Discuss the ways in which representation of ethnicity are constructed.
Camera Shots, Editing, Sound, Mise-en-scene.
Immigration Officers. Immigrants. Staff at the hotel.
The man concerned. The IMOF entering in a formation of three reinforces him being important in the middle. The steady camera work is quite static. The tracking to the woman looks suspicious. The reverse shot which positions the audience to see everything from her perspective. The composition of the shot. The IMOF knows the code.
The camera tracking following him. The camera goes from steady to rushed and quick. Causes the audience to feel sympathetic to the immigrants. The fact the hotel staff want to protect them highlights a lot. A lot of camera movement. Focus on the handle highlighting them being caged trapped. Straight cuts to give a sample of the crowd and the staffs. Ibrahim is defined by his job him cleaning. A strong black male character defined by the camera tilted showing him in his cleaner outfit. The hoover defines him. The camera tracks backwards but will not go any further because it is highlighting the feeling of being trapped. The locks and keys. Close ups and medium shots emphasise how trapped they are. (MISE EN SCENE) feeling of claustrophobia is highlighted. The eyeline matches connect the relationship between the immigrant who helped the diabetic lady and the main staff worker. She has typical assumption of a western person to assume that the cleaner was putting jam in the womans mouth. This heightens our sympathy for them as he says 'I was not only a cleaner'. Clearly this person is medically trained - this is a reminded that pride is thrown away and they are okay with settling with any job. The non digetic sounds highlight the tension. The IMOF saying 'the rules of the game' highlight how cold hearted he is.
The mood pace and soundtrack completely changed - orchestral is very sad increases sympathy. Mise en scene of the uniform of the worker who was caught. Highlights that behind every immigrant there is a story. a long side tracking presenting scenes of different ethnic groups who gather together. The audience is reminded that he is dominant when telling the girl to wait before eating. The hotel staff are binary opposites of the IMOF which reinforces that the female staff is very heroic as she is trying to protect the immigrants - because she is so sympathetic to them this could suggest that she could of been a immigrant once. Lots of emotion close ups to show this.
In this sequence the audience is presented with different ethnicities. The Immigration Officers whom are of a white ethnicity and the Immigrants whom are of a variety of ethnicites. The audience also see the multicultural staff.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Spooks - Status and power/ethnicity
Sampson - white, educated, racist member of the British Way. He represents the audience and he claims to be representing them. He claims no other British Party is representing their views.
The camera work is very crucial here, this is because Sampson is placed on the stage to where a low angle shot is used here. This gives him a higher status. Also there is a over the shoulder shot where the viewer is shown the audiences reactions and applauding that are being given to Sampson.
The mise-en-scene contributes to the viewers opinion of him as his costume is a suit which shows that he is a well dressed and signifies importance. His facial expressions reveal his determination that he is serious and he is dedicated to be the voice of this audience. The low angle lighting is projected onto Sampson which also reinforces his status in this Rally. It also allows the viewer to understand and determine that Sampson upholds a extreme importance to this audience from the Estate to which Sampson is claiming he 'condemns' the violence on the estate.
The sound used is very important as through his speech he persuades the audience to believe in him - the viewers are positioned to distrust him and to believe he is evil. He is perceived to be brain washing - he tells the audience that he is representing the British way which reinforces him being an extremist.
The editing through cross cutting shows the situations occurring in the meeting 'Rally' and on the estate to which gang violence is taking place. This editing reveals that Sampson may have some involvement within this violence. The viewers are positioned to not like him and to feel that he is not trustworthy, it does not make us sympathise with him.
The Spooks have a lot of status we look up to them - they are the ones that protect us. We are positioned to trust them, they are represented in a positive light because they are seen as the heroes that protect us. Binary opposites of the British Way - Good Vs Evil. The Spooks are the heroes of the story - because we see them as the good guys the viewers are positioned to like them, route them and support them. It makes the audience feel protected and safe because of them. They uphold a lot of status because they are the key people of the series.
At the beginning of the scene the man in the car helps to construct that he is important. This is because he is on the phone appearing very concerned. He is chauffeured to where the camera then tracks him when entering a meeting room. The camera is then in reverse shot to where it positions the audience to realise that there is a incident occurring and that Spooks sat at the table are looking to the man for advice and for instructions. This reinforces his status and that they look up to him as the camera angle also shows this. The audience in the Rally are very supportive of Sampson. They appear to the viewer as normal people as middle class. The producers are playing with stereotypes and playing with it. Unexpectedly they are made of all of the people women, elderly "normal" people. They are disadvantaged in society and probably uphold fear and insecurities. They are easily persuaded. The viewers are positioned in a way to want to hate them but because they appear "normal" the viewers feel that they are just merely being brainwashed - the viewers are shown that this is an Islamaphobic rally.
The victims of the violence on the estate are the ethnic minorities. The audience in the Rally are constantly being manipulated by Sampson by the camera movements and the over the shoulder shots. It highlights how the audience are being manipulated. The viewers suspect that Sampson and the other guy work together. The focus is on the other guy first and then the camera focuses on Sampson. This shows that he shadows Sampson and the viewers suspect that he is the shadowing character of the dirty work. He appears to have a lot of power but Sampson upholds the status. The straight cuts of the medium shots allows the viewers to see a sample of the people that Sampson is representing (elderly and women).
