Explain how ethnicity is represented in the clip.

Find more videos like this on Beauchamp College Media

Mention:

• Mise en scene
• Editing
• Sound

At the start of the clip, a black male is shown walking by a poolside dressed smarty in a black, clean-cut suit. The lighting is blue and down lit which gives the impression of a calm, cool and trendy atmosphere. The fact that the pool is inside and lit up suggests wealth. At the start of this clip the camera angle is a long shot which pans along the side of the pool alongside the character walking. On his way, the character bumps into an old friend who obviously knew him before as being a slightly different character as he seems on-edge and uneasy. The other male character is represented in a stereotypical way, he is shown with tattoos, dreadlocks and chains. When he is talking to the other male, the camera moves and jitters, this could represent how the stereotyped black male is intimidating and a space invader. The two characters are an example of binary opposites.

The second scene shows the stereotypes of french women and Japanese males. Two french maids are shown entering one of the hotel rooms to find a Japanese man sitting on the side of the bed. The room is also clinically tidy which is a stereotype of Japanese people being very clean and tidy people. When the customer turns the music on, the maids begin to strip. This is a stereotype of french maids being very sexual people, one of the maids reacts very strongly to this stereotype whereas the other maid refuses to strip and runs away, this is another example of binary opposites. The music playing when they begin to strip is 'Lady Marmalade' which mentions the lyrics " .. down in old Moulin Rouge" which links to the strippers at the moulin rouge in Paris, ironic? The biggest stereotype in this scene is that Japanese men are perverts. The camera angles used in the clip also could reflect stereotypes, the Japanese man is filmed from a low height, this could be a stereotype of Japanese people being small or that they eat and sleep near to the floor. When the close-up of the money is shown on the table, it too is filmed from a low height, it is shown from the Japanese mans viewpoint.

Another scene in this clip involves a Caucasian male and female talking about other staff in the hotel. The fact that they are of high class and seem in charge links to a very archaic stereotype that Caucasian people are of higher status and are the superior race.

This scene links to another set in a kitchen, the two Caucasian characters enter and begin to talk to who appears to be the head chef. He is introduced as a mid shot, chopping at the work counter. He is Italian, another stereotype. Italians are stereotyped to be good cooks, linking to the fact that he is a chef. The two Caucasian characters also talked about how he was a recovering alcoholic, this could be a stereotype of Italian men being raucous and excessive drinkers. When the two Caucasian characters leave, the head chef attempts to argue with another, British, slightly overweight chef. The English chef is dressed in white uniform which may connote innocence and purity whereas the Italian chef is dressed in black and red which connotes anger and the devil. When alone with the chef, the Italian becomes very aggressive and he threatens the English chef with a poultry knife. This could stereotype him as being two-faced and dangerous. The English male could also be stereotyped, as he is overweight,this could stereotype the majority of the British public for being supposedly overweight and easily threatened.

In conclusion, Ethnicity is very apparent in this clip of 'Hotel Babylon', although there is no evidence of 'going against the stereotype' which shows that the stereotypes represented are extremely predictable and almost archaic.