Class notes on Class

Representation of Social Class Mock - Shameless

This is a clip from the TV drama 'Shameless', The father is seen to be wearing dirty clothes and long, un-groomed hair. He is seen to be a working class man in a mid-life crisis. He is seen to be recovering from drug use and this is confirmed when the daughter states he took '3 e's last night'. This reinforces the stereotype that working class people are part of chav culture and do drugs and alcohol. The dad is shown in a long shot, and the family is shown in a long shot as well to show the distance in-between them in terms of their relationship. This is an example of a working class family struggling. It reinforces the stereotype that they're a broken family and shows the upper class have more power over them due to finances. There are close ups of the father's face to show how much it is emotionally affecting him that he is letting his family down. The shot reverse shot shows conflict between the useless, drug using father and the struggling children, further reinforcing the underclass stereotype of a broken family. When the daughter says "we want you" soft piano music plays in the background to show their compassion. This makes the audience pity them, reinforcing the positive stereotype of them being sympathetic and sorry for themselves. The teenage girl with the baby is casted to show the stereotype of the working class youth culture today who have unprotected sex and suffer the consequences, showing how uneducated they are because they aren't using protection as they may not have been taught this.

The messy kitchen  represents the mess that this underclass family is in, there are alcohol bottles everywhere which show he is dependant on alcohol, and he is uneducated as he looks to alcohol for the answer. The camera movement is shaky which shows the distortion and confusion in a working class family's world.

The setting of a council estate also plays a part in living up to the stereotype of the underclass who depend on the upper class to help them live.
The lack of vocabulary from the rest of the family reinforces the stereotype of the working class being uneducated. However the father challenges this stereotype because he uses several examples of complex vocabulary. This supports my idea that he is in a mid life crisis.

In terms of camera composition there is juxtaposition used when the upper class man enters the shot, standing next to the working class father. This shows that they are significantly different in how they are dressed; The upper class man is in business attire showing he is employed whereas the father is shown in his rags which outline his social status. Also there is spacing between the two characters to show the distance between the upper and underclass. An older the shoulder shot shows the upper class man is shown to be looking down on the underclass father. In terms of sound they speak in two completely different speech codes, the upper class man in a elaborated, complex speech code the working class speaks in a restricted code,

Representation of Ethnicity mock - Hotel Babylon

This TV drama clip from 'Hotel Babylon' explores the struggle for ethnic identity. The group shown in the beginning of the clip are in formal clothing suggesting they are upper class and superior. The people shown as in power are predominantly white. When the shot switches to the other ethnicities, they are shown wearing typical work clothes like aprons.

They are surrounded by boxes in a messy room implying they are inferior because they are left to do the manual labour. They are downstairs to the Whites suggesting they are literally below them. There is a shot with all the workers locked in the stock room, this reinforces that they are unified against the common enemy of racism.

There is a shot reverse shot at the beginning between the receptionist and the migration police. This uses composition to show that the men have the power. There are more of them and she is on her own. This challenges the unified stereotype of ethnicities. This suggests whites are less unified than other ethnicities as through this clip the others are shown as being together and sticking up for each each-other.

The black receptionist looks up from his newspaper to see what is happening this implies his concern for the workers, reinforcing the ethnic stereotype that they are unified. The close ups on the people of different ethnicities suggest the tension and tell the audience they are in danger.
The shot of the black immigrant hoovering, is a mid-long shot implying he is in danger because he is alone. The only sound is diagetic, this is the sound of the hoover. This tells the audience that it is the only thing he can hear and therefore he is unaware of the crisis at hand. it also tells us that he is here solely to work and not cause any harm.

There is a tracking shot of the immigrants running through the hotel, suggesting they are in danger. This also shows they are discriminated against as they are only working and not committing a crime.There is a diagetic sound of the door handle and a close up of this, it then quickly cuts to a zoom of the group hiding from the police. This zoom to a close up on the group suggests intensity and that they are feeling nervous.

The white men from migration control, are shown taking the black worker out of the building. He is in  distress as he moves a lot trying to break free, this makes the audience empathise with him as his freedom is literally being dragged away. When the Asian lady removes the black mans possessions out of his locker, the soundtrack becomes very slow paced reinforcing his stereotype and making the audience sympathise with him.

