Thursday 13 March 2014

Representation of ethnicity - Hotel Babylon

In this clip we can see the representation of the stereotype pitied and in some ways unified. The first scene shows a man at work as though it is a normal day. He seems to be a 'normal' business man, as he is in a suit doing a his daily work. As the policemen walk in you can see his stern, strong expression turn into a worried one showing that something is about to happen which he knows about. The scene then quickly transitions to the reception where a white man that looks like he has high authority walks in. We can see that he has high authority because he is in a suit and the composition of him leading the policeman and other men into the building shows that he is a leader and will take charge. He and the immigration team have a lot of camera time and the camera also follows them. This would suggest that the white man has prominence and therefore more power over all others with a different race. The soundtrack on this scene is fast and sounds like a heart beat. This would suggest fear and that the white men are dangerous towards others and are likely to cause trouble. This scene makes the audience worry for the foreign workers as it is clear something bad is about to happen and that they are in danger. This feeling reinforces the stereotype of pitied. 

The scene then changes quickly to the black worker running through a dark corridor. He runs to another dark and closed off room to tell an Asian woman that immigration is there. The next few shots are quick and sharp. The workers are also shouting in panic and shouting in a foreign language. This represents the panic and stress felt by the foreign workers and also makes it clear that they are immigrants, which again makes the audience feel sympathy for them all as they are in danger.

The next scene starts with all the foreign workers running into a small cloakroom. The scene shows close ups of the workers faces to show the panic and fear in their expression and also shows a medium-close up of the workers in the cloakroom to show how they have all been crammed into one small room. These shots represent the stereotype of pitied as the audience will pity them because they are scared and in danger and they have been put together as though they are one against the white race. The darkness of the room also shows how the foreign workers have to hide and are closed off. This will again make the audience feel sympathy for the foreign workers because hey are suppressed and closed off from the white man in immigration. When the foreign workers are in the room they are all silent and heavy breathing. This would suggest that they are panicking and worried that they could be found. There are also short shots of the black cleaner as he has not realised that he is in danger; this has been done so that the audience do not forget about him and are constantly reminded that he is in danger. This would make the audience feel sympathy for him as he is likely to be caught. In the cloakroom, a foreign woman faints, however the black man knows what is wrong. It is clear that he knows a lot of medical information but has not been recognised for it because he is an immigrant. This would make the audience feel sympathy for him because he is not working to his full potential and the likely reason for this is because he is black. This scene is a main scene within the clip and shows a clear representation of the foreign workers feeling pitied. We are then told that one of the foreign workers has been caught.

After being told this the next scene is back in reception. The Asian worker is begging the white man for the black man to be let go, however she does not have as much power as he does. The white immigration man takes control of the situation and he has more dialogue than the Asian worker. He also talks down to her because he knows he has authority over her. This scene will make the audience feel pity because there is nothing the Asian woman, or any other foreign worker, can do to help the black man against the white man.  

The scene then transitions to the workers in a locker room. The camera slow pans to the workers to show the slowness of the scene. The soundtrack used in this scene is also sad and slow representing the sad situation and the emotion which the other foreign workers must be feeling. This would represent the stereotype of pitied because it will make the audience feel sympathy for the foreign workers as they have lost a friend and also for the black worker because he is likely to be killed. The composition of the workers in this scene shows four workers all together in the background. This would suggest the stereotype of unified because they are all together for each other in a time of sadness and loss. Two of these workers are of the same race. This is because they are the same race as the black man which was taken. The medium-close up of these two workers is done to show how they have lost 'one of them' and that they are struggling with the loss of a non-related brother. This will also make the audience feel sympathy for them as the audience can relate if they were to lose a relative or close friend. There is also a photograph in the black man's locker. This would suggest that he has lost someone he loves or misses someone and this could be due to them being caught be immigration or killed in their own country. This would make the audience feel sympathy for him because he was a loving man and is now likely to be like the person he lost. The use of the photograph is also to show that he has been lost because the photograph has been removed from his locker. This is almost like a metaphor for the other workers emotionally removing him from their work and memories because he is now gone. 

The final scene is of all the foreign workers in the canteen. The workers are all sat on separate tables depending on their race. This would suggest the stereotype of unified because all those with the same race stay together and do not leave one another. The black workers are the last table to be shown and are shown to be praying. This has been done because it is clear that they have lost 'one of their own' and will now be in fear for him and will pray for his safety.This shows the stereotype of pitied because the audience will feel sympathy for the black workers because they have lost someone who was like family. 

In conclusion, this clip has shown the stereotypes of pitied and somewhat unified. These have been shown through different Mis-en-scene, sound, editing and camera work. The foreign workers have been made to look weaker than the white man in immigration so this clip therefore reinforces the stereotype of pitied. The foreign workers are also seen to stay together and work together as a whole against the white man, which therefore suggests they are unified. 


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