CR

 Critical Reflection

Due January 31, 2022

on your portfolio

 

Here are the four Critical Reflection questions.

Remember that each question should have roughly 250 words.

Also, do not look at this as one giant essay.

This should be divided into the following questions:

 

• How do your products represent social groups or issues?

Our key message exemplifies the development of the opioid crisis and how our main character Paola 

handles that. She struggles heavily with substance abuse and is depicted as someone who can't live 

without it. Her young age didn't allow her to fully grasp the idea of her addiction. Or how it will 

continue to affect her life.  The reliance she had on her prescription opioids lasted far beyond her 

physical need for them. Without them, she is seen depressed, enraged, and consumed with anxiety. 

Paola's mental health was another social issue we wanted to depict. You never see how she 

was before the accident but by the reaction of her mother and her obvious mental health issues, you 

know that she is not truly the person on the screen. She's a person consumed by addiction and isn't 

comfortable with herself fully. She was an innocent child who went through a tragic accident and was 

changed forever. Her mother was a single mom. Which falls into another social issue, that many 

people can relate to. Her mom's perception of the situation was apparent. She put her trust in the doctor 

and will now surely regret it. The love the mother has for her daughter was obvious. The mom only 

wanted to do what was best for her. Which makes it that much harder to watch the scene of Paola 

overdosing in her bedroom with the door locked. Her mother knows that she's in trouble yet she can't 

save her. The responsibility of a child along with the situation they were consumed by in the short 

film, must've been a difficult path to navigate. 

• How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

The elements we created in our production assisted in making our branding apparent. Our production

portrays a girl suffering from an opioid addiction at a young age. Her accident left her stuck and

unmotivated. We follow a young girl who was exposed to a very strong opiate. The opioid crisis is such

a prominent problem in today's society and needs more recognition. We wanted our film to recount an

authentic story, of what many individuals have faced. Some key elements that displayed this brand were

specifically the drugs given to her by her doctor. Fentanyl gave her a sense of peace in her depressive

state. We made the storyline seem from her perspective that there was no way out. That once she started

she wasn't able to get away from her desires. We used very low lighting and not an excessive amount of

dialogue. We wanted me the main actress to be noticeably depressed and unmotivated. Our character

always wore comfortable clothes and mostly stayed in her house. The only pleasure she found was

when she was taking her pills. You see the daughter taking advantage of her mother, as she steals

money from her purse. While she tells herself that it's worth it and that it's what she needs. Her mom is

very loving and only wanted the best for her. The mom put her trust in the doctor and they ruined her

daughter's life. The guilt that now the mom will face is unimaginable because that one mistake led to

the death of her child.

• How do your products engage with the audience?

Our film is an emotional rollercoaster about a serious event that now a days sadly is very realistic.

Watching this tragic story unfold, you feel great pity for the child experiencing the neglect of this

epidemic. The viewers watching witness an innocent child's life take a turn for the worst. They follow

her getting taken advantage of by the pharmaceutical industry. You see her spiraling into a consuming

addiction that has ruined her mental health as well. Even from the beginning of the film, we grabbed

the audience's attention with the dramatic ambulance scene. It made the viewers want to understand

why she was in that situation, even though it was never shown it was explained as an accident. Since

the accident wasn't the main focus of our film, we still needed to keep them hooked. Her depressive and

reliant state throughout the film was noticeably concerning. Viewers wanted to know if she would

perceiver or succumb to her addiction. The audience can connect to her innocence and

understand that it isn't necessarily her fault. Which makes the outcome of the situation that much

harder to sit with. Her mother's screams echo as she calls out for her daughter, allows the audience to

experience compassion and empathy for her. Once you understand that there is no hope for her, the

audience pity's her situation. As well as how the doctor's negligence ruined her life. The thrilling and

heart wrenching climax allowed the viewers to really comprehend our brand and key message.

• How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

My partner and I have been researching our project with many months in advance. We've watched

videos and documentaries about the opioid epidemic and how it ruins the lives of many. We researched 

the most addictive and over prescribed drugs and which one would have the most documentable affects.

It needed to be a drug that would be prescribed in an incident such as a back and neck injury, caused by 

car accident. Our biggest prop and setting was the ambulance in Mr. Evan's room. It is completely 

accurate and is even advertised as practically functioning except without wheels. Without it our film 

wouldn't of felt as realistic. We take into account Mr. Evan's acting as well. Since he actually was a 

firefighter and a paramedic he knows what a real ems would say. The ambulance really allowed our 

audience to understand the situation presented to them through this important scene. The actual EMR 

class that I'm in teaches us about these drugs and the actions taken in our main character's situation. As 

well as the effects and symptoms she's experiencing. Many causes of people beginning their addiction 

to overprescribed drugs are because of a medical condition or accident. Then if the drug they are given 

is over prescribed it can lead to many more problems. We wanted to create a path for our character that 

went through these specific points. So that her road to addiction is understood. This assisted our 

conventions in the opioid crisis. As well as the conventions in our thriller/ drama short film. It goes  

through her highest highs and her lowest lows.