Question 2- How does your thriller opening represent gender? (edited)

We decided to challenge thriller conventions and create a strong female rather than a generic "damsel in distress" female. We did this by taking inspiration from "Double Indemnity's" femme fatale and

Mordecai's walking shot.

Serena's walking shot.

placing her in a position of power. The female is strongest in the opening and we did this by using a low angle close up of her to place her in a superior position, therefore presenting her as strong. We also reinforced her power by mirroring the low close up shot of Mordecai walking but we used a mid shot and therefore Serena was more present in the shot therefore placing her in a position of strength over Mordecai. We also used two props to place Serena in a position of power. The first is a large knife which she uses as a mirror.The knife is a physical reflection of Serena herself as the knife is used as a mirror, showing her femininity as she uses the reflection for her make-up, and the knife is a dangerous weapon, showing her sinister and dangerous personality. The second prop we used is the small gun Serena uses to shoot Mordecai. The gun is small and is symbolic of Serena as she is underestimated due to her appearance however she is deadly (shown by her murdering Mordecai).

We also have portrayed women as deceitful by taking inspiration from "Double Indemnity" and "The Killers". This is done by the betrayal of Mordecai from Serena as Mordecai believed he had betrayed Serena however she was just playing a larger game which resulted in Mordecai's death. The deceit is reinforced by the camerawork. We did not show Serena's full face in order to reflect how Mordecai sees her- nothing but a seductive voice who gives orders. There are no shots where Serena's entire face is shown, presenting her as deceitful as she is not showing her full face and she commands her "minions" to do things for her. The face is symbolic for identity and by not showing Serena's face we are covering up her identity, reflecting the premise for criminality which is to not be caught or seen.

We also presented males as intelligent by taking inspiration from "The Third Man's" Harry Lime. The costume Mordecai wore is a smart suit to show his wealth he has amassed by committing crimes and heists. It is clear to the audience that he is a professional thief by his use of the lock pick and therefore it is evident he has stolen before. His intelligence is reinforced by the swift location of the bag inside the house upon entry, showing his sharp intellect and experience when it comes to thievery.

Final shot of our thriller in which
Serena catches Mordecai and
kills him.

Males are also presented as gullible and susceptible to females. This is done by the blocking in the final shot as Mordecai is placed between Serena's legs and Serena appears larger than Mordecai. This places Mordecai in a trapped scenario and places Serena in an empowered scenario, reflecting the power imbalance and the betrayal of Mordecai (the show can be seen below).

Our red lipstick shot

"The Killers'" red lipstick shot. This
inspired our shot of Serena above.

Serena and her red dress, walking
towards the house with a gun.

We also portrayed women as dangerous and therefore submitting to the generic femme fatale in the film noir genre. We used a red lipstick for our character, Serena, as the lips are associated with softness however the strong red colour has connotations of danger and therefore remove any softness or innocence from Serena. This therefore presents Serena as dangerous as she uses her femininity as a disguise for her dangerous side. The red lipstick we used was inspired by "The Killers'" femme fatale. The comparison between our shot and The Killers shows the similarity in colour and the attention the red commands. The red not only symbolises danger but seductiveness. Therefore the lipstick is a physical manifestation of Serena's danger, femininity and seductiveness, presenting women as powerful due to the plethora of traits exhibited by Serena. The power that women exude in our thriller is enhanced by the only male being easily manipulated and killed by Serena. Red is also adorned by Serena and therefore places her in an ever more powerful dangerous position. The red dress draws the audience's eye to it as the colour of the rest of the shot is cold and gritty whereas the red juxtaposes against it, placing Serena in a position of power as she is effectively disrupting the cold shot with the heat of the red.