Representation of Ethnicity - Media Exam

Discuss the ways the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity using the following four technical codes mis-en-scene, editing,sound and camera angles.

Hotel Babylon is a TV drama based in and around a hotel. It represents many issues such as immigration and many of the main characters have different racial backgrounds.

In the second scene we see a white female, the manager of the hotel, she is wearing white clothing which shows she is a main character and draws the attention to her, she has her hair done properly and has make-up on, this shows her status as a female authority figure to show she has importance in the hotel. The medium close up shows the woman and then the shot reverses and shows you the entrance to the hotel. A non-diegetic sound motif then plays to the audience whilst three figures enter. The music is dramatic showing that something significant is going to happen. The camera then tracks the male figures until they reach the reception desk; the camera angle appears to be as if they are being watched. We then learn that these are while male authority figures from the immigration office. The female then calls the attention of the black male figure that works in the hotel; he is in a suit wearing a gold tie, which shows his higher status in the hotel. In this scene there is a good balance of different ethnic backgrounds, from the Ben, the male black hotel worker, and the female white manager of the hotel. Then we have the evil archetype characters, the immigration workers, who are white male authority figures.

The next few scenes we see are the chase, from Ben who is going down to tell Jackie about the police officers and then Jackie trying to help the workers get into their safe hiding spot. Jackie is a female authority figure in the hotel and she is of an Asian racial background and is also a linguist in the hotel as she is able to fluently communicate with all the immigrants in the hotel. Whilst Jackie is trying to gather all the workers up the editing is quick and frantic and using many jump cuts to create tension, the transitions are cutaway to create a sense of panic the audience is then positioned so they feel like they are being chased as well so the audience know how the workers feel. The representation of the immigrant workers is that they are innocent so far; the audience is made to be on the side of the immigrants and support them. During the frantic scenes there is a behind bars shot, which shows Jackie and the workers running behind what appears to be a set of elevator bars, this shows the audience that they are trapped and locked in.  In the following scene we see Jackie and the immigrant workers in the cupboard hiding from the police, we learn from the diegetic dialogue when Jackie says “Oh no! Ibrahim!” that he hasn’t made it in time and the police are going to arrest him. There is a close up pan of all the immigrant workers in the cupboard to show their fear and emotion whilst in the closet. They are all wearing maids outfits and cleaning uniforms to show they are less down in status than Jackie, who is wearing a suit, has make-up on and her hair is done up properly. There is a low angle show to reinforce the status that Jackie has over her fellow workers. Whilst they are locked in the closet a diabetic worker faints, the camera focuses on her and then shows a male black character, Adam, come to help. He uses technical vocabulary such as “Hypoglycaemic Attack” and “Mucus Membrane” and then says to Jackie “I wasn’t always a cleaner” this draws your attention to him and makes the audience realise that the immigrant workers are smart and have useful assets to the county rather than being locked up in prison or being deported back to their native country.

During this extract there is two narratives, one being the immigrant workers hiding and another being the police chasing Ibrahim. Throughout the clip there is non-diegetic atmospheric music playing in the background, which changes slightly during the clip to create different atmospheres this stops after Ibrahim is arrested, this brings the audiences attention to him and the scene. When we first encounter Ibrahim we see he is using the vacuum to hoover the carpet in the hotel. The focus is initially on him and we see a full body shot; there is then a pull focus, which brings the police into shot as they come out the elevator. This gives the effect that the audience is being pulled away and that they cant save him from being taken. Again making the audience empathise with the immigrant workers.

After Ibrahim has been taken we are taken to the canteen of the hotel where the workers are settling down to eat. There is a calming non-diegetic music in the background, which calms the audience down and makes them relax now that the immigrant workers are safe and secure. There are groups of different people, from different racial backgrounds, sitting down to eat their food together, the dialogue in the scene is all in different languages to show the different races in working in the hotel and they are all eating different food

Overall we are made to feel sorry for the immigrants who work in the hotel and people who are there to help to keep them safe, such as Jackie. The close up shots of the immigrants whilst they are hiding in the cupboard show their emotions and that they are scared from the immigration workers. The lighting is low key and the room they are in has no natural lighting making the scene quite dark this makes the audience feel sorry for them as they are being forced to hide.