Challenge
Characters and Stereotypes
Our film is based on three main characters: Alexa, Sonnie and Earl. Although the film is based on Mermaid's, they are only lightly represented. This is anti-stereotypical due to the name of the film, the audience may be expecting mermaids throughout. Alexa and Sonnie are illustrated in two different time frames- as young teenagers and later as young adults. They are portrayed as being adventurous, brave and inquisitive. Firstly, this is anit-stereotypical of today's society, as the majority of teenagers are technology addicted, therefore this element is subverted. Also females, especially young ones, are rarely portrayed as being strong characters. Although at times Sonnie is shown to be the damsel in distress, which follows typical female conventions, the film also shows the girls as the protagonists, highlighting female strength and power. This subverts traditional female roles within films. The character of Earl could be seen as the antagonist in the film due to his dark clothing and dangerous weapons. However he is later revealed to help Alex and Sonnie, portraying him more as a mentor. Overall, we challenge the typical stereotypes of our characters.
Locations
We used three main locations in our film: Lake, Forest and Abandoned House. These could be seen as very stereotypical and unimaginative locations, especially due to our post-modern fantasy genre. However we challenged the use of these, through the action that takes place at each of the locations. A lake is symbolic of nature and purity, however the lake in our film is symbolic of the mermaids which are not natural creatures, and therefore subverting this typical ideas. Although mermaids are stereotypically found in water, it is usually in the sea and not a park lake. This, therefore, highlights the post-modern theme, showing that the creatures have invaded the 'real' world. Similarly, a forest symbolises nature. However, forests and woodlands are often used in horror films, such as The Cabin in the Woods, to suggest danger and lack of escape. In our film, we challenged this idea by using the forest as a 'magical' place, where the girls first discover the mermaids. This portrays the idea of adventure. Additionally, an abandoned house is representative of danger and the unknown. The film does reflect the theme of the unknown throughout, however this is ironic because the house is where the girls receive the most information from Earl. Through these subversions on locations we were able to symbolise that the 'real' world is not entirely real, as here mermaids exist. In postmodern films, the locations are often hyper-realities (creating another world), clearly highlighting the genre of the film, but we wanted to challenge this typical idea and be distinct.
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Lighting
We challenged the typical lighting that may be used in a film of this genre and narrative. When highlighting negative events, we didn't want to use the stereotypical low key lighting, therefore we subverted this by using high key lighting and strong contrasts. This way we could use the characters and mise en scene to symbolise the events effectively. This means that all of our shots were clear and bright, meaning the audience could analyse them for themselves. We used lots of natural lighting, due to our locations further highlighting the natural element of our film, which further illustrates irony through the fantasy creatures. Post modern films, such as Star Wars, often include lots of bright lighting due to their locations being in space, where there are stars and spaceships etc.
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