Ethnic minorities are represented as victims - the least status and power. They are not given a voice the viewers are not given their point of view. They are seen as helpless and victimized. The dragging of the black woman in the car and the chasing of the indian boy. There was a high angle shot of the woman being dragged from the car which portrays her to be very vulnerable. The viewers sympathise with them because they are being attacked by thugs because of their ethnicity. The cornering of the boy makes us feel sympathetic because he is isolated and a young boy.
The way in which it was filmed highlights the entire situation. The camera is never still. The camera is handheld the entire way through. The violence scenes are shot with a handheld camera which position the viewers to feel highly uncomfortable and to be a part of the violence - the raw footage allows them to understand to what extent the violence is. It creates similitude for the viewers - a realistic feel. The lighting is raw, real, grey and dull which is highly contrasted with the lighting inside the Rally. This is exposing the distress of the estate - the grimness of the estate and reflecting the rawness of the estate life. The non-diegetic sounds highlights the drama and makes viewers feel very uneasy and tense. It gives them jumpy responses.
The camera work is very crucial here, this is because Sampson is placed on the stage to where a low angle shot is used here. This gives him a higher status. Also there is a over the shoulder shot where the viewer is shown the audiences reactions and applauding that are being given to Sampson.
The mise-en-scene contributes to the viewers opinion of him as his costume is a suit which shows that he is a well dressed and signifies importance. His facial expressions reveal his determination that he is serious and he is dedicated to be the voice of this audience. The low angle lighting is projected onto Sampson which also reinforces his status in this Rally. It also allows the viewer to understand and determine that Sampson upholds a extreme importance to this audience from the Estate to which Sampson is claiming he 'condemns' the violence on the estate.
The sound used is very important as through his speech he persuades the audience to believe in him - the viewers are positioned to distrust him and to believe he is evil. He is perceived to be brain washing - he tells the audience that he is representing the British way which reinforces him being an extremist.
The editing through cross cutting shows the situations occurring in the meeting 'Rally' and on the estate to which gang violence is taking place. This editing reveals that Sampson may have some involvement within this violence. The viewers are positioned to not like him and to feel that he is not trustworthy, it does not make us sympathise with him.
The Spooks have a lot of status we look up to them - they are the ones that protect us. We are positioned to trust them, they are represented in a positive light because they are seen as the heroes that protect us. Binary opposites of the British Way - Good Vs Evil. The Spooks are the heroes of the story - because we see them as the good guys the viewers are positioned to like them, route them and support them. It makes the audience feel protected and safe because of them. They uphold a lot of status because they are the key people of the series.
At the beginning of the scene the man in the car helps to construct that he is important. This is because he is on the phone appearing very concerned. He is chauffeured to where the camera then tracks him when entering a meeting room. The camera is then in reverse shot to where it positions the audience to realise that there is a incident occurring and that Spooks sat at the table are looking to the man for advice and for instructions. This reinforces his status and that they look up to him as the camera angle also shows this. The audience in the Rally are very supportive of Sampson. They appear to the viewer as normal people as middle class. The producers are playing with stereotypes and playing with it. Unexpectedly they are made of all of the people women, elderly "normal" people. They are disadvantaged in society and probably uphold fear and insecurities. They are easily persuaded. The viewers are positioned in a way to want to hate them but because they appear "normal" the viewers feel that they are just merely being brainwashed - the viewers are shown that this is an Islamaphobic rally.
The victims of the violence on the estate are the ethnic minorities. The audience in the Rally are constantly being manipulated by Sampson by the camera movements and the over the shoulder shots. It highlights how the audience are being manipulated. The viewers suspect that Sampson and the other guy work together. The focus is on the other guy first and then the camera focuses on Sampson. This shows that he shadows Sampson and the viewers suspect that he is the shadowing character of the dirty work. He appears to have a lot of power but Sampson upholds the status. The straight cuts of the medium shots allows the viewers to see a sample of the people that Sampson is representing (elderly and women).
Ethnic minorities are represented as victims - the least status and power. They are not given a voice the viewers are not given their point of view. They are seen as helpless and victimized. The dragging of the black woman in the car and the chasing of the indian boy. There was a high angle shot of the woman being dragged from the car which portrays her to be very vulnerable. The viewers sympathise with them because they are being attacked by thugs because of their ethnicity. The cornering of the boy makes us feel sympathetic because he is isolated and a young boy.
The way in which it was filmed highlights the entire situation. The camera is never still. The camera is handheld the entire way through. The violence scenes are shot with a handheld camera which position the viewers to feel highly uncomfortable and to be a part of the violence - the raw footage allows them to understand to what extent the violence is. It creates similitude for the viewers - a realistic feel. The lighting is raw, real, grey and dull which is highly contrasted with the lighting inside the Rally. This is exposing the distress of the estate - the grimness of the estate and reflecting the rawness of the estate life. The non-diegetic sounds highlights the drama and makes viewers feel very uneasy and tense. It gives them jumpy responses.
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