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

Music Class Interview

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. 

Representation of Ethnicity - Hotel Babylon

The clip starts out by showing an average day as there is no music meaning the focus is the on foley of the machines on in the background, also the scene is a medium shot of the man as they want the audience to be able to see that he is a in a suit so even with the loud background sounds he either has a high position in a company or is a business man, furthermore they want you to see his stern, concentration expression turn to one of confusion then fear. This makes the day feel relatable and typical to the average person watching it meaning that they want them to form a link with the characters in the scene. Then when the foley changes to the loud footstep the scene then gives slight prominence to the police there, however the business man is always in the shot or centre composition, whereas they share there shot meaning they share power this shows that there must be someway that he has some unknown power over them, also earlier on the shot seemed to follow the business man once again putting an emphasis on his prominence. The music making it seem the police have power however as the music seems to start when the police appear, it contains a sense of suspense as if something is going to happen. When the police talk it is in a calm manner however the medium-long shot on them puts an emphasis on their uniform showing there power they would have over a typical business man, again trying to make the audience relate to the situation where they would know a police in uniform typically has power over them. Giving the businessman the stereotype of dangerous as he has some sort of power other authority.

The scene then zooms into a secretary who is looking at papers showing she has an important role in the Hotel. The scene, although has bright colours seems to be dimmed, as if something bad or depressing has happened. Not the typical atmosphere in a hotel, almost as if they are hiding something, keeping something in the dark. However when the immigration officer goes up to the desk the scene seems to light up as if nothing is wrong, asserting the opinion that the hotel is hiding something. The music from the previous scene continues and continues to build the suspense that something is about to happen, it also though creates a eerie feeling that makes the whole thing seem like something sad has come from it before. The main foley from this shot is the door opening, as if a silent message that they are here because the shot then shoots to the secretary who's face is watching them closely, there is no footstep however to signify the idea that you don't know they are coming. They also remain in darkness until they reach the desk like they know something also. The immigration officer has the most power in this scene, he remains the centre of the composition and he is always slightly in the shot, if when he appears he is more prominent, there is also a close up of his face to show that he knows what is happening and by the slight twitch of his lips he finds it quite amusing but continues to watch as he is letting her think she is in control as she tries to stall. The shot then cuts to the men on the sofa, the Black business man seems to panic slightly at her question as he hesitates. It then cuts back to the immigration offer who has a growing smirk on his face, making his stereotype, dangerous as even with his authoritative power he knows more than he lets on. The women however seems slightly stressed the closeup on her face putting an emphasis on this making the audience pity her.

The music is now extremely tense, as the black member of staff  from before runs down the stairs past unknowing members of forgein staff, you know this as they talk loudly to one another in a forgein language, also the forgein members were wearing cleaning uniform. The fact that he didn't warn the forgein workers, this challenges the stereotypes of unfied as they obviously are seperated not only by language but by heirachy. Both the black man and the man from the beginning go into an office, panicked they warn a women at a desk. Once again at this scene the lights aredimmed as they descend down to show that they are hiding something underneath the 'glamour' hotel.She runs around the busy kitchen, trying to shout over the foley of the cooking, trying to grab there attention. It shows the kind of environment that the immigrants have to put up. The pace is fast to represent her panic an extra emphasis put on it as the pace of the music quickens. When the workers realise what is going on they too begin to panic as they start rambling themselves in fear running around much like her. However once again there is an absense of foley with footsteps, I believe this is because even though there is mass panic they idea they are are not supposed to be there is echeod in the non extistant footsteps. The shots stay medium throughtout this as the director not only wants to show hysteria in actions but also there face as the workers panic.

In the closet the music continues but the foley of the keys however is that sense of security that no one can get through a locked door, the scared gasping of the people however increase the sense of the dread and fear making that need for security all the more real. There is a close up of the womens in the offices face to show her panic when she realises one of them is missing. The scene from then on constantly flickers to the cleaner they called abraham as the suspense builds as the audience have to wait and see who finds him first to the event in the closet with the diabetic women. The other male black cleaner however seems to catch the audience by susprise it makes the audience pity him as the stereotypical view that all immigrants are non-interlectuals that are here to take all our money is wrong as this man can obviously achieve alot more inlife then being a cleaner.

