Representation! (Implementation)

 In this blog and the ones upcoming, I will be reviewing over how I researched a specific idea, planned it, and now how I implemented into my project: effectively or not. The topic for this post will be representation. To reiterate, representation is especially important in media because it sets audience expectations.

Research

I looked at films (such as Little Women, Pearl, and Jennifer's Body)where it focuses on the idea of how society expects women to act verses the reality of it. Each doing so in its own separate ways.

In Little Women, I noticed it often presents/represents women as the active force in control by making Jo usually centered in the frame or directly opposite from a male authority (creating visual imbalance). Whereas, in Jennifier's body, the usage of playing into the role and discarding it, help to exemplify the film's hidden critique. 

Planning

As I have discussed in my planning blogs, I want to replicate these ideas. I intended to follow to societal roles in order to reverse it meaningfully. Thus, representing women in typically male-dominated fields or as the active force. Or subverting the audience's expectations.

Representation Implementation

(All visuals are not from the final product and are still being edited)

At first, Lucille follows traditional roles by being the one who prepares the food/cooks, and seemingly presenting herself as someone responsible, calm, and caring. This perspective shifts later on at the end. 

Throughout the opening, it follows Lucille's perspective. When she looks, the camera also looks. This demonstrates that she has the control/pushing force in this environment. Additionally, I attempted to make her stand out, via her costuming or the way she's framed (Usually in the main hotspots or in the center). 

Little Women (2019)

Furthermore, to punctuate on the power dynamic between the two characters, espciecially Lucille, I experiment with angles (as I have mentioned in my past blogs) in order to showcase dominant characters. Here, I shot at an angle similar to one found in Little Women. Both women are leaning forward towards the off-screen male character, calmly negotiating. This shows assertiveness which demonstrates power in a scene.  

Even though this had not been planned, I found another way of looking at the film. It could also represent racial identity given Lucille, a POC, while Steve is a non POC. Which is also another challenging force against traditional power dynamic often seen in film.