Hotel Babylon

“Discuss the ways in which the extract, constructs representations of ethnicity using the following: camera shots, angles, movement and composition, editing, sound and mise-en-scene”.

            Throughout the scene of ‘Hotel Babylon’ we see a variety of different ethnicities. Firstly we meet the black Jamaican men.We know they are Jamaican because we can tell by the way they are talking and are talking about the ganga.  A tracking shot is used when the worker is walking down side of the swimming pool. The man in the swimming pool obviously recognises the man and gets out of the pool. An over the shoulder shot is used when they are in conversation. Man with the suit on gives a worried look when he sees the other man, he obviously does't want to go back to the way he used to be when he was friends with him. As the man gets out the swimming pool the man in the suit looks looks him up and down for a while - this suggests that he could be gay, which could have been the past life that he doesn't want to go back to. The man who's been swimming has his hair in dread locks which shows his ethnic background. 
             There is music being played throughout the whole clip which is non-digetic. The music changes when the scenarios change and when tension is built up e.g. When the Chefs are having an argument. Giani (the Italian chef) had an affair with Martin's (English chef) wife. Giani is a stereotypical Italian he is violent to people around him and very passionate. He is wearing black which represents badness. Where as Martin we think is the head chef and seems quite down to earth and upset that his wife had an affair. He is wearing white which represents goodness.
               There are two maids in the clip who we think are Russian/Polish (eastern European). They are known for working in different and being slutty (prostitutes). But one of them is wearing white underwear and a cross which represents purity. She didn't want to strip for the Japanese man, in contrast to the other maid who was wearing black lacey underwear, who was willing to do the stripping for the man.
                The Japanese man is a rich tourist who is staying in the hotel. This is stereotypical again because we usually associate Japanese people to be tourists as they are often at big tourist spots with their cameras.
                The staff who are in suits are higher up in hotel. The English people are the management and are dressed smartly and seem as though they have a lot of authority. There is also a mixed race English/Chinese worker who always seems to be rushing around and working very hard.
               In conclusion I feel all the different ethnicities shown in this clip fit the stereotypical characteristics that their nationality are known for.

How did Roots and The Cosby Show challenge previous sterotypical representations of black people in TV dramas
Roots - For the first time on U.S. television some of the realities of slavery--brutality, rape, enforced de-culturation--were confronted over a protracted period, and through individual characters with whom, as they fought to escape or survive, the audience could identify. There was emphasis on the centuries and decades before the 1970s, which the ahistorical vector in U.S. culture easily cushions from application to the often devastating here and now. Nonetheless, it was a signal achievement. This shows more realistic views of how it actually happened. 
The Cosby Show - The show attracted a certain volume of hostile comment, some of it smugly supercilious. The fact it was popular with white audiences in the South, and in South Africa, was a favorite quick shot to try to debunk it. Some critics claimed it fed the mirage that racial injustice could be overcome through individual economic advance, others that it primly fostered Reaganite conservative family values. Both were indeed easily possible readings of the show within contemporary U.S. culture. Yet critics often seemed to think a TV text could actually present a single monolithic meaningfulness or set up a firewall against inappropriate readings. The black man was a doctor and was shown in a positive way. An educated person who was in a profession in a wealthy area. His children went to a private area. 


The black people were non-existant they didn't really talk, and they were usually slaves or criminals in the shows. They were represented in a bad way.


What does the article say about the represntaion of black policman in programmes such as Miami Vice and Hawaii Five-O?
Historically the side-kick of the main person is of a different ethnicity and is often shown as the person who was not in charge or would be the comic character of the programme.

Opening Scene of The Only Way is Essex

Youtube Clip

Without the sound the audience can tell that the people who we are watching will be the main characters in the programme, as it includes their names so the audience are aware of the character's names before the programme has even started. From what we can see the female characters all seem to look like the typical 'Essex girl'. They look as though they have had surgery and are orange from fake tan. Where as the males all seem to be well presented and well dressed, with the exception of Harry who we can tell is gay because he is spraying hair spray into his hair.
From the images shown we can't tell what the narrative is going to be because it gives us no clue as to what is happening around them. It just tells us who the characters are but does not provide information about them.
The sound track is quite catchy to begin with without words. And then singing begins which creates the sense that the programme is going to be fun and interesting. It is happy theme tune that would attract an audience for any age.
The tone being set is happy and enjoyable and tells us that the programme will be filled with interesting fun stories for everybody to enjoy.

Skins

This clip shows conventional features of a teen TV drama as it is set in a school where the teenagers watching the show will go. The first people we meet are Freddie and Effy, this shows that these will be the main characters in the show. We know that it is this is their first day because they are introducing each other to one another.

A feature that is common in teenage TV dramas is having a good looking main protagonist which this programme does.

The programme attracts the audience because people can relate to some of the stories which take place and can show how different people react in different situations.

Skins is quite an unusual drama as each episode focuses on a different character in the programme. So it goes into more detail about each of the characters personal life. By doing this it allows the audience to get an attachment to each of the characters.

It is also quite unusual because the story line goes into quite deep emotions and shows explicit scenes which you wouldn't see in other teen TV dramas like Beaver Falls and The Inbetweeners.

They often use point of view shows to show the audience the eye of the characters. The also use medium shots to show that people are in conversation and also over the shoulder shots and reaction shots to show the different characters when they are talking in a conversation.

