Representational issue- Ethincity
- 1. Misfits TV Drama- Representational Issue Ethnicity
- 2. Different Ethnicities in the clip • Three different ethnicities are shown in the extract; black British, white British, Irish and mixed race. Curtis, who plays the black British male character follows the typical stereotype. The Irish character, Nathan, follows a typical Irish stereotype as he has charm and is quite humorous. The white character is loud and aggressive in the extract, and the mixed race character is glamorous and feminine.
- 3. Stereotypes • The black British character in the extract is being presented as the typical black British person, getting involved with trouble and not caring about consequences as he is facing community service. However, the mise-en-scene suggests he is not the typical black British as he is wearing a cross and chain around his neck, suggesting that he is aware that his actions are wrong and he feels guilty about it. The Irish stereotype is presented in the extract as he is charming and humorous he is also quite a laid back character which is typical for the Irish ethnicity. The white character I believe isn’t being stereotyped because not all white people act the way her character does and is ignoring how other white people act. Her loud talking and aggressive tone would normally be labelled ‘chavvy’, however this is not in regards to all white people. Finally the mixed race character is represented glamorously by being well presented and wearing make up, she is represented to be quite confident which presents the mixed race stereotype.
- 4. Camera Shots • The camera shots used in the clip are mainly close-ups and wide-shots. The close-up on every character suggests their differences in regards to ethnicity. When close-up to Curtis, we see his cross on his necklace suggesting he is a religious person. The wide shots show there body language and how each character represents themselves. The wide shot on the person in charge also shows herself to be well presented and sophisticated.
- 5. Editing • The edits within the clip cut from one character to another as well as showing them all sit down in a faster pace. When each character sits down they are all after on another not having any dialogue between. This shows the audience how each character presents themselves through their body language. Another edit I noticed was cuts from different angles and shots, they were one after the other giving the audience different views of the characters.
- 6. Mise-en-scene • The mise-en-scene in this clip is in an office suggesting it is going to be a serious conversation between the characters, however it is not. Also the characters clothing represents their ethnicity: for example Nathan- the irish character- is seen to be fully clothed whereas Curtis- the black Britsh character- is seen to be wearing a vest top revealing himself more, this reflects their character.
- 7. Sound • The music played at the beginning of the scene is played throughout the whole clip, it is played more quietly when the characters begin to speak. The characters dialogue are all different and represents their ethnicity: for example Kelly- the white British- is much louder and talks faster in comparison to Nathan- the white Irish- who talks with a humorous tone.