Coming Down The Mountain (Disability) - 45 Min Timed Essay

How does the clip challenge or reinforce positive or negative stereotypes of disability?

- Camera angles / shot types / camera movement
- Editing / cuts / pace / prominence / continuity
- Sound / dialogue / soundtrack / foley
- Mis En Scene / location / costume / performance

In the opening of the clip the camera pans around the physically abled brother to show his importance. In contrast when the mentally disabled brother is introduced for the first time the camera is still. This highlights how the mentally able brother's mind works continuously and functions well. It reinforces the negative stereotype that mentally disabled people are incapable. Numerous amounts of close ups are used on the disabled characters face to further bring to detail his abnormality, reinforcing negative stereotypes of disabled people being ugly and abnormal. High angles are used on the disabled character to show that he is inferior to the 'normal' brother who is shot from low angles to reflect power. When the family are sat together at breakfast the disabled character is in the middle which shows us he is the most important because he needs the most help which reinforces the stereotype of disabled people being incapable.

Editing is used in this clip to show a negative stereotype of disabled people. Slow edits and transitions are used to show distortion in the disabled character and give a feeling that something isn't normal. Juxtaposition is used a lot to show the contrast between the disabled and the 'norm'. Often the brothers are shown in the same shot but there is always spacing between the characters to show the distance between the disabled and the able bodied. The scene cuts to animals a lot of the time referring to the disabled brother as an animal.  

The prominent sound in the clip is the able brother. In addition to his negative tone and language this is used to make the audience empathise with him and understand how hard it is to have a disabled relative and how it affects his life in many different ways. It reinforces the negative stereotype of disabled people being incapable and extra effort. The dialogue of the disabled character is slow and sometimes irrelevant, which causes the audience to empathise with him and feel sorry for him, reinforcing the stereotype of disabled characters being incapable.

The establishing shot of the room shows two contrasting sides of the room. The disabled brothers half is messy and unorganised, symbolising the unorganised state of mind he has which reinforces the stereotype of them being incapable. Also the location of the shot is mainly in the house. This shows that disabled people are confined to the household because of their irrelevance in today's society and their inability to be socially accepted. This shows the vulnerability of the disabled character.

Representation of Disability

in this advert it represents the disabled individuals who are shown as heroes.

TV DRAMA MOCK - SEXUALITY

Monarch of the Glen Timed essay

The character of amy is shown to reinforce many of the stereotypes of age. As a teenager she is; alive, rebellious, irrational, reckless and spontaneous. She shows this by lying about being able to drive. The non diegetic music in the background (soft percussion) represents the anticipation of action and that something is about to happen. The foley used for the crash represents in a sound what the youth are like. The fast cut editing also reflects youth. She is also shown to be young by her costume. She is shown wearing baggy jeans with her hair tied up and what appears to be a pyjama top. This shows she doesnt really care about her appearance which in turn can suggest she doesnt really care about her life in a sense. She is a normal hormonal teenager which is shown when she throws a strop at Paul. When she runs away sad music is played which sets the depressed mood.

The character of paul represents the middle aged adults, he is a worker. He conforms to the stereotypes of being; responsible for amy, wise and a figure of authority. This authority is shown by yhe low camera angles which show power. Also when he and Amy are in the same frame the composition ensures he takes up more of the frame which asserts his authority through prominence. The conflict between him and amy is shown through a shot reverse shot. He is shown wearing a typical outfit of a working man.

The old people in the monarch of the glen challenge the stereotypes that are set upon them by the media. They are seen working together which challenges the stereotype that they are lonely and vulnerable. They lift heavy objects which also challenges the stereotype that they are frail and weak. This is shown by the diegetic sounds of the heavy objects crashing when they are put on the truck. They also work well with the youth which breaks down the barrier between the old and the young which is typically spoke of in these times.

Edward Green, Amy's headmaster conforms to the stereotypes of a working adult however does not conform to the stereotypes of his actual age. He is a figure of authority and is responsible, this can be seen by the choice of clothes he wears. He is seen in a suit and tie which highlights he is of importance, especially when everyone else in the extract is wearing casual clothes. But he is also arrogant. This is shown when paul offers to reimburse him with the damage to his car he responds with 'I should hope so'. However in a way he conforms with the stereotype of being lonely as he appears on his own and isnt seen with anyone else in the clip except paul when they are having a conversation about Amy.