On the Baseline Representation

On the Baseline - Representation 

As part of the advanced portfolio I produced a trailer for a film “On the baseline” which was a hybrid genre combining key conventions of chick flicks and sports films.  The film followed a tennis theme and revolved around the development of a relationship of a new women’s doubles partnership comprising of a champion and an “underdog”. 

Representation is the process by which the media presents the “real world” to an audience.  All texts, including mine, are mediated constructed representations.  Representations in media texts are often simplistic and reinforce dominant ideologies so that audiences can make sense of them.  My trailer tries to tries to gently challenge this approach whilst still focusing on meeting my audience expectations.

Ideology

A media text will always have an ideology that will be communicated explicitly or implicitly to an audience (eg images of women).  It is a system of belief that is constructed and presented by the media text. Many critics argue that the media reinforce traditional ideologies, consciously or unconsciously emphasizing male supremacy and reducing women to sexualised, subordinate and maternal roles.  The representation of sportsmen in the media are generally positive and used to glorify them whereas the representations of women playing sport are often far less positive.  In this respect, my trailer challenges the dominant ideologies evident in a patriarchal society and celebrates “girl power!”  The value that I am promoting is that hard work pays off, never give in and you can achieve your dreams.  Again, this is in contrast to the instant celebrity culture to which many young people in society today seem to aspire to. 

The representations in the trailer are definitely the products of my own cultural experience, background, values and ideology as a serious sportswomen and teenage girl.  I have, as a producer with a feminist outlook, intentionally tried to encode the production and position the audience in order to induce a “preferred reading” (Stuart Hall) from my target audience. The “preferred reading” of the trailer is that with hard work and self belief girls can achieve their sporting dreams.

Hybrid Genre

In A2 my confidence improved as I identified institutional techniques which have become conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick” that would appeal to a main audience of teenage girls and a secondary niche audience of tennis fans.  Through research into the conventions of real media texts it became apparent that the themes explored in chick flicks and women’s sports films are very much the same which is why they are so appealing to the same female target audience.  Themes of conflict are evident in both genres whether it be an interpersonal conflict between the protagonist and another character the conflict seems to lie on some personal issue or goal eg winning a competition.  My aim was to make the representations seem “true” and meaningful through exploiting genre conventions by producing a teaser trailer that was not entirely formulaic but included enough familiar paradigms to capture the interest of my target audience.

                                    
Key Themes

My trailer has a wide range of themes and polysemic meanings: comedy, girl rivalry, friendship, relationships, teamwork and ends up being constructed into a fairytale underdog win signifying “girl power” for the convenience of the audience to enjoy. 

The relationship between the 2 young women provides the conflict and dynamic which drives the plot forward; this means that the trailer defines the women through their relationships with each other rather than to men. However, the dominance of the female characters does not necessarily mean that the representations are positive – part of the conflict in the trailer is to do with the resentment between characters thrust into a relationship – far from the feminist idea of sisterhood.  This conflict is emphasized through the use of a first person voice over expressing the point of view of the main character at the start of the trailer.  This added to the realism of the production for my target audience by incorporating a familiar feature that is stereotypical of the chick flick genre and establishes the champion as the person with power mediating events for the audience.  The use of the voice over also allows the context, cause and effect of the problem to be quickly and clearly established. The tone of the mode of address makes her level of dissatisfaction with her new partner apparent to the audience who are confined to this characters perceptual subjectivity and positioned to support the champion’s view that her partner is “useless.”

Representation of Gender

Stereotypical characterisations and representations from the chick flick genre where adapted and incorporated into the trailer in order to appeal to and engage the target audience.  For example the inspiration for portraying the champion tennis player as the stereotypical chick flick “Queen Bee” came from the film “Mean Girls” and was designed to appeal to teenage girls. The representation of the champion as a stereotypical sports girl draws on Winships theory of notion portraying an ideal version of “fake consciousness” to teenage girls, what most aspire to be.  In contrast, the underdog was visually represented with Barthes theory of connotations and denotations as a guide.  Her leopard spotted headband, bright purple top and brightly coloured make up are designed to create the impression of a “plastic” bimbo rather than a sports girl. Stereotypical iconography in the form of mise en scene (ie costume, props, facial expressions, body language) was used to form the stereotype which enhanced the realism of the trailer as audiences identify with them. The selective use of dialogue reinforces the stereotypical lack of confidence often evident amongst teenage girls “ I’ll never be good enough” – designed to draw an emotive response from the audience.  Sound effects are also used creatively to reinforce the stereotype and add the conventional chick flick humour.  A non diegetic sound effect in the form of a “boiiing” is used parallel to the moment in the trailer where the underdog collapses in a heap whilst trying to do a push up.

