http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01gk0k2/The_Syndicate_Episode_4/
27mins in.

mise-en-scene -
During this clip the use of mise-en-scene highlights the contrast between the two young female characters,  Leanne and Stuarts wife. This is achieved by the two characters costumes, as Leanne is Welsh and her costume is very plain, simple, and sensible as she is wearing neutral colours and is wrapped up in warm clothing for the winter weather outside, she is also wearing no makeup. This juxtaposes Stuarts wife's costume however, who is wearing short shorts and a bright blue vest top and a dressing gown. This costume clearly communicates her outgoing personality through the use of bright colours, which reflects the stereotypical representation of northern women. She is also represented as lazy, and her messy hair and costume of a dressing gown, clearly communicates that she has only just got out of bed.

social class shameless clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA5YiScA5aE&feature=player_embedded#!

How is the representation of gender constructed in this extract?

Click here for the clip. 

Cinematography:
-Uses reaction shots to portray the woman's psychological instability due to the male character attempting to end their personal relationship. This is supported by the shots of the woman crying on the stairs hysterically and shouting into the phone, further portraying her emotional dependance on the male gender as not only she is upset because of the separation from her lover but she is also now shown to be reliant on her father (another male figure) for support

Editing:



Mise-en-scene:
Male character wearing pink costume, makes him appear a more feminine character which contrasts his stereotypical aggressive male personality. But, as the pink is bright it makes him stand out, and so the focus is more on him due to the eye catching costume compared to the plain pastel blue of the female characters costume.



Sound:




Lighting:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity.

The scene begins with an overhead long shot of the characters and the scene. This allows the audience to see the emptiness of the surroundings, which helps the audience immediately understand the situation and how alone and helpless the hostages are, so this shot also acts as an establishing shot. The dark lighting of the room, and the use of cold colours around the room (such as grey and purple wall paper) instantly creates a representation of the captures intentions as being dark and emotionless, as they have clearly chosen to be in this setting, because they are in control of the situation. The audience becomes even more aware of the captures power in the situation, as the next shot is a tracking shot which follows the man walking around the captives looking down on them, during this shot the audience can just see the tops of the hostages head, and this again reinforces the power and almost a literal hierarchy of power in the situation. The antagonist also reinforces his power by his costume as he is wearing a suit, which connotates power, wealth and success in the modern world, his smart dress also connotates that he is important and therefore demands respect.  

The lighting used in this scene connotates the confusion and blurred sense of morality, to the audience. The light coming in from the window casts a shadow upon all of the characters faces (the two hostages and the capture). The half light and half dark lighting on each of the characters faces reflects their half innocent (white light) and half evil (darkness) motives. This is reinforced by the diegetic dialogue, which reinforces the nature of the scene, which challenges the stereotype of the Asian terrorist, because it also highlights the brutal actions that the British have done in return. The fact that the Asian capture is wearing a suit as his costume again challenges this stereotype as stereotypically he may be expected to wear the burka and traditional Asian clothing, so this again goes against the stereotypical appearance of terrorists and suggests he may not be totally in the wrong. Another reason the use of the light coming in from the window is also particularly effective is because it almost acts as spotlight on the two British characters that are being held hostage, which is what it would be like in a police station when the criminal is being questioned. This also reinforces the confusion to who are the real criminals in the situation, the Iraqi men, or the British, because the British characters are sitting where the criminals would.

When the British women reveals, through diegetic sound of the dialogue, that the British has ‘already cracked their attack cell’, the shot cuts to a long shot of the Iraqi man who is situated on the left side of the shot. This immediately implies that he is about to look to a character on his right. The following shot is a mid-shot of a character all dressed in black which connotates evilness, this is emphasised by the mise-en-scene as he is holding a gun which also represents him as dangerous, this is also again reinforced by the fact that this shot follows the conversation about a traitor in their ranks, so he is therefore assumed to be the traitor. This sense of the characters importance is emphasised by an extreme close up of a side profile of this eye, but this sense of importance in the scene is also contrasted by the lighting as the character is situated in the darkness and wearing all black so that he tends to blend into the background, the fact that his face is covered by a balaclava also denies the audience a chance to get to know and relate to the character, this may be because he is not important or it may be because the producer does not want the audience to relate to the apparent antagonist.

