't rich but has enough money to get by.
- Criminal- the murdering type who loves nothing more than to kill those causing them or others grief.
Character representation
The characters within this film opening have used some typical conventions that would be associated with their social group. However there are some subversions that don't conform with what we would consider hegemonic for todays society.
Crimson- Crimson the female character is a stereotypical girly girl with her pink feminine clothes, jewellery and typical long blond hair. This follows social stereotype where by a;; young teenage girls are obsessed with pink and have long blond hair. A film that follows this convention too is Carrie where by the main female character dresses rather girly and has the long blond hair which is a main feature in our film.
Both the characters have long blond hair associated with the typical 'girly girl' teenager.
Also they are both dressed in very feminine clothes which again is the hegemonic idea of todays teenage girly social group.
However, lie in the film Carrie, the hegemonic ideas of an innocent teenage girl are challenged in that she ends up being the villainous killer. The way in which this innocent girl idea is flipped is similar to that of Carrie. The challenge to this social group allows the audience to be shocked and surprised at the events that finish the opening sequence.
Luke-The rough trouble making teenage male is dressed in the way in which you'd expect the
'bad guy' to dress. With the leather jacket and all in black, the trouble making social group of the main male character is following the hegemonic views of today. This is similar in the film 'Divergent' with the male character 'Four' who is this tough mean male. He too is perceived as this tough trouble maker through his actions as well as his choice of clothing (all black)
The character from Divergent my be perceived as the bad guy however, we soon discover like in The Black Widow, he isn't as bad as we think. Or film and Divergent challenge hegemonic ideas where by the 'trouble maker' ends up being the victim of the real villains plans.
Props
The props used in The Black Widow clearly represent the social group included in the media film to help attract and entice our audience to watch the film.
The phone used by Crimson represents her rich background as it is the latest phone released. By having the expensive phone it allows the rich Daddy's girl to come out and mask the idea if her being a killer.
Luke's phone is still expensive looking however it is an older model of Crimson's phone suggesting he doesn't really care about having the latest phone. This also fives the audience the impression that he isn't as rich as his 'girlfriend' and may suggest to the audience he is only with her for money or to manipulate her for expensive gifts.
The females bedroom is filled with expensive dolls and bears. This shows again her rich background but also gives the audience the idea she is young for her age meaning it comes as a surprise when the audience find out she's a killer.
The hockey stick at the beginning of the film is an unlikely weapon to be used or carried around on a dark night. This may be show lack of experience or the criminal or suspicious figure. This may allow the audience to come to a conclusion of who the hooded figure was/is.
Costume
Costume choices are extremely important in telling us about the character. This can give us a hegemonic outlook on a character or in some cases can be subverted to hide the truth about a character like in the Black Widow.
Crimson's outfit reveals the idea of her heing this rich good girl stereotype that is never in trouble. You get the idea from her rich coloured clothing often worn by those with wealth. All her clothes are pristine with no stains, scratches or scraps on any item of her chlothing. Her simple clothes suggest she doesn't want to stand out or be centre of attention in anyway which enables the shy aspect of her personality to be subtly introduced.
Crimson is also seen wearing gold jewellery. It is only subtle but it again shows her walth in that she can afford to have gold jewellery bought for her. The audience might get the idea that she is a snob before she speaks but the moment the events unfold the audience see her in a different light.
Luke is dressed in your traditional bad boy clothing. The leather jacket brings out the biker boy look in the male character, instantly causing the audience to jump to the conclusion that he's the villain in this opening sequence. The audience should see this character as the rebellious trouble maker as the idea of 'all black' is all part of the symbolism of darkness and trouble according to colorology of today. The audience are mislead as they find out towards the end of this opening sequence meaning the costume along with the dialogue have followed the typical hegemonic idea of a teenage male of today.
The Hooded figure at the beginning of the opening sequence follows todays hegemonic idea of your typical 'yob' that does nothing but cause trouble on the streets. By having the hooded figure dressed in an ill fitted coat instantly portrays to the audience that this person is up to no good and is obviously going to cause trouble. The hegemonic idea allows us to give the audience an idea about the character without having to verbally telling them. Even when the hooded figure is revealed, the character is still wearing the hooded clothing to reinforce the idea to the audience that they are the real bad person.
Dialogue
There is very little dialogue used through the opening sequence which is typical to most thriller openings. However what is said does allow the character's social groups to be portrayed in both positive and negative ways.
The male character is the character that speaks the most in this opening sequence which represents the idea of the trouble maker being all mouth and not acting upon it. The aggressive tone he has towards Crimson is also part of the hegemony of the rebellious male teenager. The way in which Luke speaks gives the audience the idea that he is the bad guy taking them away from the motive that Crimson has to kill him.
The female character is the opposite to Luke. She hardly speaks and even when she does her sentences often only consist of one or two words. This follows hegemonic ideas where by the female shy character is quiet and obedient towards her rebellious boyfriend. The idea of her speaking very little also gives the audience the idea of her being quite secretive but this is overpowered by the male dominance that Luke has over Crimson.
Mise en Scene
The way in which the character react to each other and things they find out throughout this opening all add to the mise en scene created about their social group.
The facial expressions in which Luke has towards Crimson and the situation is the the hegemonic reaction of a rebellious teenager today. By having his aggressive facial expressions to go with the tone of his voice exaggerates to the audience his social group and the typical features that come with his group. The exaggeration also covers up the idea of Crimson being the villain and shows her as a victim instead.
