representation of age: Waterloo Road

within TV drama age is often stereotyped heavily; with teenagers often being portrayed as disruptive and disrespectful, in contrast with the elderly who are seen as wise, elderly, dressed old fashioned and unable to keep up with modern technology. i believe that this clip has been fitted to represent these stereotypes using mise en scene, camera, editing and sound.

The first indication in this clip is using mise en scene, and the surroundings, they make it clear that the clip is in a school with bright yellow displays, busy walls, connoting a youthful environment as oppose to a boring black and white office block for the adults. The children are also dressed in school unform which confirms the expectation, however they are all dressed in short skirts and short ties which is obviously not part of the school uniform, this is an early representation of the youths being rebellious and disruptive in contrast to the teachers who are all dressed smart and uniform, which could be seen as boring. A key example of this is Grantly who sports a tweed suit which is a portrayal of his old age. in contrast one of the younger teachers wears smart black trousers with a bright pink top, to imply she is professional and modern as she has professional wear but depicts her younger age with the brighter more fashionable clothing. Adding to this in a later scene with larger teacher attempts to look 'cool' where he tries on a T shirt, Jeans and high top trainers, and you can instantly see he is out of place as he says 'they are meant to be like that aren't they' when asking about the position of his jeans. this represents him as old and out of touch with the modern generation.

The establishing shot of this clip is a close up of some brown shoes walking past chair legs, the zoomed in approach magnifies the importance of the shoes and allows the audience to recognize that the following sequence will heavily involve this person. the cut to a two shot of two teenage boys making their actions seem suspicious or shifty. this implies that teenagers are suspicious and mischievous. the close up of the young boy where you can see his youthful appearance and his uniform, compared to the closeup of the teacher where you can see the contrast in his old age expressions and wrinkles, showing the start contrast in the two age groups. after this there is a middle shot of the three characters which allows them to see their body language, where they avoid eye contact and have their head down, this represents the idea that they are ashamed of something that they have done, but also that the older male is authoritative towards them and strict.

The use of sound in this clip contributes to the representation of age in this clip with dialogue. Within the first scene we are able to recognize the relationship between the students and teacher with the use of the term 'sir'. this indicates that the character is authoritative and above the youths, this also juxtaposed with the fact that their is a clear hierarchy in the show. with the adults being allowed to give direct orders like 'Give it!' and the students are forced to obey him. Hierarchy is also represented with a lack of disrespect towards the teenagers, with the adult saying 'oh did he hold your hair' and attempting to mock them as he realizes he is in a position of power.

Editing plays a big role in the contribution to the representation of age in this clip. In the first scene the fast cutting between the close up of the walking and the two boys attempting to hide the broken camera tell us that the boys are up to no good and misbehaving.The use of the reverse shot between Grantly and the other teacher links their point of views and allows the audience to witness her reaction to the fact she forgot to take out insurance, from this we establish similar roles between the adults as Grantly is seen as wise as he is giving guidance to a younger member of staff. We also see reliance on an elder when there is an argument between two teenagers and one of the girls runs to a teacher to sort out the up heaving as the teenagers cannot mediate their own behavior. This represents that the older generation is wise and the younger generation loom up to the elders for guidance.

Re done Hotel babylon essay

How is ethnicity represented in the clip from Hotel Babylon?

One way that ethnicity is presented in Hotel Babylon is through pity. We see this throughout the clip and the director uses this technique through a variety of ways, including positioning to make the audience sympathies with the migrant workers.

The director uses position from the start in Hotel Babylon, they make you feel like you are on the side of the migrant workers and that you should feel sorry for them. The use of the camera work going from Steadicam when the immigration officer comes in compared to when the receptionist gives the signal and it switches to handheld connotes the idea that there is a problem and you instantly fear for the workers. This feeling also occurs when Jacky, the seen to be organizer of the migrant workers finds out about the raid, there is instantly shouting and upheaval in the background which you can hear, this is diegetic sound. The sound of the upheaval enforces your assumption that this is a problem and again makes you pity the migrant workers as you know they may be in danger.

Another use of diegetic sound in this clip to illustrate pity is when the immigration officers emerge from the lift, we see and hear Ibrahim gasp, we obviously get from this that he is in danger and is not in a positive situation which positions us in an atmosphere of pity as the scene foreshadows what is going to happen to him.

