Ashes to Ashes edit

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.

Representations of Social class in Shameless

Through the miss-en-scene I can infer that this is set in a council estate in Manchester, however from my knowledge of the series I know that it is set in the fictional Chatsworth council estate, Stretford, Greater Manchester, England. This is also shown through the camerawork through the use of panning as it gives a bird’s eye view of the estate and I can also infer the regional accent of the narrator Frank Gallagher. 

Moreover, Frank Gallagher's narration of the setting suggests that the estate is like a Utopia as he portrays the council estate in a positive light which is juxtaposition of what the audience see's as the stereotypes associated with estates are usually quite negative. Moreover, his descriptions of this estate would seem like hell to someone of a higher class and status. 

Below is the extract of Shameless.

From this extract, it appears that the narrator Frank Gallagher seems to be really appreciative of what he has, this is shown through the upbeat score of music in the background, as it is quite jolly and uplifting which echo his happiness. This is also shown through his tone of voice and vocabulary as he uses a biblical reference to describe the grassy area of the estate as he called it the "Garden of Eden", suggesting that to him this place really is paradise. This could link to his class because he doesn't have much he's able to appreciate the little things whereas someone from perhaps a richer and more educated class and background would see this place as a hovel and wouldn't appreciate its beauty due to them having more materialistic things. This could be because of his class as they are usually seen as people who lack ambition and settle for less due to there "can't be bothered" mentality.  

From looking at this angle the mise-en-scene shows the counsel estate to be a sought of haven, a sanctuary if you will. This is shown through the bright setting of this particular shot as the connotations usually associated with an estate is grim and dark. During this section, the pace of the camera shots quicken, this has been done via numerous jump cuts. This could have been done to show the increase in activity, additionally, this could also mean that there isn't much to see as if this was a period drama such as Downton Abbey which solely focuses on the upper class and their servants, the camera shots would be much slower and there would be far slower and more panning shots of the grounds, whereas the camerawork in this extract is very fast and intimate, as it zooms into the house very quickly.

In this shot the director has chosen to show children playing, to suggest that this a friendly estate where everyone gets on, this is once again highlighted through the mise-en-scene. This shot shows working class people in more of a positive light thus eradicating the usual stereotypes of thugs and gang members hanging out in parks creating nuisance 

The use of CU's in this shot helped to add sympathy towards the child and it also heightens the idea that people of a lower class have less control of their children thus resulting in their bad behaviour. Although, the child looks scared of the father, the dad then loses his control and power from the situation as he is then knocked in the head by a loaf of bread by one of his children, thus suggesting that the children run the house.

In this section, the father has just been hit on the head with a loaf of bread ans has dropped to the floor. This reinforces the stereotype that a single father can not cope on his own as his children appear to not respect him, this could be due to how he acts more like a friend to them and not like a father. Moreover, as he's a stay at home dad their lack of respect could be because of this, they might be ashamed that he's not done anything with himself, he's just living of the dole and they can't really respect him as he's just acting like a kid himself, this could be as a result of him being an unemployed working class man in his middle ages, who has a tendency getting drunk, taking drugs, petty theft and getting into fights in public or with the law. His family are also working class and they all are regular drinkers, most of them are also criminals. Women are often shown using sex to manipulate people. 

This shot clarifies that there is a blurred line, in terms of hierarchy in this family as the father is supposed to be the head of the household, the more dominant character but the facts that the angle is a point of view shot looking up at his children, which in the extract is followed by them running out of the house  suggests that the father has no real control or power over them which is more profound in lower class families than middle or upper class.

This particular screenshot shows Franks daughter to be quite demonic, as the mise-en-scene shows fire to be underneath her and she's moving her fingers in away that can almost be read as casting a spell, thus suggesting that she can be seen as the "devil" child, which is another biblical reference. This can also be seen as a pagan ritual, as everyone is gathered around the fire, this could be seen as the middle classes perception of the lower class.

This shot of the police car entering the estate shows the people applauding its arrival showing their lack of respect towards authority. This also suggest that this is a usual event for them, that they have numerous encounters with the olive. This is usually associated with people of the lower class as they often turn to crime in order to get money or stop their boredom.

 



 This shot shows Franks son using an aerosol can to increase the fire showing that he see's arson and vandalism to be fun. Thus showing the lower class in a negative light, as it shows him being a nuisance to society. However, this also shows his father to be terrible at his job as he's encouraging it rather than trying to put a stop to it, another representation of social class.

Ultimately, this extract shows the working class in a very negative way as it depicts them in a very stereotypical manner; showing them swearing, taking drugs, drinking, fighting and partaking in illegal activities and scams rather than trying to get real jobs. Moreover, the fact that the children have different mothers illustrates that the father has a tendency to sleep around with different women, who clearly don't care about their children, bar one who occasionally comes in to help Frank which then confirms the connotations attached to working class people. The use of different shots, the miss-en-scene, sound and the editing really help to impact the audiences perception 

Representation of Women in Media

Below is a clip of my view on how women are represented in the media.



As a feminist I believe that women shouldn't solely be seen as pretty objects to be looked at but as intelligent individuals who should be equal to men and with this in mind I created my video to be a hard hitting expose on the belittlement and sexualisation of women in the media. I did this by using clips from music videos where women are seen as "Glorified prostitutes" which has been stated by a sociologist called Engels. Moreover, I also enclosed a clip from a documentary on the inspiring female super heroine which was Wonder woman as I believed that she was the driving force for feminism and women believing that they could be more than housewives but the heroines of their own lives, they can be independent.

