2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

During the research phase, we found that most of the female action heroines where Caucasian.There was a significant lack of Asian, particularly south Asian female actions heroines in Hollywood.

Action Heroines

We also noticed that they tend to be sexualised. Tight fitting jackets,low cut skintight vests, and shorts that are more like underwear are popular within the Girls with Guns genre.

British Films

On the other hand, the British film market is known for some realistic representation of Asian females heroines, though not necessarily in the GwG genre. In the last decade or two, it is notable that attitudes in Britain towards Asian culture have shifted, as have the taste of mainstream audiences for Asian-themed films. 

"Bend It Like Beckham" became one of the most popular British films ever and has an Asian female protagonist. It challenge the colonially-obsessed images of Asians depicted in mainstream British cinema and televisions in the 1980s and earlier. Moreover, Asian women as especially depicted in stereotypical "housewife" roles, and this movie defied this as well.

The BFI says: 

"Today, 'Asian;, once unfashionable, has become fashionable and almost ;sexy' in the Western media culture. The British film industry has gradually begun to wake up to the 'brown pound'. Director Gurinder Chada has noted the change in attitudes between the release of her first film, Bhaji on the Beach (1994), and her third, Bend It Like Beckham (2002): "People are much more aware of difference, what was once foreign is now familiar""

How we broke/challenged stereotypes

Anjana (Sierra)

Shobnam (Echo)

2 of our characters are from south Asian backgrounds. We decided to cast ourselves as breakage of the stereotype, while also keeping Mila, a white female to keep within the genre conventions slightly. This was to ensure the audience were not overwhelmed by the breaking of stereotypes.

Why?

With the Cultural diversity of British society, it is important for us to consider the ways in which we represent our 2 Asian female protagonists. Not only do they defy the stereotype that was ingrained for so long in modern day Britain, they also adhere to the progress and acceptance of the Asian culture. Additionally, these films are known to engage and appeal to British-Asians, such as myself (I so enjoy watching my fellow Asians living their lives in films and have often experiences British-Asian cinema with the family as well; as well as the British audience.

The "look"

Costume:

Sierra: Black leather jacket - Practical, conventional but not revealing - avoided sexualisation.

Traits: Violent, likes weapons and fighting.

Echo: Black trench coat + gloves - similar - portrays a sense of secrecy - mysterious character - Echo is the one the audience aren't certain about.

Traits: Contrast to Sierra, who fights for pleasure - wants to stick to task, determined to get things done.

Delta: Black body suit + leggings - fully covered but keeping some sort of femininity to the character - suits her personality as "the decoy" - her enjoyment of dressing up.

Traits: Enjoys acting, scheming.




Character relationships:

-Delta, Sierra and Echo are working together by choice -out of loyalty and friendship. 
-Acknowledge and understand each other's strengths.

The main difficulties: portraying the friendship in the script without losing any storytelling/ narrative.

Supporting male role:

The empowering female role over the male victim character of the guard sets the tone for the rest of the movie i.e Girl power. The audience is taken into their stories and lives to see the film from their perspective, therefore to "like" or "take sides" with Delta, Sierra and Echo.

However, the film is not about female supremacy, thus we had plan for a strong male character, who was sympathetic to the 3 Agents' aims, but was also a powerful male in his own right.

In summary, not only did we want to portray powerful Asian female action heroines, but also to display the loyalty the girls have for each other, as well as the collaboration with a strong male character (but less powerful than the girls) thus breaking any barriers that might otherwise arise from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and/or genders.