Stereotypes and Representations.

In film there are many representations and stereotypes that are used to show certain areas of characters and how they might live. These representations are not always correct buy do show some truthiness.

Males

Males in film and television are often shown with the stereotype of being powerful, strong, rowdy (fighting) and being patriarchal. These aren't always true but can be seen often. An example of this could be in Kingsman when the men are all in the pub and later have a fight. The men are all drinking and all speak with a cockney accent, showing that "stereotypical" Tottenham pub men are a bit rowdy and are up for fighting at an inconvenience, using violence as a threat.

London

The representation of London is mixed as it is shown in two different ways. Typically to American or European audiences, London is represented as clean and the romanticized stereotype of rich people in fancy areas with full British accents and classic cars. We could see this with The Parent Trap, directed by Nancy Meyers, who is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The parent trap represents this well as they are in a privileged area with a

background of wealth. When looking at English directors like Guy Richie, who lived in Hatfield, there is a different representation of the London stereotype as he knows the area better than someone who lives in America. We see this different representation in Snatch.

Youth vs Old Age

We see a stereotype of the youth in Freaky Friday when looking at Lindsay Lohan's character Anna. Anna is the teenager in the movie; throughout the film, we see various stereotypes. We see her as; a rule-breaker, a troublemaker, a rebellious and moody. This is what many would describe teenagers as. We can compare this to the "old" by looking at Jamie Lee Curtis's character Tess. Tess is extremely organized and has everything in charge of partly as she has many responsibilities as an adult. This contrasts with Anna who takes risks and doesn't do everything by the book. These examples show the difference between young and old age stereotypes and how they are represented.

Ethnicities

Ethnicities in film are shown to represent different people and their backgrounds. For example, looking at Bend it like Beckham we have a representation of an Indian family living in Britain. Jess, the main character, struggles with maintaining Indian culture when she discovers a love for football. Her parents do not support her playing football and would rather Jess follow Indian traditions.

In Pitch Perfect, we see different ethnicities. Pitch Perfect features white actresses, a asian actress, a black actress and a Cuban actress. In Pitch Perfect, the characters often talk about their ethnicities in pitch-perfect. Sometimes this is used by referring to incorrect stereotypes.

Mulan is based on the Chinese story about a girl who disguises herself as a man and joins the army in the place of her father. The story itself pushes against gender roles and stereotypes however some argue that Disney did not need to add her falling in love as it would have been more inspiring. Mulan features all Chinese actors/characters and shows large representation of Chinese people.

Gangs

We see depictions of gangs in films like The Equalizer. In The Equalizer there is a Russian mafia. This could be referred to as a gang, The Russian mafia are represented as violent and strong. In The Equalizer, the gang members are often seen with tattoos. These tattoos can be used to show their past and background. There are also known for have been seen on Russian criminals who have been imprisoned.