 This will be a over the shoulder shot which would turn into a reaction shot when changing to the next person.

 This is a medium shot to show the audience are having a conversation.

This is a point of view shot to show the audience that Freddie and Effy are looking at Freddie's group of friends.

Beaver falls is a teen drama, made by the british film industry, however set in America. It is about a group of 3 boys that go on a 'camp america' kind of thing, for their summer. The age group ranges from 16-22, with the characters being 19 years old. It is a stereotypical group of boys, consisting of an attractive , a geek, and a genuine (average) guy. it attracts its target audience with an attractive main protagonist, many girls (at the camp), and humour. It has sexual scenes, strong language however in a humoured way. It brings up issues of relationships, school, drugs through many emotions, which may relate to some issues that the audience may be going through. The programme brings humour through showing the immaturity of the characters.
Establishing shots and pan shots are used a lot as they remind the audience of how the group of boys are on a camp in the USA, making this tv drama different to those other teen drama's focused around school, however the idea and theme of school/university is brought up throughout the series.

Skins Clip
Freddie
He seems like quite a genuine person who is trying to make friends with the 'pretty' girl. He tries to make himself seem cooler to her by saying that his friends aren't really friends with him. But as soon as she says that she knows they are his best friends then he agrees with her. He seems to be very desperate to get to know the girl because when she gives him the list of doing things which break the school rules he agrees to doing them straight away.
Costume- The clothes that he is wearing are casual and comfy looking. They don't look expensive, which suggests that he comes from a lower class family. He is also holding a cap with a flat peak which, if it was on, could be stereotyped as 'chavy'.

Effy
She comes across as a stubborn person who does whatever she wants to do. With one of the first things she says is "You can have anything if you want it enough". This suggests that she will do anything until she gets what she wants. When Freddie is trying to make friends with her, she seems quite reluctant to doing so, and seems as though many people have asked to get to know her before hand. She is also willing to get other people in trouble and tries to create rivalry between the friends by doing so. We know already that she is a 'bad girl' by the list that she gave Freddie to do.
Costume- She also is wearing casual comfy looking clothes and again show that she may come from a lower class family. She is wearing heavy eye lake up and has big bags under her eyes, which could suggest that she has problems at home so can't sleep so is trying to cover it up.

Narrative- We can tell that the narrative is going to be the friends competing to get the list done first so they are able to get to know Effy. This clips almost leaves a cliff hanger because we want to know how they complete the list and who completes it first.
Editing- There doesn't seem to be much editing in the scene as it is set in a school and there is nothing you can really do to the school.
Sound- The sound is digetic as all we can hear are natural sounds, like people walking a long the corridor and mumbling of other people's conversations in the back ground to create the atmosphere of the school environment.

Camera Angles

Throughout the scene there are many over the shoulder shots. The picture on the right is an example. By doing this it shows that the characters are having a conversation. A reaction shot would take place when the camera is changing from one person to the other.

There are mid shots as well in the scene. This is to show both characters in the conversation. A mid shot is when we can only see the top half of the character's body in the shot.








There is also a point of view shot when Effy tells Freddie to look at his friends. A point of view shot is when the audience see something in the eyes of the character

Name of Television Drama: Waterloo Road Series 7 Episode 11
Broadcaster/Scheduling Details: Every Wednesday 7.30pm - BBC1
Creator: Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick
Director: Various directors
Writer: Various directors
Characters: Michael Byrne, Janice Bryant, Harley Taylor and Phoenix Taylor
Narrative: The scene open when the head teacher is brutally attacked by a passing student. He find out that this is a dream and by the reaction on his face he is still scared of it to this day and there is a story behind it. The scene then skips to him and work where his secretary offers his some refreshments in a bubbly accent. But straight away we know that he is a stern man by his reaction to her kind nature. Then the scene skips on more to two boys getting ready for school and you can tell immediately that they are caring for themselves which shows that the programme is not about the rich but the 'common' society. 
Mise-en-scene: The 3 scenes are different:
1. A clean cut flat with the modern necessities. There is no speech involved just dramatic music in the background followed by the alarm clock sounding and the diegetic sound of the actor walking to the bathroom. Dim lighting.
2. Again a clean cut office but this time showing he is no longer scared but in control of this environment and is standing strong in his large office. His outfit also looks expensive and chic. Natural lighting
3. A messy old fashioned house where the boys are both dressed scruffily and saying they are late for school showing they are very un-organised. This is the complete opposite to the head teacher.
Sound: Its starts off with non-diegetic sound when the head teacher is in his dream then when he wakes up it changes it diegetic. But throughout the two minutes there tends to be a trend of non-diegetic sound in the background. Along with speech after the first minute. Bright lighting.
Industry: Adverts on BBC 1. Aired every week on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm but is not sponsored by anything. 
Audiences: The target audience for the show will be middle aged women and the secondary audience would be teenage females.  As both of these audiences can relate to the programme as there is a wide age range of the cast in the programme . It involves both parental and teenage views within the show so can help them understand different eras of growing up.  

Identifying the Sub-Genre of a Television Drama

The image shows a scene in Doctor Who. People would recognise this as being Doctor Who because the main character is in the shot. The image shows an image of a robot which suggests that the TV drama would have a sub-genre which is sci-fi and is futuristic. The room is white and seems as though it is isolated. Where the two men are standing in normal clothes it shows that they are clearly out of place and is another sign of them set in the future and out of place.