Character representation- Father figure

Character representation - Father figure

For our character of the fatherly figure I will be analysing the character of Bryan Mills from the film 'Taken'. This is because Mill's characters holds many of the attributes that we wish to exploit and display in our father figure.

(Below is the trailer to the film Taken)

Traits of Bryan Mills' character that we could replicate:

• Strength- The father in Taken constantly is depicted demonstrating his strength throughout the trailer, he exploits the stereotypes of a modern hero, (rescuing his daughter from distress). Similarly I think our character should have elements of this valiant nature too, as it appeals to an audience to have a strong lead character and this is also in keeping with our surveys results.
• Protective - one of the key elements to the fatherly role, as is shown in the trailer above, particularly  in the mid shot where the daughter is dragged from beneath the bed, is the idea of his determination to find and protect his daughter. I think this trait identifies with an older target audience, as it relies on the audience having an understanding of responsibility and care, which is ideal because our film trailer is aimed at mid teens and above.
• Authoritative- Bryan Mills is an ex CIA agent and as such has a natural air of authority, although our character wont have the same background, he can still have a subtle authority among the other characters. Which we could show through use of levels or in the angles we use to film our characters for example if we film our father figure from a low angle, this will create the effect of making him seem physically higher than other characters and this is conventionally a sign of power and authority.
• In command- Conventionally the common media image of a father figure is a leader figure, the character looked up to by others, and this trait we definitely want to exploit in the film trailer as we need someone to play a leader role.
• Although our father figure may not actually be playing the role of an actual father he can still demonstrate these traits.

Sound/Dialogue -

• "I will find you, and i will kill you" - demonstrates the idea of power and authority.
• "I found him, he's dead." - emphasises his protective trait- he would go to the extreme of killing, to protect those he cares for.
• "I would tear down the Eiffel Tower if I had to" - shows the trait strength and conviction. Two key traits our character will have.

The father figure in Akeldama is similarly to the character of Bryan, having to kill ,and use violence in order to for fill his role as a father, making most of the traits explored in taken transferable to our character. The traits above will help us when choosing an actor to play the role, and with script writing.