Thursday, 10 March 2016

Hotel Babylon - Ethnicity Analysis.


Camera - Frame , Angle Movement.

  • There is a tracking shot as the immigrant investigators enter the lobby that follows them until they approach the receptionist. This shows them as invasive due to the confident marching of the investigators when walking in the lobby, this also shows power.
  • There is a stil, shot behind the gate of the scene where the immigrants our running to the storage room to hide from the investigators. This represents how the immigrants feel captured and imprisoned as a result of being in a country that does not relate to their ethnicity. The fact that the shot purposely shows the barrier between the camera and the immigrants represents them as powerless compared to the police/investigators.
  • In the garage type setting at the beginning of the clip, the policemen are shot at from a lower angle in comparison to the employee, which gives the impression that the police are towering over the employee. This was done to represent the policemen's authority over the employee.
  • At the scene where the asian women is emptying the locker, mourning the photo of Ibrahim the African cleaner, it gives the impression to the audience that he is already dead which shows the assumptions made about that culture and the standards of living.
  • A tracking shot is also used in the last scene in the cafeteria. This shot shows juxtaposition from when all of the immigrants were hiding together and were all very close whereas in this scene the immigrants are only shown with others who are the same ethnicity as them. 

Mise En Scene  - CLAMPS.

  • At the beginning of he clip, the audience is introduced to the receptionist who is wearing a bold all white suit. This is to suggest purity and innocence of the receptionist to the audience, when is reality she is not innocent at all as she is committing a crime by employees illegal immigrants.
  • The policemen are wearing suits and badges to represent authority. 
  • The investigators/policemen are all ethnically caucasian which suggests that they are of a more stable culture due to them all having a good, legal job, none of the policemen were multicultural nor were they females. This suggests that white people have a higher ratio of success in employment.
  • The asian women who directed the hiding of the immigrants wore a bold red lipstick to match her outfit which could show authority.
  • When Ibrahim's locker is being emptied, it is quite obvious that there were next to no posessions in there that had any monetary value, only sentimental. This reinforces the stereotype that a man of african descent is going to have fewer possession, and very little in life.
  • Black women does not fully pray before eating her meal, this is shown in the final scene in the dining room. This shows to not be conforming to the stereotype that religious people rely on prayer to help with all of there problems.
Sound.
  • Throughout the clip, they background music was upbeat and fast paced, similar to a spy themes movie. This suggests that the capturing of immigrants is like a game, the music does not replicate that this happens in real situations and that it is peoples lives.
  • The Asian lady says to the immigrants in the storage cupboard 'Don't take her out, they'll take all of you". This is suggesting that the immigrants are abnormal and are of a different species to the legal workers or the hotel, although it was said innocently.
  • The main policemen says in reply to a comment made about Ibrahim being killed just like his father and brother 'Thats what my boss will do to me if i come back with an empty van.' He is acting as if death and getting told off or fired from a job and death is remotely similar to one and other, and that his and Ibrahims level of problems are the same. Also, the comparison made between a white persons job and the earning of money and an africans life suggests how the policemen believes that wealth and the importance of a job is more important that africans life, acting as if death in Africa is common.
  • The Asian lady comments to the african man in the storage room 'what are you doing' when putting jam on a diabetics gums, assuming that because he comes from a country of poverty he is uneducated.
  • A quote from this clip 'I wasn't always a cleaner' is used in the scene where all of the immigrants are in the storage room. This quote shows that just because he is an immigrant he is not being able to work in his desired job. 
Editing.
  • The Asian women is shows as in charge as she has the most screen time out of all of the people in the clip, particularly in the storage room. This suggests power over the immigrants and also intelligence due to coming from an asian culture, which reinforces the stereotype of all asians being intellectual. 
  • Shot reverse shot is the storage room between the immigrants, this shows equality between all the immigrants however throughout this clip, the general motive was the show the immigrants as weak and worthless in comparison to the white people.

1 comment:

  1. This analysis is well-developed Charlotte; it is varied and has good focus on the issue of representation.
    - Try to add a few more ideas to your editing section; examiners always focus on this area.
    - Try to use media terminology as much as you can, especially in the sound and editing sections.

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