Luke's social group reactions contrast with the reactions of Crimson. Crimson is shown to be scared and innocent. When she finishes on the phone with Luke her face shows this scared almost startled deer look. It's as though she doesn't know what to do or is panicking which allows the build up of the later events to increase as the audience watch further on into the opening sequence. This is hegemonic for a female being mistreated by someone they once loved. We soon discover this is all just a cover up for her later actions.
Sound/Music
The sound used in The Black Widow helps to build up the image of each character and how they challenge their social groups conventions and stereotypes.
Props
The props used in The Black Widow clearly represent the social group included in the media film to help attract and entice our audience to watch the film.
Luke's phone is still expensive looking however it is an older model of Crimson's phone suggesting he doesn't really care about having the latest phone. This also fives the audience the impression that he isn't as rich as his 'girlfriend' and may suggest to the audience he is only with her for money or to manipulate her for expensive gifts.
Costume
Costume choices are extremely important in telling us about the character. This can give us a hegemonic outlook on a character or in some cases can be subverted to hide the truth about a character like in the Black Widow.
Crimson is also seen wearing gold jewellery. It is only subtle but it again shows her walth in that she can afford to have gold jewellery bought for her. The audience might get the idea that she is a snob before she speaks but the moment the events unfold the audience see her in a different light.
Luke is dressed in your traditional bad boy clothing. The leather jacket brings out the biker boy look in the male character, instantly causing the audience to jump to the conclusion that he's the villain in this opening sequence. The audience should see this character as the rebellious trouble maker as the idea of 'all black' is all part of the symbolism of darkness and trouble according to colorology of today. The audience are mislead as they find out towards the end of this opening sequence meaning the costume along with the dialogue have followed the typical hegemonic idea of a teenage male of today.
Dialogue
There is very little dialogue used through the opening sequence which is typical to most thriller openings. However what is said does allow the character's social groups to be portrayed in both positive and negative ways.
The male character is the character that speaks the most in this opening sequence which represents the idea of the trouble maker being all mouth and not acting upon it. The aggressive tone he has towards Crimson is also part of the hegemony of the rebellious male teenager. The way in which Luke speaks gives the audience the idea that he is the bad guy taking them away from the motive that Crimson has to kill him.The female character is the opposite to Luke. She hardly speaks and even when she does her sentences often only consist of one or two words. This follows hegemonic ideas where by the female shy character is quiet and obedient towards her rebellious boyfriend. The idea of her speaking very little also gives the audience the idea of her being quite secretive but this is overpowered by the male dominance that Luke has over Crimson.Mise en Scene
The way in which the character react to each other and things they find out throughout this opening all add to the mise en scene created about their social group.
The facial expressions in which Luke has towards Crimson and the situation is the the hegemonic reaction of a rebellious teenager today. By having his aggressive facial expressions to go with the tone of his voice exaggerates to the audience his social group and the typical features that come with his group. The exaggeration also covers up the idea of Crimson being the villain and shows her as a victim instead.
Luke's social group reactions contrast with the reactions of Crimson. Crimson is shown to be scared and innocent. When she finishes on the phone with Luke her face shows this scared almost startled deer look. It's as though she doesn't know what to do or is panicking which allows the build up of the later events to increase as the audience watch further on into the opening sequence. This is hegemonic for a female being mistreated by someone they once loved. We soon discover this is all just a cover up for her later actions.
Sound/Music
The sound used in The Black Widow helps to build up the image of each character and how they challenge their social groups conventions and stereotypes.
0:05-
The music here is for when Crimson and Luke have just had an intense
conversation on the phone where by he has been rather aggressive towards her.
This music does one of two things:
- It emphasises the idea of Luke
being the bad guy stereotype in that he is treating his
'girlfriend' badly which is typical to the social group in which Luke
is from. This wouldn't be much of a shock to the audience as Luke's
actions have caused the audience to jump to the conclusion that he is the
'bad guy' in this situation which causes a surprise when they find out
he's really the victim'.
- The music can also represent the
change in Crimson's attitude where she goes from the
good girl shy teenager to this angry girl who is about to stand up
against her aggressive boyfriend. This challenges the hegemony of her
social group as the audience wouldn't expect the obedient girl to get
angry like she does. It represents the emotions running through her head
that build and build up into what the audience think at the end of the
opening 2 minutes to be the murder of Luke.
0:12- The sudden eerie sound that echoes when
the bear is beheaded, would be quite a shock to the audience as this wouldn't
be expected of a girl who seems to respect all the riches she has been given by
her parents. This represents the end of her time in the social group of a quiet
girl and her step into the 'bad girl', killer social group that wasn't
expected.
0:19- This music is used to mislead the audience. They
think this is the music for Luke's aggressive entrance into Crimson's House but
really it is there to represent the doom he is about to come to and the change
in social groups that Crimson has undergone. The music again represents the
idea of Luke being the ' Bad boy' rebel teenager from hell which again is
hegemonic to his social group which as said before wouldn't be a great shock to
the audience. This is why the twist at the end comes as a surprise to the
audience as they feel Luke is the bad one due to his social representation
rather than Crimson.
Overall I feel that the representation of the social group in The Black Widow opening were successful in both following and subverting their hegemonic conventions.
