Friday, 5 May 2017

Discussing costume (and casting): an exemplar

Who: I have chosen the character Four, also known as Tobias Eaton.  For more information on his character, see the wikia page.  When we meet Four in the film, he has a role in Dauntless training new recruits.  Dauntless turns out to be a much harder faction than anyone knew.  When they chose Dauntless at the initiation ceremony, none of the new dauntless candidates knew that there would be another test that not everyone would pass.  Four does the training for this test.

What: Four wears all black clothing, in fabrics suitable for fast and adventurous movement.  In this photo we see him in a black t-shirt and a jacket which looks like it is made of expensive active wear fabric.  The Dauntless faction is definitely set up as the sexiest faction.  The clothing is dark and fitted and the closest to modern teen clothing.  He has deep brown eyes, olive skin, and is tall and all round good looking.  He frequently has his head slightly to one side, looking thoughtful and as though he is more caring and interesting than the other Dauntless leaders (such as Alec).  The fitted black clothing is designed to flatter his body as much as the fitted black clothing that Triss wears once she joins the Dauntless faction.

Why: I think the director has made Four look sexy because he is also the heart throb of the film (almost every dystopic teen film has one).  The directors have cast him to be brave and thoughtful as well as sexy so that we admire him.  The directors want viewers to either fancy Four or to wish they were like him.  Dauntless is the faction which teenagers (the target audience for the film) admire the most, and we secretly wish we were as strong and gutsy as Triss and Four, because we all know what it is like to be unsure of where we fit in society.

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