However, the character portrayed by the champion is intentionally not totally stereotypical and has been designed to challenge dominant ideology by raising interesting questions about the representation of gender, particularly the way in which strong women are often signified through masculine characteristics such as competitiveness, determination and desire to win.  The representation supports Judith Butler’s (1998) suggestion that we should see gender as free floating and fluid rather than fixed as it dependent on performance acts (how we behave at difference times).  My trailer also supports Angela McRobbie’s claim that “There has been a change in focus from representation of the passive, dependent female to a more confident focus on self.” In addition, Mulveys concept of male gaze would apply in part to her appearance eg long blond hair, slim physique, tennis clothing symbolising a confident, successful girl. However, I did want to avoid the objectification of the female characters in the trailer particularly through the use of aspects of mise en scene.  For example, the costume in my trailer is predominantly the clothing and equipment needed for the sport and related fitness activities the young women take part in – tennis.  The clothing is functional and worn for a purpose rather than to accentuate feminine characteristics.  The props (such as rackets, balls, fitness ladders, medicine balls, weights, ropes) also emphasize the physical strength and ability of the key antagonist.  Also the setting of the trailer on the tennis court means that the characters are placed in an environment that is stable and not reflective of them as individuals – this removes the opportunity for women to be objectified by the audience. 

On reflection I can now see how my role in this production was that of an auteur in that my own ideology, personality and outlook on life heavily influenced all aspects of the production. Particularly, the decision to create a hybrid genre which gave me license to subvert some of the stereotypical representations of women as vulnerable females desperate for love often evident in chick flicks.  So, whilst the underdog complies with the chick flick convention, the champion, in many ways, subverts it.  The champion is more typical of the female characters found in sports films which tend to have a much more positive representation of the strength, determination and talent of women.  This combination and more balanced representation of young women sits more comfortably with my own ideology.  The confirms Gauntlett (2007) opinion that people do not just get represented by the media anymore.  Instead they use Web 2.0 platforms to make their own media, share it with the world and represent themselves – which is what I have done in my production.

Representation of Men

Whilst the two female players dominate the trailer it is stereotypically the male character (the coach) who is represented as holding a position of authority.  His portrayal in the trailer is paradoxical:  in his relationship with the champion he is the instiller of discipline.  For example, he aggressively confronts the champion when she arrives late at training. “You’re late,” and the tone of the dialogue is reinforced through the ominous loud ticking noise of the stopwatch emphasized further through the use of a zoom in.  This acted literally as a ticking bomb which drew an equally aggressive response from the champion “…. and she’s useless so we will make a right double act!”  This open questioning of authority and lack of respect could represent a negative stereotypical view of teenagers and demonstrates that whilst the male is certainly not portrayed as the dominant character even though he tries to be.

In contrast, his relationship with the underdog is that of a motivator fulfilling what Propps describes as the dispatcher/helper role.  This role is highlighted through the incorporation of a motivational sound motif accompanying his interactions with the new player.  The high and low angle shots give representation of a mutually accepted and established authoritative relationship between the underdog and the coach. 

The representation of the coach in this regard is that of a tolerant, patient motivator within a fiercely competitive sport.  Whilst this is a positive representation it is not necessarily a realistic one as in high level sport if you’re not good enough you get dropped.  On reflection, in a way I have “Disneyfied” the storyline to make it more appealing to the target market. This supports Buckingham’s view that “The media do not just offer us a transparent “window on the world” but a mediated version of the world.  They don’t just present reality, they re-present it.”