Another way that they attempt to represent pity is through fast paced editing, this creates the representation of pity because the fast paced editing creates the impression that the situation is rushed, frantic and uncontrolled, which makes you feel pity as these elements connote to danger.

Another way that ethnicity is presented in this clip is through the contrast in power. Jacky who is the organizer is given significant power and has a set of keys and is seen to be responsible for the migrant workers, the fact that she is of Asian dissent often seen as wise, powerful and calm hence why the director has put her in a position of care.

The next significant show of power is the use of a tracking shot following the path of the immigration officer, the fact that we have to follow his actions demonstrates that he is of high importance of power because he controlled the situation as every shot on him is a Steadicam whereas any frame with migrant workers was handheld.

The next illustration of the contrast in power is using mise en scene, all of the migrant workers are in unprofessional uniform and in unskilled work because they are seen to have no choice, we see this when the diabetic female passes out in the basement and it appears that the black cleaner was originally a doctor prior to his migration, he exclaims ''I wasn't always a cleaner you know''. this juxtaposed with the fact that all the workers from non-ethnic minorities are in suits and more presentable uniform, this gives the representation that ethnic have no choice in their line of work meaning they have less power, these are called binary opposites.

Also before the ''raid'' happens the staff have no individuality or persona, this is the stereotype that immigrants are ''nobody's'' and have n real purpose, it is not until crisis when we start to see them as individuals like Zenab and Ibrahim. During the clip they use costume to identify the immigrant’s status.

Using theory to inform your interpretations and argument.

Task 1 

Not always negative

This Perkins assumption states that not all stereotypes are negative and they may not be derogative of a group of people. In Hotel Babylon we see this where the Male from Africa is actually a fully qualified doctor, this stereotype of people from Africa/Asia being trained medics and very involved with medicine is not negative.

Not always about minorities or the less powerful

This Perkins assumption states that not all stereotypes are about minorities or less powerful groups in society and that there are stereotypes about the wealthy and more powerful. An example of this in Hotel Babylon is where the White man is in the position of power as an immigration officer with the police.
Another famous stereotype not in Hotel Babylon is where the British are well spoken and drink tea, eat biscuits and play croquet.

Can be held about ones group

This Perkins assumption is that stereotypes can be about yourself or anyone. This basically means that stereotypes about your group in society help you see how you are viewed by everyone else, and may allow you to see yourself from someone else's perspective.

Not rigid or changing

This Perkins assumption is where she believes that stereotypes and common views can be changed and altered. An example of this in Hotel Babylon is again with the African male doctor. Years ago people would of seen migrants as stupid, or uneducated, however nowadays we see people who have moved from abroad es educated and in some cases, cleverer than us.

Not always false

This Perkins assumption is where sometimes stereotypes are actually correct. An example of this in Hotel Babylon is where all the migrant workers are in unskilled and low paid jobs, this stereotype is very common as society believes they may not be clever or skilled enough to have a skilled managerial job, hence why all the migrant workers are in unskilled and very low paid work.


Task 2

Festingers idea of 'cognitive dissonance' basically says that we seek out conformation of our beleifs and stereotypes.

if you take this into account of shows and dramas like Hotel Babylon which heavily relies on modern stereotypes you can understand his viewpoint.
With Hotel Babylon being so heavily populated with stereotypes it makes it easy for the viewer to understand and comprehend as they are the views that we understand. this makes it popular because there is no inconvenience with it so the viewer can just watch.

Adding to this, the show basically confirms all of our views, this will give the viewer satisfaction as they do not feel challenged but they feel agreed with. This is the same with Doc Martin where we are not challenged with the city vs countryside intellectual stereotype.

Task 3

How disability is reflected in TV dramas

Disability in TV dramas

Show: Inbetweeners

Network: Channel 4

On the air: 2008-2010

Character of interest: The disabled girl in the wheelchair.
Stereotype & representation: in this clip the disabled lady is represented in many ways. When Will and the other boys see Carly and her mates they are suddenly excited and attracted to them as Neil refers to one of them as 'Jugasourus Rex' which implies sexual attraction towards said females. However when Will aims to throw the Frisbee towards Carly and misses and actually hits the disabled girl,


Show: Breaking Bad

Network: AMC
On the Air: 2008-
Character of Interest: Walter White, Jr. (RJ Mitte), son of the chemistry teacher turned meth maker, who like the actor who plays him has cerebral palsy.

