Monday 17 March 2014

Representation of Social Class - Cranford Extract

This clip is a period drama so the idea that there would be a boy running through the woods carrying food doesn't seem strange, this automatically labels him as the stereotype working class. The scene is filmed in low-key lighting showing the the true emotions of the boy as he has to provide for his family, this is also reflected in the music and foley of the crows, the crows are important as they are associated with desolate near death conditions. Furthermore the camera shot is a long-shot to make boy seem alone and also separate from the audience. He walks straight pass the camera and the focus goes too the food showing that, from the composition of the boy being seen as less important than the food, that is the centre of the composition. However, the working class boy is always in shot, meaning that he has the most prominence for this part. This is emphasises by the pace, it is fast enough to make the boy seem anxious to get somewhere however  it also seems slow to put an emphasis on the boys character and life.

Inside the house the immediate foley is the door squeaking open showing that it isn't well kept, probably because they cannot afford it as they are working class, however the location gives the impression of underclass, then the people inside yell in celebration. A now closeup on the boys face shows that he is happy however his dark surroundings show that this happy occasion may not be as happy as the working class family want it to be as typically party for a birthday would have many bright colours for 'decorations' and 'presents' however, the working class family however didn't showing the hard times they are in which is shows by the lack of 'decorations' and the fact that the boys present is wrapped up in newspaper. Focusing on the camera work there is also a closeup of the 'fathers' face to show not only that he is happy but it is a shot reverse shot after the boys to show a distinguished difference in appearance between them; the boy is dirty and wears rags whereas the father seems to be clean and well dressed for his circumstances in comparison showing that maybe the father doesn't live with them or travels so is separated often which is supported when he states, 'you've been doing a mans job looking after this lot', indicating that he is not there. Also the boy seems to have the most prominence, maybe this is too show the extra attention that he has or the idea the old fashion idea that he is the man of the house so he, unknowingly, has power, especially as he has his own shot and is centre composition in this scene, the idea that inside his house he has power and relating it back to the first scene outside the house he doesn't have power. The foley of the boots being dropped onto the table gives the impression of heavy tools or in this case hard boots even more associating this family with the working class. The boy then tries to read the newspaper the medium shot of the parents faces shows fear and worry at the idea of a working class boy reading. The father, in rage, tells the boy to go and check on the rabbits traps. This is another sign that they are working class as they need to hunt for there food, however the idea that they can hunt shows that they live in the country, more than likey in a monor house for someone of the upperclass.

In the next scene the boy goes to a manor house obviously near by, treaking through a dark woods and using his hands to guide him to get there. The manor house however is lighter almost as if it was better than the dark woods he was in. The boy opens a window the foley being loud as this happens, linking it with the squeaky door you could make the connection that where the squeaky door owned by the working class wasn't taken care of maybe this window was underused as there seemed to be so many from the long shot shown. There is then a closeup of food followed by a medium shot of boy to show his desire for such food as he is probably used to caught rabbits and vegtables scaps, nothing as sweet as grapes. Then the bird make some sounds causing the boy to forget about the food in worry.

In the morning you see boots walking down the path with a cane. Although you cannont see the person themselves it is assumed that they must be upper class due to the fact that they have such clean boots which a working class wouldn't have and there clothes also look neat. The boots stop, the wearer seems to be looking at something but as you cannot see the face it is hard to tell if it is good or bad and the medium shot of the boots hinders the viewer of seeing what is being looked at. The shot then goes to the boy, it is a high angle shot immediatly giving him less power than the wearer of the boots. The pace then seems to speed up however as the shot goes back to the man wearing the boots who can now be identified as the man of the manor, opening the window. This time the window foley seems less loud, maybe it is because the man is supposed to be there, opening the window whereas the boy wasn't. Medium, high angle shot of the man shows his anger the shot reverse shot takes the shot back to the boy who is still at a low angle fear on his face as he is now fully awake taking in the man. Then the scene shows the man of the manor escorting the boy to a new seperate room. The man of the manor in this scene has the most prominace and has the most area in the composition. The foley of the horses showing that the man of the manor is rich as he can afford to own horses.

When going into his officer the man still remains centre composition, his tone and bodystatue, that you can see from the medium shot, showing that he is angry. The boy however remains calm and collected as he resites from the bible. This challenging the stereotype that working class people during this period would be uneducated and unreligious as he also states that he goes to church. Then man seems curious about this, showing that it was unusual for what he assumes is a underclass boy to be educated. The man of the manor has the most prominace in this shot more than likey because they are in his office and he and just given the boy his rights giving the audience the feeling that he may be someone in law, but seeing his location he is more than likely a laywer. while he is having a go at the boy, the boy then looks like he is kneeling down to pray but then licks his hand, the music now appearing becoming sad as the shot goes to the man of the manor showing his face to be perplexed. Now in the chair the man of the manor has gone to get the boy bread and water. The man of the manor being in full focus the boy not infocus once again showing power as even though theboy takes up most of the composition all focus cannot be helped but be drawn to the man. The long shot then of the officer shows the difference between the two social classes, the most noticable being there clothes. The man then offers the boy a job after hearing his ramblings of his 'dreams', the close up of the boys face showing his eagerness to get whatever money he can get, maybe even more.

The scene then changes to the outdoors, where more working class men seem to be working. However at the top of the hill the man of the manor watches over them. He is the closest to the camera there for he has slightly more power over them, however the long shot shows that they are all equal in these surroundings, no matter what the wealth as there is nothing to sperate them apart from clothes. Then outside the manor it is clear the man of the manor is wealthy by the stereotypical marble coloumns framing the house, the large windows and the butlers waiting outside. The women in a large expensive dress and wig. There speech is that of upperclass also. The medium shot shows how much makeup the women is wearing, this is probably her way of expressing that she cares about her appearence greatly, expected of a upperclass women more than most. The man now joins her in the scene but remains back in the composition showing that even though she is a women during these times she still has power over men. The foley of the hammers hitting the metal in the background showing how they have seperated themselves from the working class. The long shot of the boy shows that he is seperate and alone from everyone else in that scene as he stares into the camera. Also his clothes seem to be more ragged than the other workig class men showing that he may be underclass or even seen as underclass to these people. The upperclass people discuss the boy as the female cannot wait for him to go, the man seems to have some simpathey for the boy however the women who is the centre of them both seems to scare him as he doesn't question her when she dismisses the fact that they don't know where the boys family is.

Overall, I think that the clip shows that the upperclass is typical and does what is expected however they can be kind despite common beliefs that they are not. The working class however seem to be shown as being a faint line between working and under. However the boy seems to challenge this and in turn changes the upeprclass man because of it. This clip showing how challenging the social classes is good as it can equal them out and bringing out the good in them both.

Wrote as much as I could in the time peroid

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