"Cutting It" relationship representation

Write up your response to the Cutting it extract - How does the extract construct representations of gender? (And relationships)

Last lesson we watched an extract from "Cutting It". This scene started off with a couple riding at the back of a taxi. The female character (Allie) is shown leaning on her partner Gavin’s shoulder. This could suggest her dependency on Gavin; however it could also simply portray the closeness of their relationship. The closeness of their relationship is then emphasised in the close up of their rings in screenshot 4 suggesting that they’re a happily married couple.

Later on, the cab pulls up outside a hospital and Gavin is confused and asks “why are we here?” suggesting that Allie is the dominating character as she’s the one in charge as she set up the meeting with the consultant. Furthermore, Allie has even more authority in this scene as she insists that Gavin waits for her outside whilst she goes to see the consultant alone.  

Conversely in this situation the power shifts as the consultant has the power as he is the one that had the envelope which enclosed Allie’s fate. Scene 17 shows Allie receiving the results from her consultant. Her expression is detached, so the viewers are not sure what to expect with the news. The setting and the light on in that particular scene imitates an interrogation room, as it has one main light in the middle.

Scene 27 and 28 also suggest going against the stereotypical imagery, as usually that would particular scene would be shown with the male character shouting across the road, with the female character staying quiet to take in what the male character was saying and then responding with a simple facial expression (usually of agreement) Whereas in this scene; Allie is the character shouting across the road with Gavin replying with the use of silent facial expressions. This suggests Allie is in charge of the scene - mainly because she knows the results; however the audience and Gavin do not know the results.

When Allie is hit by the bus, Gavin is portrayed as a sort of super hero as he flew to her rescue; nevertheless he did this after a slight pause, which is typically the woman’s reaction to an incident, thus showing the constant back and forth of authority. It is only when Gavin and Allie talk to each other that we see Lillie’s spread around Allie. Victorians believed that Lillie’s represent beauty and charm therefore this Mise-en-scen could suggest the beauty of their relationship is over as she is about to die or it could represent the beauty of the day (up until her demise) as they were newlyweds and the news she received could have been positive.

Overall this extract constructs representations of gender to be unclear as the roles of authority are constantly changing throughout the extract as Gavin obtains feminine qualities at times whereas Allie upholds masculine qualities, thus showing role reversal. 

Homework- Representations of gender

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender:

The shot below is a low angle shot, showing the mans authority and dominance. This shot also reconfirms the ladies position of authority as she's also looking up at the man.

 The idea of male dominance over the woman is made even clearer in this next frame as she is then humiliated by everyone by being made to kneel down in front of everyone. This clip then highlights how feeble and powerless she is and how much he's belittling her. This is an example of woman not being seen as equals and an example of how patriarchy and how its accepted in our society as even in this clip there are people on the sides not outraged at the main actors orders including the woman, its as if they know to just accept it.

This frame of a lady in the red dress, emphases many feminists points on the objectification and sexualisation of women in the media as the colour red is usually associated with sex and promiscuity. Moreover, this character doesn't get to speak she's just there as eye candy, something to look at. Bearing the Mise-en-scene in mind- The lady obediently follows his orders, kneeling to the ground and submissively bows her head at his command thus giving him the power he demands. 

Overall this clip portrays the female character to be quite helpless, powerless and quite substandard to men. This is a stereotype that has been played on numerous times before and is evident in even TV commercials. The majority of advertisements that have to do with cooking or household chores feature a woman as the main character, illustrating that woman are the homemakers who stay at home and look after the children and feed and care for there family whereas the men are the breadwinners.

However the screenshot below displays how it all changes:

 This is the section in where the male character lost his authority and Martha gained it as she knew something the rest didn't therefore she had more power. This was also shown in the change of sound as Martha starts laughing, the sound is more upbeat played on a guitar - this highlights the change in position of superiority.

This screen shot shows Martha to be the dominant character as everyone is listening to her, however  she's on the same level as them suggesting that the other characters don't feel inferior to her, they respect her.

This screenshot illustrates the change in status and authority, as the Doctor is now rising which then gives him a higher status thus showing that he has more power in this situation. Moreover the lighting around him suggests he's God like.

My first video and review

Last lesson we had to film a short clip involving: different shots and angles, the 180 rule and a continuity shot - we chose to film the actress walking through the door then filmed her from the other side. The video starts off by showing the actress walking down a corridor and then approaching a door. 

The 180 rule was applied when the two people characters were having a conversation on the stairs. The camera shouldn't cross the 180* line otherwise the audience will be left confused as to who's looking where. 

Below are examples that demonstrate the 180 rule.

 These diagrams show that the camera has to follow a certain angle and should not cross it as the shot will be unclear for the audience and won't flow nicely.

In reflection, after watching back my first  official video, there are very few errors. However it isn't perfect but nothing is, one critique that I can make is the "close-up" of the hand, I'd suggest that if I was to re-shoot this I would make it even closer to add more of an impact and been more effective. 

I think that the start of the video is really good as it flows very well and the shot of the actress walking through the door was really good and flowed really well. However the main issue with this video was the conversation between the two actresses as when I edited it to show who was speaking, it was very jumpy and didn't quite flow as nicely as the rest of the video nonetheless for my first video it was pretty good and I am proud of it.