Representation of Age

Stereotypically the old coach is portrayed as being wise and the possessor of knowledge gained from vast experience.  This is shown by his confident “Trust me she’s got potential” statement when visual representations of the underdog in action seem to indicate to the audience that this he is deluded. His support for his protégé is emphasized through the repetition of the word ‘potential’ and the breaking of the 180 degree rule. The older coach is also displayed as what Propps terms the “donor”, although he doesn’t give the newcomer a magical object he gives her the strong words of wisdom of ‘treat those two imposters the same’ and inspiration, just before she starts to improve her tennis.  He also shows his maturity in acting as the mediator between the two players.

In terms of the representation of young people we are initially presented with binary opposites:  the champion is a stroppy, over confident, talented player who shows disrespect for authority whilst the underdog is more subservient, laid back and conforms to authority.  As the trailer progresses the differences erode as both players undergo a personal transformation – the champion is more tolerant and the underdog has proven her self to be a determined and resilient girl.  Richard Dyer states that:  “The ideological work of stereotyping involves closing down the range of possible meanings, making fast, firm, and separate what is in reality fluid.”  The transformation of the characters evident as the trailer progresses shows that the initial stereotypical representations are not fixed but fluid.  The girls grow in maturity before the audiences eyes in the quest to achieve a common goal.

Representation of Class and Status

At the start of the trailer the underdog is represented as an outcast in the tight knit tennis fraternity.  Her appearance is unconventional, her ability as shown in the action shots is not of the appropriate standard and she is initially presented as a bit of an uncoordinated clown.  Close ups were used throughout the trailer to show the emotional struggle of the face of the underdog particularly when she tells the audience “I’ll never be good enough” and tries desperately to fit in.

The contrast in background, status and power is emphasized through the use of wide angle shots showing the girls training together.  Both girls are simultaneously in the frame which initially gives the audience a view of the differences in ability, dress and levels of confidence.  Through the use of fast motion and fast cutting in the scene the audience could see the speed at which the underdog was improving and get emotionally involved in the race against time.  The action sequence is accompanied with an upbeat “Rocky” inspired soundtrack with supports the ideological representation of the girls determination to make it work together.  The montage of shots finishes with the 2 girls performing synchronized star jumps in perfect time together with the connotation that they have formed a partnership and the underdog is starting to be accepted into the tennis society.

This process of societal acceptance was also emphasized through the use of a slow motion close up of the girls shaking hands at the end of a practice match in which the underdog beat the champion.  The handshake symbolised a change in the character of the champion and a shift in power within their relationship. By the end of the trailer the underdog has been transformed from what Klapp’s (1962) terms a stereotype (those who don’t belong, are outside of one’s society) to a social type who “belongs” to society.

On reflection, I do feel that I could have made more of the changing status of the underdog towards the end of the trailer.  This could have been achieved through changing her outward appearance / costume to give a more professional tennis player image and symbolising that she had finally started to belong to the tennis society into which she had been thrust.  Through hard work and determination the underdog has achieved acceptance and social mobility which suggests that the boundaries of social class may be fluid.

Representation of Race

In terms of the representation of race in the trailer the cast consists of white players and a white coach which accurately reflects the ethnic profile of players in what is predominantly a white, middle class sport.

In conclusion, in a short space of time the audience is taken on an emotional roller coaster ride moving them towards a range very emotive and ideological outcomes which combine: seriousness, feeling sorry for the underdog, laughing at how bad she is and then willing her to get better.  All of which lead to a moral and obvious conclusion:  we expect the underdog to come out on top in this genre of films.  Hence, in some respects my trailer could be accused of “injecting everything with the sameness” (Adorno) by replicating many features of the conventional chick flick and the focus on simplistic representations.  Central to these production decisions was the need to gratify my main target audience and the knowledge that challenging too many conventional expectations for the genre could threaten the integrity of the text.   However, I have tried to challenge dominant patriarchal ideology with the outcome of the narrative which provides the audience with a positive representation of women as serious professional sport people willing to work hard to achieve a goal in life.  As a producer I tried to fulfil a challenging balance that would engage my audience in gratification, suspense and surprise in a 2 minute trailer that reflected the brand image of my production company “Sports Flick Films” and my own personal ideology.