Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Characters were very strongly considered when we were planning Turning Pages. As an independent film, we wanted to challenge certain conventions of characters that are established by Hollywood, such as the fashion/boy-crazed teenage girl, the egoistic, self-centred teenage boy and the geeky, antisocial Asian. Through our three main characters, Lila, Noah and Jess, we tried to challenge some of these stereotypes so that the character was more accessible and relative to our audience. However, we also included some qualities that are stereotypical of certain social groups so that audience members are able to identify the type of character and some of their characteristics.

Character profiles

Name:	Lila King
Age:	18
Characteristics:	Feisty, individual, impulsive but naive
Inspiration:	Lily from Little Birds
Social group:	Teenage girls- stereotypically, young female characters are obsessed with fashion and boys, as we see in high school films such as Mean Girls.                     - however, the character of Lila is subverts this stereotype through her philosophy of ‘living life to the max’. This is reflected by her costume, which is quite scruffy and individual                    - It is hinted in our opening sequence that Lila and Noah may be more than friends, and if this does happen later on in the narrative, Lila will become a conventional romantic heroine, who is stereotypically loving and 'waiting for the one'.

Name:	Noah Walsh
Age:	19
Characteristics:	Weird, caring, understanding, carefree
Inspiration:	Patrick from The Perks of Being A Wallflower
Social group:	Teenage boys- by convention, teenage boys are quite careless and arrogant, and are depicted as being sex-driven and aggressive, such as Jordana’s boyfriend in Submarine.                  - Noah, however, shows his caring and understanding side in the Turning Pages opening, through his dialogue- “Come on Lila, you can’t do this by yourself.”

Name:	Jessica Lo
Age:	18
Characteristics:	Intelligent, practical, caring, holds the group together
Inspiration:	Rhi from Easy A / Ali from Little Birds
Social group:	Asian students- especially in American high school dramas, the Asian characters are classed as nerds/geeks and often put together in their own group (eg Mean Girls)                    - Jess, although intelligent, also thinks logically and is well-liked for her wittiness, portrayed in her line “Noah, even I could get with more girls than you.”

Representing young people in Turning Pages:
In media texts such as Skins and This is England, young people are represented as rowdy and antisocial. In Turning Pages, we wanted to challenge this stereotype by highlighting a more philosophical and deep side of young people. This attitude of the protagonist, Lila, is triggered by the death of her brother, and she adopts the mindset of 'living life to the full', consequently subverting any antisocial stereotype that can be pinned to teenagers. Noah and Jess also show their affection and care for their friend, another characteristic which is often lost through conventional representation of teenagers.