The representation of criminals in films

The representation of criminals in films

There are different types of criminals and they are all represented in different ways in the film industry. For example...

Gangsters

These are mostly associated with the 1920's and were most famous in films, such as, The Godfather. Although their crimes were extreme and often ended in a gun fight, to an extend, their lifestyles are usually presented as being glamorous, as they have masses amounts of money. Or they see it as a normal job to be the breadwinner in a normal family home. Obviously, to the audience, organised crime is not normal. Therefore, despite the fact that they're criminals, the audience often finds these characters likeable.

Gangsters can clearly be distinguished by their suits and the fact that they carry guns. This shows them to be rich, but they have money because of their violent lifestyle.

As well as the use of props, gangsters have stereotypical dialogue. Their accent tends to be ________ and they all use similar expressions and slang terms so that the audience can distinguish what type of person they are.

Thugs

These types of criminals can occur in any type of film, as the audience will see their petty crimes as normality and so they wouldn't be out of place in any modern day storyline. Subsequently, this is the type of person we're going to present Destiny as in our film.

An example of a movie which contains these types of criminals would be Attack The Block, they are often young and have had something in their life happen to turn them to this way of life.

 

'Secret Agents' 

 

These usually occur in action films, such as James Bond or superhero films and are clearly made out to be the bad character of the film. The antagonist tends to have a 'head quarters' and an army of followers to defeat the good side.

They are presented by their big lavish lifestyle's and the fact that they have so much control over what happens to people in the film. (eg, who lives and who dies.) More often than not, they end up in a fight with the protagonist.

They usually have something signature that they can be recognised by. For instance:

 

Austin Powers baddie - Dr Evil

James Bond baddie - Jaws

 

Batman - Joker

 

Even though our film isn't some kind or far fetch sci-fi/adventure film, our character could have a signature hoodie, for example, so that the audience knows when she is preparing to commit a crime.

 

Mass Murderers

 

Although our character isn't going as far as to kill someone, all criminals attempt to keep their identity secret. They usually do this with masks, if in horror films, such as:

 

Halloween - Michael Myers

 

Friday 13th - James Voorhees

 

The 'Thug'

To make it as obvious as possible in our film that Destiny is a criminal, we're going to follow the stereotypes of a 'thug', so that it is explicit to our audience. For example:

Costume

In almost all films they have a hood and are wearing dark clothing. This is so they can hide their faces to avoid getting caught, which makes them a mysterious type of character. 

Make-up

Drug use seems to be paired with crime, in a lot of cases, where this type of character is used and so they are often made up to look very weak, pale and tired.

Props

 

If you're going to be a criminal then you're probably going to need to protect yourself. Therefore, in films, thugs usually have a weapon on their person; whether that be a gun or a pocket knife.

Setting

For some reason, in movies, these types of criminals are always stereotypes to hang around in parks at night, when meeting people, etc. Their homes are always run down and messy and are often small properties in not very nice areas.