class and status (timed)

The class and social status is first represented by Sampson talking to himself in the mirror. This suggest he is possibly nervous about giving his speech. A speech is generally given by a member of an middle or higher class. However, his need to look in the mirror shows he may have some second thoughts or insecurities about the speech. Along side this, Sampson is seen wearing a suit which shows more of a higher status than what may be worn by a someone of the working class. His speech which he is reciting to himself is delivered in received pronouciation further suggesting a middle to upper class manner.  The background of this scene is quite dark, showing further thought and perception of the speech he is about to deliver. There is also the effect of the light shining down straight onto Sampson, further increasing the view of Sampson is the main focus and of a higher status.

This next screenshot indicates quite a working class status, 4 children are seen just staring at the what has just occurred with an ethnic minority being thrown out of their home with a violent push and their belongings being violently thrown out of the tenement. Although this person is of an ethnic minority the, there are 2 other ethnicities being represented by the teenagers who are by standers. They are seen to be starring at the scene in front, looking completely unfased by events which have unfolded in front of them. This suggests this is a regular occurrence and nothing new to be worried or alarmed with. During this duration of this scene there is also the diegetic sound of a baby crying and possibly a young girl yelling out "papa!"this is because of the violent nature of the scene.

The next scene to appear shows a car going under a walkway, the car is black, generally associated with the overall look of a spy, indicating a higher status than those on the estate. The next shot closes up on Harry (head of Spook) his position is shown by him sitting in the back seat of the car indicating a chauffeur driven car. Another indication of his status is the person he is talking to on the phone, although the audience can't hear what the person on the receiving end is saying there is a large hinting to someone below Harry in terms of hierarchy within the work place. Harry is seen and heard barking orders down the phone showing a sense of leadership. At this point there is a close up of Harry's face and he seen and heard giving additional orders to the person on the receiving end. The close up helps to see the concern on Harry's face, showing this problem is a case of an emergency. Throughout this scene, Harry is seen wearing a suit, showing another clue of his high social and class status.

The story then cuts back to the scene on the estate. Here, the women (of ethnic minority) is present looking slightly shaken up, hinting she knew this was going to happen. The two men are seen trying to fore their way into the house with the women outside not trying or doing much to stop them, neither are the teenagers who are watching her suffer, there is also no reaction to help out by the other other members of the ethnic minority who know the same could possibly also happen to them.

Once Harry is back in the boardroom, he talks to the other members of the team whilst standing, the team members are sitting down. A low angle shot is used to show Harry in a higher position in comparison to the other team members. Within this scene there is the presence of another member of an ethnic minority, however, he is not portrayed as a victim as he is part of the Spook team. This scene is recorded with an eye-level shot for the audience to feel like they are also part of the story and on the same level as the Spook team member. This equals the class and status of the audience and the character. The Background of this eye-level shot is brighter compared to the scene showing the Sampson rehearsing his speech. The sound here is of the character saying "surely that's illegal" this shows the character is well educated and comes from a background where he would be able to learn this.

Discuss the social representations portrayed in this clip.

The first episode of shameless sets the scene for the rest of the series showing the a working class father and his many children.

The first scene consists of cross cuts between different shots showing a similar image. These shots portray the location to be to a well looked after area suggesting private housing, however this is a contrast with the accent of the voice narrating the scene (voice of father). The accent of the father is quite northern with short vowels suggesting a location such as Manchester. Within the general Manchester area, the main stereotypical idea is of tennements and coucil blocks. With this image, people visualise the area as run down with over flowing rubbish bins, however this is clearly not the case. In this beginning scene and when he he describing his children with the narration, the positioning on screen in central, not following the rule of thirds as show in the rest of the extract.

The voice of the father is calming showing a lot of affection for his many children. This narration also goes against another stereotype which is the mother being of a more nurturing character and looking after the children, in this case, the father shows more a nuturing characteristic. However, the image of a well dressed man is soon erased as the shot appears of the father. He seen to be wearing an old coat, possibly from a charity shop or something that has not been washed for a few years. His hair appears to be unwashed and seemingly like he hasn't combed through his hair. This image is something which would be associoated with someone of working class situation.

