Evaluation

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

My film is set in the 1950's at a time where women were still restricted and not seen as a man's equal, however women had more rights than ever before and after the war were challenging their role as housewife and stay at home mum despite the government trying to re-establish domesticity as womens primary role. However at that time, sex and pregnancy outside marriage was heavily frowned upon and women were pressured into giving up illegitimate children or in some cases forced too. The government put a new emphasis on the nuclear family after the war in hope to regain the same social standing as before the war. My film challenges that immensely as it is about a 15yr old girl who falls pregnant outside of wedlock, keeps the baby and brings it up at home unmarried. Even in today's society underage pregnancy's are somewhat frowned upon, although a lot more common that in the 1950's. Also Stella is brought up in a strong catholic family, who would have strongly disapproved of sex outside of marriage and of course of Stella running away from the Nun convent that she is put in, to be punished for her sins and have her baby taken away. Many people come to Stella's rescue in the end including her friend Leo, her auntie Nora and her father. There are many different characters in the book, some who frown and look down upon Stella and allow her to be punished and have her baby taken away from her, as what happened to many women and girls who had babies out of wedlock in them days and those who challenge society and that particular religion and support Stella in her struggle to keep her baby. 

Although things were changing, women still had few rights in them days and this is shown in the film, by the fact that Stella doesn't get a choice in whether she is allowed to keep her own baby or not it is not until her father steps in and puts his foot down, does anyone listen to what she wants. The 1950s was a sexist time and this is shown clearly in my film. Although my film opening doesn't give much away about the story it does however show her father as a dominant character in the beginning. He drives Stella to her Aunties house and he decides when they leave in a dominant way while the mother is left to make tea, one of her only lines in the film opening showing the domesticity of women in that time.