Representation Theory

Representation Theory

The Two films that i have chosen to compare and show how they are Represented are: Dead Man Running and I am Legend.

The characters that i will be focusing on and how they are represented is the Villain in Dead Man Running, and the main protagonist in I am Legend. This is because they are of equal skin tone and ethnicity and they conform and subvert many of the theories that there are, being the Dyer and Gauntlett theories. 

I will firstly focus on The antagonist in Dead Man running, He is first introduced as being extremely rich, as he has an expensive suit and has many body guards and servants that are serving him, he definitely goes against Dyer's theory of stereotyping as he is successful and rich, whereas the stereotype would be that a young black man would usually be involved in crime, where as he is representated as being very wealthy, possibly being educated to a high level and possibly working at a high paid job. And so He conforms with Gauntlet's theory of showing that people all have different personalities.

As we progress through the story however, we find out that he is a loan shark, and that he lends money to those who need it, however if they do not pay it back in time, he puts extra money on it, interest rate in a way. This however conforms to stereotype's as he is making his money off illegal money borrowing and interest rates to make himself more money, as the stereotype says that Black male's should be involved in crime in one way or another, as we have seen in the news and other films, and generally in the media. In the Film he is shown as being a 'crime lord' as he has many 'goons' that work for him, that make the protagonist travel around England to make the money he owes him, or they will kill him and his Mother.

In the Film, I am Legend, the Protagonist is placed in a zombie apocalypse, and he has to fight his way through, he has survived many years by his companion of a dog, He is representated as being strong, tough, practical and 'hardcore', As he is one of the few survivors, and so he must have the certain characteristics to be able to do so. This character conforms to Gauntlet's theory as being different, as he must have a different personality and characteristics that make him stand out and allow him to survive the apocalypse, he also must be very wise and smart to be able to make it this far, just brute strength would not help, so he definitely conforms to Gauntlet's theory, as you would expect a young black male to become arrogant and brave, then end up being eaten by zombies.

He in some aspect does go with Dyer's theory as well, as he is shown as being as being skilled with a gun, and being a 'toughened' or 'emotionless' person as he has been through he apocalypse, this is a classic stereotype of people being ruthless as they have lost everything and so they 'dont care' attitude. This is a stereotype and easy person to know and understand as the viewer, and so the viewer can easily adjust to the theme of the film, and the characters.

In my opinion the antagonist in the film Dead man running is representated in a negative way, Although him being rich, he has accumulated it using illegal, crime driven ways, and so he is representated as being 'evil' and being ruthless, or having no mercy. He goes under extreme measures to get the £100,000 he is owed by targeting the protagonists mother, can make the viewers learn to hate him, and support the protagonist in his journey.

The Protoganist in I am Legend, is however represented in a positive way, he is shown to the viewers as being a 'hero' and he eventually dies in the end to save the life of a woman, who is also a survivor. This shows his change from being a single-minded survival driven person, to being a loving and caring person, so we learn to like the character as we watch the film, and as the plot advances.