Cranford - representation of social class

The first scene of this clip is of a young boy in a forest. It is clear from the moment we see this boy that he is underclass. We can see this because his costume is old and worn which shows he cannot afford luxury clothing and he is also not wearing any shoes. As an underclass boy he is not likely to care for his appearance and from the clothes he is wearing this theory is supported. His costume is this shot reinforces the stereotype of underclass in a negative way as it is clear he is not bothered about his appearance and wears rags as he cannot afford nice clothing. A medium long shot has been used in this shot to be able to show the clothing in which the boy is wearing and to also show the location. The location is in a forest which implies that the boy either lives there or works there. This would also make us think he is underclass because he and his family cannot afford a home in the town/village/city. This again would reinforce the stereotype of underclass as negative because it is likely that they have a small shack-like property as their home. The soundtrack also used in this shot is also quite tense, suggesting that the underclass boy is in a dangerous area and is not safe. This may be because of work he may be doing or just the area in which he lives in. This will also reinforce the stereotype of underclass as negative because the young boy has to work/live in dangerous areas and is not concerned for his safety. 

The next scene is of the family in their home. The shot is dark and dull which will make the audience feel sympathy for the family. This lighting shows how the family are underclass as they cannot afford an attractive and colourful home, as well as not being able to afford electricity. The lighting of this shot reinforces the stereotype of underclass as negative because they cannot afford simple necessities such as electricity and lighting. The dialogue used in this scene also suggests that the family is underclass. They have Northern accents, the young boy also calls his father 'dada' which is a very childish way of referring to his father. The father also tells his son that 'education is not for everyone'. All of these uses dialogue are stereotypical of underclass as they suggest uneducated. The underclass during this era are likely to be uneducated because they cannot afford an education. The dialogue of this scene therefore reinforces the stereotype of uneducated underclass. The appearance of the father is like the son as he is scruffy and it is clear he does not look after himself properly as he has a long beard, long hair and old, rough clothes. This tells us that they are poor and cannot afford to look after themselves but are also less likely to be worried about how they look. The fathers's appearance reinforces the negative stereotype of the underclass and not bothered about appearance and poor. The use of the boots as a birthday present also show the families underclass. Boots are an everyday item which people are likely to buy for no reason, however in this situation the family have treated their son to them. This would be because the family cannot afford necessity items, including boots. The boots therefore reinforce the stereotype. The use of shot reverse shot in this shot add conflict between the father and his son. The shot reverse shot is used when the father is shouting at his son due to him trying to educate himself. This has been used to show the conflict between the family and how the underclass family are broken. This reinforces the stereotype of underclass as negative and the family are broken. 

The next scene is again of the young underclass boy walking through the forest, just as the first scene. As the young boy emerges from the forest the shot begins to light up as though he is leaving the dark forest of underclass life. There is then an extreme long shot of a large, white house. An extreme long shot has been used to show the distance between the underclass family life in the forest and the upper class life in a large house. This is been done to separate the two social classes. This shot reinforces the stereotype of upper class as above the other classes and therefore separate. As the boy progresses towards the house and is closer to the house, the shot gets lighter. As the boy reaches the house and enters the camera is handheld and as though it is from the view of the underclass boy. The use of POV makes the shot look dream like and therefore the luxury of the greenhouse of the upper class. This would suggest that the upper class have a much better lifestyle than the underclass and the underclass boy sees their home as a heaven. This also reinforces the stereotype of upper class as positive as they have a 'heavenly' home and the stereotype of underclass as negative because they do not have anything and see normal items as luxury. The idea of the upper class house as heavenly is also shown through the soundtrack in the shot. The soundtrack is calm and slow, almost angelic. This is to support the idea of the upper class house being amazing and heavenly. This again reinforces the positive stereotype of upper class and the negative stereotype of underclass. 

The next scene then shows the upper class man finding the underclass boy in his home. The first shot of this is only of the feet of the upper class man. Although this shot does not show the full costume of the upper class man we can tell he is upper class. This is because he is wearing shiny leather boots, with beige trousers tucked in and also using a cane whilst walking. The costume shows how he can afford luxury clothing and looks formal. We then see his full costume of a long coat, waistcoat and top hat. This whole outfit is stereotypical for a rich upper class man as the upper class are likely to care more about their appearance than underclass. Now we have seen his costume we can see the contrast between upper class and underclass and how their stereotypes differ. As the upper class man takes the underclass boy to his office we can hear the non-diegetic sound of a horse. This has been included in the shot because the ownership of a horse would suggest wealth and therefore upper class. This reinforces the stereotype of upper class. 

The scene of the under class boy and the upper class man in his office show the conflict between the two. The furniture is made as key props in this scene as they show the upper class man's wealth. The furniture is leather or wooden which can be seen as expensive items. These have been used to show the wealth of the upper class man and reinforces his stereotype. There is also a medium long shot of the scene. This shot sets apart the distance of the underclass boy and the upper class man. This is because the two are so different in lifestyles and are often not seen to be associated with each other. This shot reinforces the stereotype as it has shown the distance between the two. The young boy quotes a bible quote to the upper class man in this scene. This then shocks the upper class man as the stereotype of underclass is uneducated. The underclass boy also says how he would like an office because of all of the words. Saying both these things implies that he likes education and is somewhat educated. This challenges the stereotype of underclass because this boy is seen as educated.

The next scene is an outside shot of the house. The shot of the house is an extreme long shot to show the size of the house and also people in the scene. The shot includes a butler standing in the background. This has been done to show the wealth of the upper class family  and reinforce their stereotype. 

45 minutes ran out.