In our film we decided to stick to the stereotypes as we
know that they have previously been successful. Taken was a film which had a
significant influence on our production and so we decided to use a main
character which was similar to the protagonist of Taken because it had similar
genres and so in turn, a similar target audience. Kim – the protagonist in Taken is a 17
year old girl, portrayed to be overly vulnerable through the use of her over
protective Father who retired from the CIA to be closer to his daughter. This
almost over exaggerates the helplessness of the protagonist as it suggests she is incapable of looking after herself as her Father has had to leave his seemingly important job to be nearer to her. We referred back to Taken, in particular the character of Kim, many times throughout our planning process, both to gain inspiration from her, or to make sure our protagonist wasn't too similar to her due to the slightly different plot.
In terms of appearance, there are many similarities between
Kim and Christie, our protagonist of 'Intrusion'. It
appears that Taken had also chosen to follow the stereotypes as typically, a
young, blonde, attractive female character is chosen to play the vulnerable
character as this is what is expected in society. As the target audience
consists of the general public, it makes sense to use a character in which they
will expect to be the ‘vulnerable’ one in order to help involve the audience
with the plot, and in our case make it more relatable as the target audience
will be of a similar age. For this reason, we made sure to chose a protagonist which would easily be recognised by the audience as the victim. Like Kim, Christie is young, blonde and attractive which helps to provide reasoning behind the plot, making it more realistic as it could be understood why she would be a point of interest. Similarly, Christie is quite small, again reinforcing her helplessness but has a slim figure which helps to fit with the plot as she is introduced whilst running. In comparison to Kim, Christie is a lot smaller which fits more with the stereotypical conventions of the female victim than Kim's character as it could suggest she would be older and/or too strong to be taken advantage of, however they are both fit and slim. This reinforces their youth, but also gives a slight feel of hope or even independence as it suggests they look after themselves, and fits well with the genres as it implies they have a chance of surviving/escaping. Both characters are also white which again is stereotypical and conforms to the conventions of the genre as it is usually thought that young white females are more spoilt and rely on their parents whereas other races often seem exotic or invincible, therefore in the eyes of society, making them less susceptible to danger. For this reason, we decided that a white victim would fit better with our plot due to the audience's expectations.
It is difficult to compare our protagonist's costume to what is stereotypically expected of the female victim because there are no clear guidelines as to what they are expected to wear. To an extent, it is suggested that they are not usually dressed conservatively which plays a part in why they are maybe more noticeable than other members of the public, however there is no dress code so to speak, like the very clearly defined 'James Bond' suit or the dark and mysterious spy attire. For that reason we decided to dress Christie suitably for her purpose as she was going on a run, but we also wanted to represent her wealthy background which is also something expected from a young white female victim. To do this, we dressed Christie all in black with recognisably branded trainers, and a simple stripe of pink down her sides. We also kitted her out with the full running gear such as a headband and ipod holder which is not necessarily necessary, however we thought this would help to represent her affluence. There are both similarities and differences between the protagonist's clothing in Taken and 'Intrusion'. They are both dressed appropriately for their situation - Kim is dressed less conservatively due to the holiday feel the plot represents however this could make her seem more vulnerable than Christie as she would stand out more against a crowd. Similarly, Kim is dressed more colourfully which illustrates her youth but makes her seem less sophisticated in comparison to Christie. It could be argued that this was done purposely in order to emphasise the vulnerability of Kim's situation but I don't believe that Christie's lack of colour undermines the effectiveness of her costume. It is more classy which is something we were aiming for, and makes her look professional which helps to enforce our plot as it allows the audience to believe that the crime may have been premeditated, adding to the suspense and creating enigmas. The pink stripes down her side are minimal but add a sense of youth to her character allowing them to remember that she may be more vulnerable than she portrays, and also help to make her seem more approachable which would help appeal to a wider audience. Due to the differences in each film which would have an impact on the costumes such as the location and the plot, I believe that the protagonist's costumes are as similar as they could be. They both represent youth, (although one is more obvious than the other) they both fit their purpose and they are both relateable to their target audience, successfully helping to suggest they are a victim.
Again it is difficult to compare the similarities of the characters' role in the play as they are different films with different plots and characters. On a basic level, both characters are cast as the 'targeted vulnerable teen' however this is as far as the similarities extend due to the differences in plot. As it is only an opening scene, little is given away about the character's background in our film meaning it is difficult to determine what the protagonist's role in the play is, however it is not suggested that the character is as helpless as Kim's character is in Taken. Christie is portrayed as mature through her body language and activities and maybe slightly naive due to her obliviousness through the use of headphones, nevertheless this probably goes unnoticed as it is something expected of a modern day runner. In comparison, it is implied that Kim is helpless due to the need for her Father to give up his job and move closer and for his over protectiveness, which may be considered over the top even for an ex Central Intelligence Agent. Similarly, her lack of clothing and bright colours despite the touristy location also suggest she is oblivious to the dangers around her, implying that her kidnap is her own fault. I do not believe that Christie's character/role in the film suggests this about her, however I am unsure whether this is due to her costume and demeanor, or just simply because there is not enough time for her character to be introduced completely.
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