Wednesday 20 November 2013

Class and Status - Spooks



Discuss the ways in which representations of class and status are constructed in the extract through the 4 micro-elements:
camerawork
editing
mise-en-scene
sound 




The opening sequence of this extract starts with Sampson looking at his reflection in the mirror, looking devious and sinister. This idea is then echoed through the sound as theres a noise that sounds like an explosion, this is usually associated with gothic tales as its quite eery this suggests that this character is quite devious an evil character. Moreover, when Sampson begins to speak his tone of voice is quite low and husky creating a far more intense and sinister atmosphere,


This screenshot suggests that the event of a woman drawing an "X" on the door (X to signify a target, x marks the spot) isn't out of the ordinary, therefore implying that this sort of activity could be a recurring occurrence. This could also show that they've relinquished control due to the oppression by the upper class- in this case, the politicians who feel its their duty to eradicate people who don't fit their image and by the looks of the children's faces, it has happened before.



 Moreover, the fact that "X" was drawn by a white female on a black woman's door suggests that this is a hate crime, in which the ethnic minority are targeted regardless of gender. Furthermore,before and after she does this she looks at the children whose glance stays on her throughout what she does, and almost disregards them as she doesn't look remorseful for what she's doing or even look startled by them, perhaps illustrating how low she sees them, she might see them as a were class to them therefore she doesn't need to explain herself to them, this could because of her race. She might see herself to be above them in the social ranking. As a result of her drawing the "X" two men in big jackets enter the shot and barge into the woman's house and start throwing her belongings out onto the balcony, where the children are still watching.



Moreover, from the diegetic sounds you can hear that the intruders are smashing all the lady's belongings, showing no respect towards her, thus showing their lack of respect for her- which could be because of her race or because of her low social rank. In addition, you can also hear the screams from within the house suggesting that there's a child on the premises however this still doesn't stop the men from destroying the home and capturing the woman.


The next shot is a birds eye view shot of a very expensive and classy car, which is chauffeured driven. This particular shot shows the character that's in there to have a very high status and be quite high in the social ranking.









We then discover that it is the character Harry  in the car, the editing then shows a CU of Harry on the phone barking orders to his employees- this demonstrates him to be an authoritative figure head as he's the one instructing people on what to do.







The editing of this shot, blurs Sampson out in the foreground of the shot and solely focuses on the other man in the shot perhaps suggesting that he was not completely behind what Sampson had just said about being called a "Islamaphobic." Furthermore, this idea of uncertainty is has been shown through the crowds silence, feasibly suggesting this is quite a sensitive subject, implying that perhaps the audience aren't as "pro-white" as he makes them out to be. However, seeing this he then turns it round to his favour by using the negative stereotypes associated with the Muslim rac, i.e. terrorists.













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