Thursday 1 December 2011

Analysis on the Tv Drama - Hotel Babylon(unfinished)

How does the representation of ethnicity show on the Tv drama extract of Babylon?

All throughout the Tv drama, Babylon, I find many devices which are shown to represent ethnicity.
At the start of the drama we have a black man serving a white man who is laying down on a chair, in a robe. We clearly have an example here of a representation, espically as the man who is serving is black. The uniform that he has on, is sleek and formal defineately appropriate for the type of area that he is in. The actual message going out could mean that the types of behaviour used, espically when there was a lot of prejudice against blacks we have a slight example shown here, but the difference is that it is in the modern times. We then see him walking away but his posture and stance can suggest the type of personality he has, espically  when stereotypes of black man are not generally seen in this way, involving the type of walk that displays.  The background of the hotel at the start is shown to be bright and bold, this somehow shows the kind of hotel it is and how its customers might be. We then have the man in the suit walking up untill another black man climbs out from the pool, looking idealistically ghetto, not fitting in with the hotel style; a vey unique way of making the scene seem unrealistic- we would not find a man like this in a posh hotel, hence the use of a countertype as here we are judging about how black men are seen to be and where they are supposed to be. The response of the worker is somehow unexpected as he does not talk like his friend does and does not seem interested in the information which is being told to him. This is somehow a countertype which is out of place because the man starts talking in a very relaxed informal way which is very out of the blue, but it helps the audience understand the kind of background he comes from and the kind of influence which has been present. The fact that it is seen as a medium shot would help because it gives more informaton about the sceneary and the character, espically what they are wearing and how the postion themselves. In this case, we get to have the idea of both characters personality through their body language. We clearly know that these two men have evidently two different interets and tastes which may represent the two different sides of people who are 'black'. Throughout this there is a sort of relaxed tune streaming in the backgound which sets the scene, ultimately be a non-diegtic sound that goes on throughout the piece, may be there to suggest the theme that the director wants to create. The editing present from shot to shot run smoothly as we get over shoulder shots of the men, I find that this is a indivdiual perspective from one character to another, creating a sense of personality for the two men.
The background of these two characters in the hotel are very sleek and calmful, with purple and white  coloured walls, this may suggest that these specfic colours reflect the characters feelings especially the guy who came out from the pool.

We then have a sharp transition to a two maids rolling in a chemicals trolley, with the music slightly changing to a geedy upbeat tune, signifies the change of characters and situation and could give a hint to the kind of characters displayed. We have a medium shot of them both near a door and talking to each other. We clearly identify their background by their voices and language which is hear to be french, 'Monsieur'. This then puts a stereotype on 'french maids' clearly shown onwards in the situation. When the older women says 'he pays double for double,' the camera edits to a high point where it is looking down to show the tag that she is holding, showing the evidence of the mans room and the two stars representing the two women. As the women go into the room, we find an oreintal man sitting down on the bed, dressed roughly in a sleeping gown. The background and the area of the room is enticingly inviting and could suggest what type of man this is. The camera has a long shot of him, futhermore to show the body language and custom that he is wearing. Then there is a long shot on the women, one standing nervously and the other confidently, the man says something and the girls look one way. We immediatley get to know what they look at as the camera transitions to a shot of money on a counter, helping us understand whats in store for the women. From there we clearly understand why the women are there. Moreover, we see the man holding the remote control as a side view and him pressing the button, after the camera goes onto the radio system and ranchy, upbeat music comes on, a very good edit to show the specfic actions that follow. We have a close of the orential man's face, showing the kind of experssion that is displayed and after us finding that it is the girls that he is looking at, a long shot on the maids. Somehow this creates a negative representation on this orentail man as we know he is paying for show girls. A lthough the fact that these two women are french and are maids, clearly gives the impression of 'french maids' which I had meantioned above. This also does not give a positive view on maids who are french and represent them to be 'slutty' which is not a good cliche.

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