In our thriller, the criminal gang are ultimately represented as being superior to the police force who are outsmarted and lead to the wrong container. We show Ted's superiority through a low angle shot of his feet as he walks out of the container. Both Ted and the police constables have no dialogue in the thriller which makes them superior to the the police sergeants, who are officially the highest degree of authority in the thriller. The silence signifies how heavily they invest themselves in the job and what they believe.
However, the criminals themselves appear disorganised and undisciplined because of Ollie misbehaving in the container. In terms of mise-en-scene, we set up the container with a table, lab equipment and used curry powder and flour to make it look like he was meant to be cooking drugs. We got him to make lines with the flour to show that he was misusing them rather than doing his job.
Within the police hierarchy, the police sergeants in the car who are higher in rank to the police on the raid are represented as lazy through mise-en-scene because they are shown sitting in the car, chatting and snacking while waiting for the other three police men to carry out their orders. The three police constables sent in to raid the container are represented as the action heroes through the use of low angle shots, as well as their stern facial expressions. We used mise-en-scene to create this idea, because they are shown eating food and drinking tea while the other police are on a dangerous armed mission. Their mundane improvised chatting makes them come across as unfocused as well as uneducated which subverts the stereotype of police being 'on the ball'. In contrast, the other policemen who remain silent are shown as superior because they are clearly focused on their work and conform to the stereotype of action heroes in films.
Age
Our character Ollie conforms to the stereotype of young men behaving inappropriately because he is found in the container misusing the drugs that the gang are trying to sell. With Ted as the figure of authority, he is presented as dependent and inferior to him by the way he is sitting down and Ted stands over him and hits him. Ollie, though clearly upset by his through his facial expression, is shown as helpless and dependent on Ted. The camera shot from inside the container when Ted opens it from outside shows Ollie's point of view. The change from darkness to light on Ted's opening the container signifies how much Ted features in his life, stereotypically representing his age as submissive to Ted's age. He remains silent except for one word: 'again?' His limited use of words shows how confined he working under Ted and the pressure put on him at his age. The word 'again', signifies that because he conforms to the rebellious stereotype of his age, he receives the same treatment from Ted frequently.
Theo, on the other hand, subverts this teenage stereotype by offering help to Ted and carrying the box of guns without complaint. We used a box of guns for Theo to carry as part of mise-en-scene to signify his submissive status to his boss. Both teenagers conform to the stereotype of younger people being inferior to older adults.
Gender
Every character in our thriller is male which signifies that the male gender is more involved in dangerous situations, signifying that the world of criminal activity and crime fighting is very much a man's world. Both groups, criminal and police, are represented as high status in the thriller. This reflects negatively on women because it implies that women do not find themselves in high ranks at work. It also represents the male gender as corrupt, greedy for money through illegal means and violent.
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