Eden lake (2008)

Director: James Watkins

• How are Jenney and Steve (the main couple) represented?

From the start they are represented as innocent, happy people. They are represnted as dominant idealogies which is then challenegd by the group of youths that rebel against this. We can tell they are probably middle class from when she mentions her friend is being taken to Paris and the car we see them driving. They seem to be enjoying themselves on their trip, meaning no harm. Throughout the rest of the trailer they are the vulnerable victims that are being totrured by the youths. They are overpowered which makes the youths seem more threatening as they manage to overpower adults twice as old as them.

• How is this contrasted with the representation of the other characters?

The young couple Jenny and Steve are represented positively and also as vulnerable victims, really contrasting with the threatening youths we see. The youths are confident and violent which really juxtaposes against Jenny and Steve polite, placid behaviour. The young couple are represented as dominant idealoligies which is then challenged and confronted by the youths that are against normality. The film has a typical structure of there being an equilibrium (where the couple are peaceful and happy) then some kind of distrubtion (the youths interupting and then attacking) then the characters having to overcome this, then returning to a new equilibrium or the old one.

• How important is the issue of social class?

Jenny and Steve seem to be of a higher class, mentioning their friends are going to Paris and they themselves can afford a trip away. They are well spoken and have polit mannerisms, as we see from when Steve asks the youths to turn their music down. However the youths have completely opposite behaviour and their use of language as well as their clothing suggest they are from a lower class. The location also shows that there is nothing to do, often used in similar films therefore raising the issue that they have nothing else to do. This is suggesting that all youths from underclass behave in this way and that the working and middle class are the innocent victims.

• How are young people represented?

The youths are represented in the same way a demon or serial killer would be in a horror film. The film clearly employs many aspects of the horror genre which makes it more disturbing as these monsters are children. The youths are represnted as rude, inconsiderate teenagers at first, but as the trailer continues their characters evolve in to something much more sinister and dangerous. The way there is a large number of the youths suggests they are "hunting in packs" which gives an animalistic vibe. The horror that happens is also always at night, again suggesting they are monsters and demons, relating to fictional enemies such as vampires and werewolves. The youths also carry weapons such as knives but we also see a rotreiler which is a threatening symbol. Viscious dogs are often used as a violent, threatening symbol by gangs.