Portfolio Post 4 (Week 2): Character Analysis

Common Characters Written for Specific Audiences  in the Horror Genre

        Every movie genre has character tropes whether coming of age movies sustain typical student body ecosystems or romance films center around a female journalist; the horror genre is not an outlier. As found in the article cited below there are a consistent 6 stereotypical personalities that occupy the screen: the jock, the cheerleader, the nerd/stoner, the token minority, the nice guy, and the last girl. Though it may on the surface seem that these character formulas are only projected in unoriginal, overdone, cheesy films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's, I Know What You Did Last Summer, or Cabin in the Woods; these common themes can be reflected in almost all blueprints of personas. An important note as to how exactly these character's are written is to understand the projected audience. Movies catered to teenage viewers would rather follow these stereotypes much closer than a movie for an older generation. This is simply because a cast with tangible ties to being dumb, blonde, and young or smart, sweet, and a virgin are commonly only gifted to young actors. A 65 year old man playing a jock would come off as insincere and poorly written because neither older nor younger audiences would favor such a casting. This all goes to show that when older actors are casted in more mature parts that are dictated for an older audience, common character traits are still repeated but not in an identical fashion.

        

        For our project our character is going to be a young woman because we are restricted to scarce casting choices. The main character in real life is a 15 year old girl which is sufficient to our story. For context the opening sequence is going to follow the nighttime routine of a girl at home alone. Throughout the montage, subtle hints that she is not in her domain alone will occur simultaneously though not in addition to the shots centered on the girl. Based on this information our projected audience is quite vague but predominantly focuses on a younger generation. Due to the trending popularity of extensive skin care and night time routines brought on by Generation Z, it's reasonable to assume that that's the projected spectators the creators are striving to reach. The main character's youth co-insides with these fictional circumstances. Little to no character development (besides the music taste derived from Spotify) will occur in our opening due to a lack of substance from dialogue. Thus, an audience's ability to connect with the character can only happen through what they see on screen. Trendy products and youthful music will allow for a glimpse into the character but that is not the focal point of the project.

Citations

Six archetypal horror characters and why they're important. The Artifice. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://the-artifice.com/six-archetypal-horror-characters-and-why-they-are-important/