The father talks about his children saying he views them as angels and how he loves them. With this thought, the general idea of the audience would show the children showing the same amount of parental love for their father. However this idea is discarded within the next few scenes. There is a shot of them in the kitchen with the father holding a loaf of bread. He starts to become violent with one his children, the other children then push the father to the floor. The next shots show a high angle and a low angle of the father looking up at his children, and the children crowding around and towering over him whilst he is on the floor. The latter shot portrays the inferior characters to the superior characters. The father is seen as inferior because he is looking up at his children, while they look down on him. A shot that could also be used to portray bullies in a playground.

The next shot and scene shows the children running out in what can be compared to a gang of youths running from a crime scene. The children run out, bring the shot to the next scene which shows the front of their home and a caravan parked in the drive. This presence of the caravan could be used to show the main mode of transport for holiday's as (considering their financial situation) they more than likely would not be able to go on holiday via an aeroplane the majority of the time. Along the caravan there are also bin's along the from which seem to be overflowing. This shot shows the initial idea one may have when picturing an area of tennements (stereotypically).

The next scene goes straight to a night sky, showing a gathering of family members and friends. The children are seen throwing cans of beer onto the bonfire suggesting a lack of concern for health and safety for themselves and others around them. This, again is what would be generally thought of with someone of a similar or the same social status (due to increasing stories of gang violence). The camera then makes a quick pan over to the father who also seems to be enjoying the atmosphere without giving much care to the health and safety of those around him. It is at his point where the bonfire is visible as a burning car (vandalism, again associated with the working class). This further shows the lack of care and concern. It is clear the main objective of the night is to have fun at whatever the cost. At this point there is also a shot of the father smoking and drinking a can beer, something, stereotypically inconjunction with the working class. At this point there is another shot of the father drinking his beer with flames just below his face, which is the sort of effect used to show a satanic or devalish character. At this moment of high up roar, a police siren is heard as part of diegetic sound. There is also us of non-diegetic sound within this scene, there is a soundtrack of what could be considered tribal music with pan-flutes. This scene also imitates a image considered to be of tribal nature showcasing a large, close community.

When there is a police car near, most people would get out of the way or run away, however in this instance, one of his son's start to clap at the arrival of he car. Even at this point, they don't seem to make an escape(another stereotype attached to youth gangs). It seems as if they think they need an arrival of the police as proof and main point in having a good night out.

Ashes to Ashes recreation

REPRESENTATIONS OF SOCIAL CLASS - SHAMELESS (to complete)

The social class represented is the lower class based in Manchester, noticeable from the accent used. This is because of the clothing worn by he father - a jacket which looks old and unwashed. His hair also looks unwashed showing a possible lack of time or money.

This shot shows  3 clear sets of  high rise tenement blocks, usually associated with estates which are gritty and not very well looked after. However this also shows a lot green space suggesting something sophisticated and well looked after with correct treatment.

Ashes to Ashes exam question

Analyse the ways in which representations of gender are constructed in the extract through the usual 4 micro-elements.

Mise-en-scen: During the first two scenes, the typical costume considering gender is flipped around with DI Alex Drake wearing a suit, with her hair tied up professionally in a bun. Alex Drake is also driving the car, driving fast to get the crime scene - something which would usually be carried out by a male. In the scene on the boat up until the scene where Alex Drake faints (in 1980) she is wearing a short, tight, red leather dress. These aspects together show a seductive image, especially with the use of the colour red for her dress and lipstick, also her purse. The setting of the scene where the man in the grey suit confronts Alex is set in a hidden street corner, under what seems to be a bridge. This is where they would have normally found a prostitute (roaming around after work). During this scene, Alex Drake is limited to movement because the man in the grey suit has surrounded her. This is different to what would happen in the modern day, where Alex is a respected member of the police force. Also before this scene, Alex was seen running from the boat in her red, tight, short dress asking for help by a couple of police women hurrying past. however they ignored her. During the second scene where Alex in site of the hostage, she wearing a business, professional suit. Here she is respected by police officers. 

