Representation of Class and Status: Middle Class

(Outnumbered) 450 words

 

'Outnumbered' is a British TV show which displays the stereotypical middle class family, living in modern day society. The family is made up of two working parents and three children. In series one, the children are still young, ranging from the ages of four to eleven, illustrating the typical middle class family set-up.

Immediately we are told that they are a middle class family by the establishing shot at the beginning of each episode. It shows an end-terraced house which could easily be three stories high, straight way indicating that the family are not extremely wealthy, but are definitely not poor either; they are a typical middle class family.

One common connotation of having three young children is that the parents tend to get stressed out, especially during the school morning routine. The mother is fumbling through a bowl in the kitchen in an attempt to find her car keys in a hurry. This is shown to the audience through a close up shot to pin-point how desperate she is to locate the keys and emphasises the stress that typical parents feel on a school morning. Furthermore, the camera tracks the mother as she hurries around the house makes it clear how chaotic the morning routine can be. The chaos is also emphasised through the ambient (background) sound. While the parents are downstairs doing one thing, we can hear the youngest children arguing and shouting from another room. As well as this, the family have a radio playing music in the background, which adds unnecessary noise to their morning. The diegetic music makes it even more stressful for the family as they are struggling to hear each other from separate rooms. As middle class is seen as the "normal" family set up, this is displaying what the stereotypical school morning is like the majority of families.

The character's costumes also illustrate their class and status. The father is in suit trousers and a shirt, and later on in the episode puts on a blazer. This indicates he is most probably in a white-collar job, such as an office job or in teaching, suggesting he is quite well paid. The mother is dressed in smart-casual clothing; an ordinary t-shirt with a cardigan. This suggests that perhaps she works from home as she does not seem to be dressed specifically for a particular occupation. 

Finally, the continuity editing and the use of straight cuts helps to create a sense of time moving forward, allowing the audience to get a feel for what the typical middle class family morning routine is like. As well as this, it creates a sense of realism, emphasising the reality of the events of the middle class.

Representation of ethnicity : Black women

('Kim' from EastEnders and 'Marie' from American Horror Story: Coven)

419 words

The stereotypes of black women are similar for both the American and English. They tend to come across as very confrontational and sassy in today's society, as well as retaining skills such as being good at singing and dancing. The stereotype also portrays black women as rather fashionable, keeping up with trends and taking care in their appearances. Furthermore, the majority of black women are quite religious and spiritual.

The two black female characters I have decided to look at are Kim Fox from the English TV show 'EastEnders' and Marie Laveau from the American TV series 'American Horror Story: Coven'. The similarities between the two characters can be shown largely through the mes-en-scene. Kim's costume is very bright and eccentric, much like Marie Laveau who although wears darker costumes, still has eccentric tastes. Moreover, their hair and make-up proves that the characters care about their appearances and it suggests they have put a lot of time and effort into how they look. Kim always has very noticeable eye make-up and Marie has her hair in braids. More similarities include the ways in which they make other characters in the TV shows feel. For example, when Kim was on a date with the white man, the close up shot of his facial expression suggests to us that she is making him feel rather intimidated and uncomfortable. This is also shown in EastEnders through the use of shot reverse shot and eye-line match as it proves that it is Kim making him react in this way. Similarly with Marie, she is very intimidating and this is shown in her dialogue during her argument with Fiona. She's extremely confrontational and confident and this is reinforcing the stereotype that black women can be intimidating and rude.

Some differences in the characters are that Kim is a lot louder than Marie. Kim tends to have quite a lot of loud laughter and shouting, whereas Marie is often seen muttering spells quietly to herself. Both of these however still reinforce the stereotypes of black women; one being loud and 'out there' and the other being rather spiritual. Furthermore, when Marie is on screen it tends to be piano based music, which emphasises the religious and spiritual nature she has, whereas with Kim, she has current pop music playing.

Despite there being differences, the two characters are ultimately both still reinforced stereotypes of black women, and this is shown in both American and English TV dramas through the use of CamSAMC, MES, editing and sound.

Representation of Age

Here is the clip from Criminal Justice which we analysed for the representation of age.



Here is the PowerPoint we made with our point, explanations and link.

Representations - Age

Here is a video challenging the Adult stereotype.



This video challenges the stereotype that adults are sensible and serious.

The group of women who are feeling ill are not being serious at all, they're also not caring for each other and are being disrespectful to not only each other, but the shop owner.

The other two women who are feeling okay are acting very immaturely and child-like. They are both trying to out-do each other and have quite a 'bitchy' tone in the way they speak.