The extreme close up shot of the photo shows that this is a significant prop in the scene. This is emphasised by the non-diegetic sound of a weapon, such as a gunshot or bomb, which also adds to the shock. The audience can empathise with the characters shock of seeing the photo by the use of a jump cut which was accompanied by a flash, which leads to a further zoomed in shot of the photograph. The non-diegetic sound of a thumping almost reflects the British captives heartbeat as the shock may of made it louder and faster, this sound has been added not only so that the audience are able to relate to their emotions but also so that the feeling of fear and quicken of heart rate may be reflected in themselves as a result. Because this prop is coming from the capture, who is Asian, the audience then relates this horrific picture to him and assumes he is the cause which adds to the stereotype of Asian terrorists, which relates to Propp's theory - The Villain. This is juxtaposed however with the dialogue during the scene, as the audience begins to understand and empathise with the antagonist.

Linking points - paragraph

The extreme close up shot of the photo shows that this is a significant prop in the scene. This is emphasised by the non diegetic sound of a weapon, such as a gun shot, which also adds to the shock. The audience can empathise with the characters shock of seeing the photo by the use of a jump cut which was accompanied by a flash, which leads to a further zoomed in shot of the photograph. Because this prop is coming from the capture, who is Asian, the audience then relates this horrific picture to him and assumes he is the cause which adds to the stereotype of Asian terrorists, which relates to Propp's theory - The Villain. This is juxtaposed however with the dialogue during the scene, as the audience begins to understand and empathise with the antagonist.

essay

This clip has been selected from the TV drama Hotel Babylon. The clip shows various representations of ethnicities, some of which conform to well known stereotypes. I will be analysing and exploring these during this essay.

One of the stereotypes portrayed is shown at the very beginning of the extract, this is the stereotype of the Jamaican man in the pool. The long shot which pans across the setting goes behind the pillars, this emphasises the undesired and unexpected shock of the appearance of the Jamaican/black character. This is reinforced by the reaction shot of the other black character (who is an employee of the hotel), the shocked face and attempt to turn away immediately creates a negative representation of the other character – and therefore also of his ethnicity. The mise-en-scene highlights the contrasting characters in this scene. For example. the large amounts of bold jewellery that the Jamaican character is wearing signifies his bold personality which reinforces the loud, confident, and generally bold ethnic stereotype. This is contrasted by small silver earring that the other black character is wearing, which communicates to the audience that although a part of this stereotype can be applied slightly to him, he has moved on significantly and has moved away from such a lifestyle.
Mise-en-scene is also used to create a provocotive stereotype of the French Maids. The audience imediately knows which maid is more innocent that the other through the colours of their costume, as the maid who refuses to strip is wearing white undwear where as the other is wearing black. White connotates purity and innocence, and black contrasts this as is connotates evilness. The diegetic music within this scene also reinforces the provocative 'French Maid' stereotype, as the music is from Moulan Rouge.
The British characters in this extract are the characters who are shown as superior and in charge, the people who have power within the hotel. They are both blonde, which almost reinforces their superiority because of Hitlers superior 'Aryan Race'. They speak very standard english, in a posh accent, which again reinforces they place in the class system (contrasting the foreign employees). But this typical posh British accent also reinforces the stereotype that Americans often percieve British people to speak like the Queen.
The foreign chef in the scene (who I believe to be Polish, or generally eastern europian) is show to be quite aggressive in his speech actions, which reinforces this aggressive eastern european stereotype. This aggression is magnified by the setting of a kitchen which includes prop's such as knives which could be used as weapons, and also the kitchen is generally percieved to be quite a stressful enviroment, this increases the tension so the audience is constantly feeling on edge waiting for something to happen. Fast cuts and editing emphasise this.
To conclude this scene actively creates and strongly reinforces ethnic stereotypes that the audience are already aware of. This can shape our views of these ethnic groups for ever if the media consistantly reperesents them in this way.