LF: Evaluation 2

Social groups represented

Our film opening does not necessarily relate to a huge amount of different social groups, however many social groups can relate to the storyline. The main social group represented would be young white males because the storyline follows a protagonist who fits into these categories.

 However due to the voice over the audience may interpret the main protagonist as a character coming from a working class background as there is a hint of a cockney accent in the voice over. Furthermore boxing is often associated with a working class individual therefore working class males are also represented. The narrative also includes other marganalised characters such as the mother and other boxers in the amateur scene however they do not appear in the opening.

The main social groups that are not represented throughout are opening is females, because boxing films often follow one character very closely we felt it wouldn’t have been necessary to include another character within the opening therefore only a few social groups have been represented.

 Furthermore no Black people feature within the opening once again because we did not feel the need to include any other characters and we wanted the relationship between the audience and the main protagonist to be a strong personal bond.

Representation

Overall throughout our narrative the protagonist is represented positively as it shows him striving through a tough period in his live however it re enforces that if you work hard enough for something anything is possible. Offer there is a stereotype for working class young men that they turn to crime and have no goals in there life, however I feel our narrative makes it clear how he has chosen boxing as a path he believes will benefit him in life. However underneath all the tough boxing scenes there is also the funeral scene where the audience can interpret his softer side and realize that even the hardest of individuals suffer as a result of misfortune in a household.

Our main character sticks to traditional gender roles throughout the narrative. He portrays himself as a strong masculine hard man, a stereotype that a lot of people associate with the sport of boxing. Furthermore the trainer that appears in the training scene and in the boxing montage also expressed the same charisma throughout the narrative.

Both characters non verbal language stick to stereo typical male characteristics. The calm straight forward no nonsense attitude is similar to the characters in other films of the genre such as Jake Lamotta in ‘Raging Bull’ and Rocky Balboa in the film Rocky.

How the representation is constructed.

Non-verbal language is vital throughout our narrative because the main protagonist does not produce any dialogue at all. In the opening changing room seen there is a shot of the main character in the mirror he seems focused and relatively calm suggesting he knows what he needs to do, as though its just another bout it doesn’t really seem to have an effect on him. This impression he creates of being a hard man is often associated with men, not showing any emotion to stand up to their fears and show no weakness. The next action shot is the fighter putting on his gloves with his trainer, this is the first chance the audience can see the close relationship between fighter and trainer and due to the clothing there appearance evokes aggression as the protagonist has his hood up an image often associated with crime and violence.

The POV shot facing the protagonist represents the main character through the use of sound. This is the only time the classical music cuts out throughout the opening creating a dramatic feel. The heartbeat shows how the protagonist is in the zone and one he steps into the ring he has tunnel vision as it is only him and his opponent the ring. He is also represented as a very talented boxer as he knocks his opponent down as he dances around the ring almost effortlessly.

here you can see the parallels between Cinderella Man and our final piece.

Macro issues

I feel as though our film opening reinforces macro ideologies in the western world. I feel as though we could not have really challenged typical boxing films successfully in the opening of a film. If we were going to challenge typical ideologies for instance using a woman (as seen in million dollar baby) or a homosexual man for instance, we would have needed more time to create a stable relationship with the audience to try and establish a strong narrative. Therefore we felt we needed to follow the typical conventions of the genre. Ideologies such as a strong working class white male we felt would be a lot easier for the audience to relate to and to build a strong narrative around such a character.

• However you could argue it goes against the typical ideology of working class individuals that they often do not strive for greatness in there life and are typically under achievers, as the protagonist does come from such a background however will eventually become extremely successful in what he does.

• Finally our film does re enforce the viewpoint that boxing is a male dominated sport as there are no women during our opening. You could draw parallels between this and the society we live in that there is a clear male dominance in society as males are seen as the stronger more successful gender.