Task 2 - How does your product represent particular social groups?

In 2008 the film Der Baafer Mienhof Komplex was realised, a film set in 1967 Germany about a group of terrorist that aimed to changed the political state. I did not know this but according to the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6314559.stm) It is based on a true story, the baader meinhof gang. The characters in the film that was re-created are based on the true members of the real gang :

This is a original wanted poster for the original members of the baader meinhof gang, as you can see none of the members fit into typical stereotypical image of a terrorist, none of them are dark in skin colour or wear a turban. Of corse this is a very stereotypical judgement of terrorist and from this poster you can see that it is not just people that fit into that stereotype that can be/are terrorist it was from this and a film called Vantage Point that inspired us to choose the actor we did.
Vantage Point is a film, also released in 2008 also following the theme of a terrorist that attempt to assassinate the president. The character that plays the assassin
is not of the ideal character that you would ideally have in mind as a assassin, this goes to show how society builds upon stereotypes that are revealed to us through the media and how we judge people and make statements just because of their appearance. This highlighted how important it was for us to consider our main actor as a lot would be picked up form his appearance.
Another element that we researched and that inspired us to choose the actor we did was how terrorists are portrayed in the news and print media. The Guardian and the Daily Mail have websites that are responsible for labelling terrorists as Muslim packages and regularly discriminate against people because of their skin color or religion.
For our thriller we decided that the actor that would play the bomber was going to be Caucasian in colour and to look European or perhaps even British, this was to represent and show that it was possible for anyone to do the things that terrorists do and may be anyone in a community. This is to subvert the ideology that is inherent in the Daily Mail. By having a bomber that is; influenced by other films, and chose not to represent typical stereotype it will hopefully make it more believable and realistic.

'Jihad Jane': not the usual suspect
Terrorism comes in all shapes and colors, but it is apparently easier to label it as such when it's wrapped in a Muslim package

In Conclusion, I think that having our main actor not represent the typical image not only adds realism but also makes the viewer think about and contemplate that it is possible for anyone to do such a things. The article in the Guardian that talks about Jihad Jane, not your usually suspect, reinforces this.