Mode of address (S) = as said, they are talking to each other in quite a child-like and 'bitchy' manner, emphasising their immaturity.

Facial expressions (MES) = their facial expressions when they're beginning to feel ill (gagging and farting) is also highlight the disrespect they have.

Establishing shot (CamSAMC) = the establishing shot of the outdoors with Lilian sitting on the ground also emphasises the disrespect she's showing to the shop owner and the dress.

Overhead shot (CamSAMC) = when Megan is in the bathroom, this again is highlighting the adults' immaturity.

Pace (E) = the fast pace editing when the women are running to the toilets shows how desperate they are to get there. They're unable to remain calm, they're all rushing and are in a panic to get there.

Pace (E) = slower pace between the two women who are not unwell, really emphasising the 'bitchiness' and the immature behaviour they're showing.

Here is a video reinforcing the adult stereotype.



Caring - establishing shot, two parents and the child playing together at home (CamSAMC)
             - two shot of mother and child (CamSAMC)
             - close up of child (CamSAMC), showing his facial expression, love and happiness (MES)

Hard-working - establishing shot of the gym (CamSAMC)
                       
Affectionate - reverse zoom (CamSAMC)
                     - long shot (CamSAMC) allows us to see body language (MES)
                     - close up (CamSAMC) allows us to see facial expression (MES)

Serious - costume = Army uniform, emphasises seriousness (MES)

Representations - Gender

Here is a video challenging the female gender stereotype.

This video challenges the stereotype that all women are weak.

Becoming a fire-fighter requires great strength and determination and this is shown by the females in the video.
They must be physically fit to be able to carry out the tasks and they are challenging the stereotype by proving that women can be strong and can do the same jobs as men and to as good a standard.

EBIs:

Pace = the slow/ medium pace emphasises the realism of the events. Showing females are capable of accomplishing such things.

Costume = although it's non-fiction, the women's clothing is extremely weighty and heavy. This proves their strength, challenging the female stereotype and indicates that they genuinely are doing the same jobs that men do.

Mode of address = they seem excited and enthusiastic by the opportunity to experience firefighting, reminding us that girls don't normally get these experiences or opportunities, even in today's society.

Facial expression = the girls seemed to be enjoy themselves in the firefighter boot camp and I can tell this from their facial expression. They seemed proud of themselves for accomplishing something which is generally assossiated with the opposite sex.

Time allocation = there are only women in the video, showing how important the project is for them. The young girls have the vast majority of the screen time. This is again, highlighting the importance of the firefighter boot camp for the young girls to express their strength and determination and drive to break the female stereotype.

Marketing Films Questions

How do institutions market films?

Institutions market their films in a number of different ways such as: using social media, posters, magazine articles, TV and radio interviews/adverts, as well as getting the audience involved through competitions. Institutions invest loads of money into making sure people know about their film- almost as much as the budget for the film itself!

How do institutions market audiences?

They make sure they know exactly what it is that the audience wants. They are able manipulate different things for different audiences.

What types of technology is used and why?

Internet is widely used and that is because it's everywhere. Everyone can access the internet and everybody uses it. Anything they produce or anything they want to advertise can go worldwide so easily. There are also digital billboards, digital posters and apps.

What is the difference of marketing in different types of films?

The type of marketing you do is dependant on the genre of the film, the age of the target audience, the gender of the target audience and many more features. Things will differ because you wouldn't advertise and market an 18+ movie in a children's Happy Meal at McDonalds for example, but you would advertise a new animated children's movie there. So, different types of films require different types of marketing.

What have you learned about audience?

I've learnt that different things will apply and be suitable for different types of audiences. For example, the way in which you advertise/market: the companies you synergise with and the types of social media you use. You must know your audience inside out; know what they want and what they'd be likely to buy and consume.

How do they consume film marketing?

The audience consume the film marketing by absorbing and taking in whatever it is they have seen. Depending on the type of the film or the target audience, the types of consumption will differ. For example, it could be watching an advert or trailer for the film, or it could be eating the product with whom the film was synergised with. Everything done by the institutions is the thought out carefully to get the audiences to consume film marketing and it is very rarely that things that go well happen by accident.

Post-Production

We learnt that post-production is very important but is also very time consuming. Post production includes editing and it is vital that the editing is correct because this is essentially what makes the film good or bad. Editing should be 'invisible'. An audience member shouldn't be able to notice the editing in or in between scenes.

An example of what some more professional editing and post-production equipment could look like.