Question 1b: Representation

Watch one of your classmates’ productions and answer the following questions:

What kind of genre do you think it belongs to?

In this genre, what kinds of characters are there typically and how are they stereotyped? Consider:
age
race
gender
nationality
sexuality

When I say ‘how’, I mean:
How is their image created by the use of mise-en-scene (costumes, props, settings etc)?
What about casting: do certain actors appear playing certain types of character in this genre, and what is it about their image which gets them cast for these roles?
What do these characters do in the narrative? Are they protagonists or antagonists? Are they rewarded or punished? Do they have happy endings?
Is the audience encouraged to identify/sympathise with them?

Looking at these generic characters as a whole, what values/behaviours/traits does society seem to be rewarding or punishing?

How many of these generic character types can you identify in the production which you are now watching ? Give specific examples and details.

Share your answer to 4 with the person who made this production.

Having heard somebody else’s analysis of your own production, explain whether or not this surprises you. When you made it, did you consciously set out to use or create certain stereotypes?