Overall, I belive that this clip shows conformity in the stereotypical views of dangerous and pitied but in the same way that it shows them it also goes against them as the clip shows that immigrants have more to fear by us then we do of them gaining great sympathy from the audience. This clip both challenges and conforms to the ethnicity stereotypes that I have meantoioned.

Ran out of time to fully complete the essay

Coming down the mountain - Essay

The clip from Coming Down the Mountain is a representation of somebody with a mental disability. The first shot is a birds eye view of the bedroom. This shot shows the separation between the disabled child and his 'normal' brother. The disabled brother's side of the room is cluttered with toys and bright colours compared to his 'normal' which just has a plain and boring design. This would make the audience believe he is a young boy, however he is older than the assuming age but has the mental age of a child. This links with him being the stereotype of vulnerable because a child is vulnerable and he is being portrayed as a child.This scene also shows him asleep while the camera pans around his brother to show how he is being watched. This would suggest that he is vulnerable because his brother is plotting against him and he is unaware of it and could be attacked without him realising this. 

In the next scene it starts with a close up of the disabled boy's face whilst a happy and joyful soundtrack plays in the background. The close up has been done to show the lack of expression in his face and the clear disability which he has. The use of a joyful soundtrack suggests that the disabled brother is happy in his own world and has few problems to worry about. It then shows the able-bodied brother standing over him talking down to him. This composition has been down to show how the able bodied brother has more power than his disabled brother and can talk down to him without retaliation and therefore shows the vulnerability in the disabled brother because he is less powerful than his able-bodied brother. The able-bodied brother then refers to his brother as a 'big potato with eye tentacles'. Because the disabled brother has been refereed to as this also shows his vulnerability. As a 'potato' he would not be able to do much to look after himself and therefore will need support from others. His vulnerability is also shown through the way his parents talk to him and treat him. Although he has done something wrong, both parents side with him and talk to him in a soft voice. This would show his vulnerability because they are not being aggressive towards him and support him in the argument against his able-bodied brother. The disabled brother also says how he 'needs a poo' and the father immediately tells the able-bodied brother to help. This shows how the disabled brother is vulnerable as he cannot do simple tasks such as taking himself to the toilet without something going wrong. His vulnerability shown through the support of others. The scene also shows how the able-bodied brother has more prominence than his disabled brother. The able-bodied brother has more camera time and also motives more cuts. This prominence shows how the able-bodied brother is stronger and more powerful than his disabled brother and therefore the disabled brother is more vulnerable.

There are then shot shots of outside scenes. One of these scenes shows the able-bodied brother prentending to shoot his disabled brother. This shows his vulnerability because it makes it seem to the audience that he is an easy target and could easily be attacked. This shot also shows how the father is helping the disabled brother on his bike and he is wearing a helmet. Because he needs assistance to do an easy activity and also has a helmet shows how he is vulnerable because if he had no assistance he would have an injury, which is why he is wearing the helmet. Another of these shots shows the able-bodied brother high in a tree whilst his disabled brother is looking up at him eating an ice cream. The kite and ice cream are quite childlike props which show how the disabled boy is still childlike. His vulnerability is shown through this because as it is saying he is like a child, he is vulnerable, like a child would be.The location of this shot is also in a park. This location is often where children would be, showing again how the disabled boy has been represented as a child. As the brother is in the tree, there is a high angle shot looking down on the brother. The high angle shot is almost as though the able-bodied brother is looking down on him and also gives him less power. As he has less power he is more vulnerable. These shots also give the able-bodied brother more prominence through more camera time and motivated cuts. 

The final shot does not include the disabled brother, only the able-bodied brother, again showing his power and prominence in comparison to his disabled brother. This is because he has been made the main focus of the clip, not his disabled brother.

In conclusion, the clip of coming down the mountain reinforces the stereotype of vulnerable. This has been shown through different locations, props, camera work, sound and editing. The disabled brother has been made to look weaker than his able-bodied brother, showing how because of his disability he is not as important or strong as his brother. 

Identifying the stereotype - ethnicity

Clip 1 - Luther
Dangerous 

 Clip 2 - Ting Tong meets Irvanka
Sexualised

 Clip 3 - Little Britain
Humourised

 Clip 4 - My big fat gypsy wedding
Exotic and Unified

Clip 5 - Hotel babylon
Pitied

Ethnicity Mindmap