Dominant ideology is presented throughout the film. Dominant ideology denotes the attitudes and beliefs, messages and values projected and held by mainstream society. Most of the shots in the film seem to show many negative views. For example; The muslim man who people assumed to be a threat. Whilst focusing on the man, there is a voice over, in which a man directly addresses the audience by breaking the fourth wall and explaining that these views made by society are not always correct. The audience then see that the muslim man smiles and helps the lady with a baby to catch her train which breaks a traditional view. The voice over supports Gramsci's theory of Hegemony which states that representation is unequal. For example; Minority groups may be represented in society unfairly but dominant ideology is what is shown the most, therefore it is what most people are likely to believe is correct. Furthermore, this creates a Hegemonic society. This can affect the audience due to them being directly addressed and causes them to feel guilt and regret as they may have associated negative views with certain groups of people.
Tessa Perkin's theory highlights that 'stereotypes are assumptions we make based on groups of people' and this is supported through the use of mise-en-scene. This is shown through the iconography of the laptop that was opened on a daily mail article about recent terrorist attacks and suspects. Automatically, some people recognise that the suspects are of a certain ethnicity and/or religion, therefore associating these negative actions and representation with the rest of the people supporting the same religion or are of the same ethnicity. This supports the Perkin's theory due to the media being able to change an individuals perception of a group in society. This affects the audience through Stan Cohen's theory, 'Moral Panic'. Cultures are subject to moral panic when a group of people are identified as being a threat to society therefore, causing people to panic when in presence of a certain group of people. The theory which is also used in this shot is Richard Dyer's stereotype theory is that 'stereotypes are always about power; those with power stereotype those without power'. People who write the articles such as the daily mail are well known and many people read them. Therefore, if the story is displaying a negative view or message about a certain group of people, they have the power to cause others to believe it is true.
Another example that supports the Perkins theory is the costumes which conforms to the idea that stereotypes are not always false. A Sikh family are wearing turbans and shows that they are a part of a certain religious group which is not a negative or false reputation in society.
bell hooks representation theory states that 'skin colour is a code; lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the Western ideology of beauty' and this presented though the use of editing. The editing used emphasises the idea that everyone is different and live very different lives. The use of fast pacing editing exemplifies the idea that life is very chaotic and goes very quick which could be caused by the difficultly of a representation they are involved in. The fast pacing shows many different ethnicities which can convey the idea that skin colour has an impact on social hierarchy.
The Bergers theory that follows the idea that 'men look, women appear' is shown in this short film through the use of camera angles and movement. An example of this presented in the short film is when a women is sitting down when a man comes and sits next to her whilst looking at her as an object. As he does so, the camera switches into deep focus, clearly showing the audience the manner in which he is looking at her. The demonstrates the idea that men only see women as being a sexual object and not an individual. This theory is also shown as being incorrect occasionally due to the camera angles not causing the women to be presented in a sexual, vulnerable way which supports patriarchy. This is due to there not being any high angled shots looking down on the women and not displaying the women in any revealing clothing.
Gauntlet's theory is that 'media is a resource in which individuals use to think through their sense of self and modes of expression' is shown within this short film, Inspire. This is evident in the re- occurring example of the mother with her baby and a muslim man at the train station as the woman makes the assumption that the man was a threat. However, she was wrong and the mans intentions were only kindness. Therefore, causing audience to feel guilt for the judgements they made. This then causes the audience to stop making and assumptions towards a group of individuals and prevent negative stereotypes being made.
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