Q3 Example Exam Answer

3. Discuss the representations in the extract.
Refer to stereotypes in your answer.
Use examples from the extract.
You might consider the representation of:
• age
• gender
• race and nationality
• the English country town
• the police. [20]

Question 3: Representation Answer
This question focuses on Representation and how a character is constructed for the audience. Avoid just describing what the character looks like and consider what group of people the characters are presenting. You need to discuss stereotypes of key social groups in our society to fully gain the marks for Representation.

Extract from Candidate Script 1: This answer gained 20/20
Throughout the extract, characters are portrayed stereotypically and atypically to connote and celebrate different values and ideals. For instance, the representation of age is predominantly unconventional, as it doesn’t follow the stereotype of older people being weaker and calmer. This is shown through the elderly women with a machine gun, who is represented as a powerful, and a threat to Nic. Similarly, most of the adults fighting Nic are fairly old, and so their uncharacteristic representation of using extensive violence perhaps celebrates older people, but also creates humour
as there counter hegemonical role is unexpected. The only main stereotype of age is the hero being fairly young.
Gender is also mainly utilised counter-stereotypically, as the genre stereotype of women is to be weaker and less violent and less powerful than men, however, the female antagonists the same violence and power as the male ones, therefore celebrating and connoting gender equality. The fact that women are equal to men also make the hero’s role harder and so his success even more impressive. Again, the only stereotypical representation of gender lies in the hero – he is male, strong and dominant – which are dominant features.
Race and Nationality are not represented prominently – except for the fact that it is an all-white cast, and this representation is stereotypical to the setting of a rural English town. In addition the hero is English, which therefore is patriotic in celebrating England – the country in which the film was produced. The town is similarly stereotypical as it is quintessentially English – pubs, schools and bunting – and the stereotype of the ‘stiff upper lip’ is represented through the antagonists’ serious emotions and nuances such as the ‘one school child’ sign. Finally, the police are mainly represented counter-stereotypically – although Danny Butterman at first fits the lazy, sluggish stereotype – this is
subverted by the counter stereotype of him and Nic being powerful and successful in the conflict. This is suprising to the audience and hybridizes action with comedy. The sidekick is also stereotypically portrayed through his overweight build, making him more endearing and vulnerable for the audience. Similarly, the hero is stereotypically represented as powerful, male, calm and violent – thus fulfilling the expectations of the target audience.

COMMENTARY
This answer analyses the representation of age, gender, race and nationality, the country town and the Police. Any answer covering such a range of groups effectively will certainly reach level 4 in the mark scheme. This answer, however, uses the concepts of stereotyping and hegemony exceptionally fluently and is clearly aware of the deliberate use of a particular representational strategy
by the text. This means that the answer easily achieves full marks.
An answer does not need to be perfect to earn full marks. It just needs to be at the top end of the range of answers produced in exam conditions. This is so that the full range of marks is used, which serves to differentiate between candidates more accurately.