Evaluation Activity Two:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When comparing my protagonist Tara to another protagonist from the thriller genre I could have used Kim from taken, Rue from The Hunger Games, Beatrice from Kill Bill with still many others to choose from. I will be comparing Tara to Rue from The Hunger Games due to their similarities in age, costume, appearance and storyline. I will also talk about their differences due to environment and setting.

 I chose Rue from The Hunger Games as I felt she related to Tara from the Alley more than others. Both Tara and Rue were killed in dramatic events which would have surprised the audience when watching. In our film Tara is killed suddenly which makes the viewers jump from suspense. Rue is shot from a distance which was unpredictable when watching. As both characters connect to the audience, the viewer is able to feel sympathy for the characters. Tara and Rue both conform to the stereotype of a thriller film due to their clothing (Mise en Scène). My character Tara is shown to be wearing different colours to look innocent and not dark/eerie. Rue is wearing armour and carrying around weapons to suggest she's in a thriller type atmosphere where aggression and assaults take place. Both characters are portrayed at the age of around sixteen which suggest they are young and vulnerable in the environment they are in. Rue is presented to look and feel a lot more unsafe and scared than Tara as she knows where she is and what the games are. Tara, however is strolling through an alley and suddenly gets attacked. Both Tara and the audience may not have been expecting the attack. Another similarity between these two characters is that they are both involved in assaults which leave the viewers feeling emotionally distressed. Furthermore,  Rue and Tara are fairly quiet and hard to read, you don't really know much about their personality in the film, however due to their age and appearance the audience are able connect and sympathize with them. Moreover, close up shots are used to show the characters emotions. Rue and Tara are shown through close ups as the producer wants to show the characters appearing as vulnerable and unsafe. You are able to see how they are really feeling and the fright within them.

Differences between these two characters is that Rue from The Hunger Games is in a far more frightening and extreme place than Tara from The Alley. Rue has been entered into the games unaware of how weak she would be compared to other contestants and produces tension in the film and to the audience. Tara is in a slightly eerie alleyway and gets creeped up on by a murderer.  Another difference is that in the storyline Rue knew what she was expecting and most likely knew she wouldn't get far in the games due to her age and capability. In The Alley, Tara doesn't know she's entering a crime scene. Tara thinks its an ordinary day walking her dog as she would usually do.

Overall, I feel Tara and Rue are very similar in characters due to their age, vulnerability and occurring events. Both characters are young and emotional who in which are unfortunately/aggressively attacked in the film in which they are acting in.