Stereotype & representation: During this show the cerebral paulsy lad is seen as troubled 

Show: The Bridge

Network: FX
On the Air: 2013-
Character of Interest: Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger), an El Paso police detective with Asperger syndrome.

Show: Covert Affairs
Network: USA
On the Air: 2010-
Character of Interest: Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham), a blind CIA analyst who's a tech whiz, a sidekick for the newbie agent played by Piper Perabo, and a chick magnet.

Show: Criminal Minds
Network: CBS
On the Air: 2005-
Character of Interest: Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), eccentric and multiple-degree-holding member of the team that profiles serial killers and other dangerous criminals.

Show: Glee
Network: Fox
On the Air: 2009-
Characters of Interest: Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), a glee-club member who uses a wheelchair; Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter), a cheerleader with Down syndrome.

Downtwon abbey clase n status

Downtown Abbey:Class and status 

Mise en scene

Hotel Babylon

Camera - At the start of the clip, the camera is STEADICAM when the immigration team are speaking to the receptionist , however when she gives the ''signal'', it switches to HAND- HELD camera when Ben is running down the stairs to the immigrants, this shows that the situation has become rushed and uneasy. After this Jacky is trying to gather everyone up the camera uses SHALLOW FOCUS, this shows us that she is pivotal in alerting the other immigrants so that they do not get rounded up.

The camera next uses shallow focus when the lady faints in the basement the focus is on Zenab, this is a stereotype as the focus is only ever on the Black people when there is crisis or up heaving.

Sound - During the part of the clip where Jacky finds out about the raid you can hear shouting and panic, this is DIEGETIC SOUND as you can see the panic and discomfort on screen, this is a stereotype, as a black person delivers the news (Very bad news) it fits the stereotype that they are dangerous as he is only seen to bring bad news, however Jacky, an Asian lady is seen to be the leader of the immigrants and is in charge of keeping them safe, this is a stereotype as she is clearly seen as wise and respected as she is given the set of keys. At 2;54 we again have an example of DIEGETIC SOUND, we here Ibrahim gasp when he sees the officers, this shows us that there is clear panic and there is a problem. As it is only a black person  that gets caught, we see the stereotype that black people are pitied as Jacky explains to the officer about his family being shot.

Mise en scene - In this clip all of the immigrant characters are in scurry and unprofessional clothes as they are usually cleaners, however upstairs where all the white people are everyone is in posh clothes and in proper uniform, this shows the structure of social classes, where immigrants are not worthy of doing customer facing jobs. We see this mainly when the diabetic female passes out in the basement and it appears that the black cleaner was actually a doctor before he migrated, he exclaims ''i haven't always been a cleaner you know''. Also before the ''raid'' happens the staff have no individuality or persona, this is the stereotype that immigrants are ''nobody's'' and have n real purpose, it is not until crisis when we start to see them as individuals like Zenab and Ibrahim. During the clip they use costume to identify the immigrants status, For example the female receptionists where white uniform to portray the idea of purity and that they're innocent, however the imigrant female worker wore a black suit to give the idea she is unpure and has to do the dirty work.

Editing - For most of the clip they use fast paced editing, this is to create the impression that they do not have much time and they they're in a frantic situation. They also use cross-cutting when most of the staff are locked in the cupboard but Ibrahim is still out hoovering, this aids continuity to portray that everything is happening at once, it Adding to this they use shot-reverse-shot when the diabetic woman on the floor slumps. The female who seems to be the leader is looking down at the black man, using  a dutch angle shot showing the division of power between the two, this persist the idea of the stereotype that Black people are below others even when trying to help. When Ibrahim is being dragged away they use a Low eye-line shot, this is to make you sympathies with the immigrants and make you see their point of view, that stereo typically people look up to the white man.

Hotel Babylon

Hotel Babylon

Editing

For most of the clip they use fast paced editing, this is to create the impression that they do not have much time and they they're in a rush, they also use cross-cutting when most of the staff are locked in the cupboard but Ibrahim is still out hoovering, this moment creates tension for the audience as they are debating weather to risk going and getting him.

Adding to this they use shot-reverse-shot when the diabetic woman on the floor slumps. The female who seems to be the leader is looking down at the black man, using a