The sound used during this scene was a rocky soundtrack during the time span of the can driving in. This rocky soundtrack, with the set of the 80s would represent a sexual image. There was also the sounds of the exhaust coming from the car, this along with the rock soundtrack pose a very macho image which is exactly what is seen. Represents the representation on men in the 80s - a similar respect to what Alex had in the modern day. 
There is also the diegetic sound of Alex's shoes making a noise as she is pushed into a corner by the man in the grey suit. The noise of Alex's heels suggests a ditsy female character who is only compelled by men. There is also the aspect of speech, with Alex not saying much, and when she does speak she whispers her speech as in awe of the the three men surrounding her. Gene Hunt's line of "took a prossie hostage...letting his load off, love" shows more gender representation of Hunt with a macho appearance. The speech used by Alex Drake when she is telling the man in the grey suit what the officers want shows smartness which was not expressed by many women in that same position at the time.

The editing of this extract showed a 180 degrees shot of Gene Hunt with a low angle, this shows great hierarchy to Hunt being superior being the male character. The scene showing Alex reflecting on her image in the puddle also shows an emotional reflection, which is something usually portrayed by the female character. Another shot is the close up on Alex's face when she discovers who she is with (the officers). This also shows smartness as she is able to work out who each officer is. The close up lets the audience become more intimate with the character to show what she is feeling. Although the aspect of feelings is usually female, the smart knowledge is not generally associated with a female, especially someone dressed a short dress.

There was not much use of special effects with this particular scene. There was framing used when Ray Carling and Chris Skelton are introduced due to their position in the policing system in comparison to Gene Hunt. The first frame shows Gene Hunt, the camera pans over to show Chris Skelton and Ray Carling. There is Alex Drake on the third line of the shot right before she works out who the officers are, this places more focus on Alex but also shows where she is, to remind the audience she is still on a side street corner dressed in a non-classy manner. Therefore she is still represented as a women in the 80s on her exterior but shown as women in the modern day interiorly with her knowledge of psychology.

Representation of Women.

For this project we had to create a short documentary showing the representation of women.

The reason I used this clip of Dita Von Teese is because people do think she is giving women a bad image becuase she is a burlesque dancer. However the majority of her fan base is female, as Dita Von Teese explains. Although considered sexual, Dita uses her talent dancing and turns her acts into something very classy, as with most burlesque shows. She is known to embrase her gender, with elite class. It is clear why she has many adoring female fans.

The second clip is of Sierra Boggess, she was the original Ariel in the Broadway adaption of The Little Mermaid. There was an emphasis on girl power within this version, with the changes enforced by the director. The original Little Mermaid is much more gruesome, with much more pressure on the Ariel to be with the Prince. In the Original she has to make the prince love her more than he loves his parents and she has to get the prince to marry her in three days. During these Three days, she will have legs, but no tongue and no voice. Despite Ariel trying, the prince marries someone else. Ariels sister's then come out of the water and give her a knife by explaining all she has to do is kill the prince and let his blood spill onto hers legs, in doing this, her legs will merge back into a mermaid tale and she can return to her normal mermaid life. Ariel can't bring herself to do this so she ends up killing herself  and turning into sea foam.

In the Disney version, this does not happen. Although the disney version was softened down to make it more suitable to be seen a fairy tale, most of the heroic acts are done by the female characters are cut out. Leaving the female characters, especially Ariel to be seen as less of a hero leaves the Prince to be the hero, making him out to be macho. Is this what caused the problem we have today? Children are growing up with stories which suggest the male character is always the hero and the one people should be like.

The next clips are about music, mainly with how female singers are represented. With music and music videos, there is a lot of difference, but this could be due to female views of other females More of this is explained by this video.