Representation of Ethnicity
Hotel Babylon
The clip opens with a black hotel worker handing a menu or a
document to a customer. This character contradicts stereotypical attitudes
towards black people because the character is dressed formal and professionally
rather than wearing cheap, baggy clothing, the character is portrayed as
friendly rather than being intimidating and a threat to society and lastly the
character is very punctual and speaks formally instead of speaking in street
language. The setting of the beginning of the clip is a luxury indoor pool
area, featuring comforting soundtrack music in the background and darkened
lighting to suggest a warm and comforting atmosphere. A panning shot is
included to follow the character as he walks through the scene. This displays
the sheer size of the room and the luxury that is provided in the hotel by
using an establishing shot. After passing a pillar, the camera shot changes to
a long shot due to cross cutting, and then another character is introduced. A
Jamaican-like. As the second character appears, the first character becomes
startled after witnessing him appear in front of him directly from the swimming
pool. The second character repeatedly refers to the first black character as
‘bro’ or ‘bruv’, this suggests that the two characters share a bond or
friendship. This character resembles a stereotypical black person as he speaks
using street language and he can come across as humorous on occasions. In
attempt to carry on the conversation the formal character attempts to act and
behave like his friend by speaking and acting in a stereotypical way. An over
the shoulder shot captures the discomfort of the character as the conversation
escalates. A two shot is used to emphasise the distance between the two characters
in terms of success. As the character tries to leave, the other character
suggests an out of the ordinary party in which the formal character remains
uncomfortable with. The other character tries to be persuasive about this party
idea, however a close up captures the formal character thinking long and hard,
may be concerning whether this is appropriate.
The next scene portrays two cleaners approaching a
customer’s room. Both female characters appear to be dressed in formal clothing
that is associated with a typical hotel. As the leading female character
mentions the double payment of the customer, the other character looks away as
if she already understands the protocol. She prepares herself and then enters
the room. The wall painting surrounding the room is fuchsia which suggests that
the customer living in the room provides pleasure and comfort to whoever enters
the room. This introduces to the audience the customer in the room, a Chinese
or Asian gentleman. The darkened lighting and thick duvet covers support the
fuchsia wall painting by also expressing comfort and pleasure. Additionally,
the character looks very eager to continue when the two female characters have
entered the room. A close up of the extra money for the service is displayed to
query to audience to what the extra service is. The money is a stereotype
towards Asian people as they are considered to be wealthier than other people.
The soundtrack in the background suggests that the extra may be sexual due to
the upbeat tempo of the soundtrack. The camera pans a close up of the leading
female character as she locks the door to the room. The other female character looks
back at the Asian man as if she does not understand what is going on. The man
then brings up a remote control and activates a nearby stereo. The loudness of
the music is to drown out any noise from the females. The women are
prostituting themselves for the extra payment from the customer service. A
close up on the male character shows that he is prepared whilst the females
remove their clothing. It becomes clear that the other female character is
uncomfortable with the situation as she would have not expected this to happen.
Whereas the leading female feels overly confident with this as takes her
clothes off first and then dances flirtatiously. The uncomfortable female flees
the room whilst the confident stops the male from reacting to this by
continuing to flirt.
The next scene opens with a female hotel worker peeking
through a door with toilet roll. The professionalism of the character continues
here as she is dressed appropriately and appears to be sophisticated. The
character appears to want to provide for here customers and so, she goes
directly to them with what they desire. In this case, a customer has run out of
toilet roll. Upbeat, action like soundtrack is included here suggests that the
character may be heroic and attempts to achieve a task under any cost. As she
apologises to the customer, this emphasises how white British people are
sophisticated but she is not organised as the issue has happened and has never
happened previously. After this, the character quietly mutters a possible
situation where a shortage of toilet paper has occurred before.
The next scene shows a conversation between two other characters,
a male and a female. Similarly to the white British females from the previous scenes,
these two are also punctual, sophisticated and dress formally. The setting is a
cramped corridor with many members of staff passing through. This can situate a
chaotic situation that occurs and links to the conversation of the characters. The
sound effects are of the supporting characters conversing themselves to add to
the chaotic atmosphere. A long shot confirms this as a view of the corridor is
displayed. Many close ups are used here to focus primarily on the two
characters and the responses in the conversation. The quick tempo of the
character’s speech further supports the chaotic atmosphere as the characters
are having to respond to this appropriately and quickly. The dark coloured
lighting and clothing suggest that the characters are of high authority. The scene
concludes with a close up of the female character and action-like soundtrack,
this suggests that the characters are attempting to resolve an issue following
the conversation.
The following scene introduces the hotel’s kitchen. The kitchen
appears to be a typical large, crowded and chaotic. This places emphasis on the
work process of the chefs. A mid shot opens the scene as the female character
enters the room. A short cut away focuses on a chefs hands prepping potatoes
for food products. Then another cut away shows another character, who may be
the person that the male and female where conversing about in the previous
scene. The blank expression of this character gives the impression that he may
be unintelligent or focusing primarily on chopping ingredients. Another cut
shows the high authority characters advancing further into the kitchen, using a
panning movement to allow the audience to view more of the details of the
kitchen. As the female character approaches the head chef, the audience can see
that he is of an Asian background. This character is stereotypically higher in
authority and is considered to be more important than his fellow workers. A close
up of the character allows the audience to capture a healthy greeting towards
the superiors in an attempt to impress them. Although, the larger chef that the
male and female may have been conversing about may possibly not accept or
belief the other chefs response, and so he shakes his head subtly to express
shame or disappointment. The female character remains sophisticated as she
ensures that the demands of the chef are indeed met. This leads to the head chef
bringing in the other chef into the conversation by tapping in on the shoulder
to get his attention. To make amends, he kisses the chef on his forehead to
express to create a positive impression in front of his superiors. This then
follows with a speech from the chef that is said sarcastically. As the male and
female character leave the room, a mysterious and eerie soundtrack is included in
which creates the idea that an event is to happen. The chef turns to the head
chef and begins a conflicted argument. In response to this, the head chef acts
more harshly than he did towards his superiors. This expresses his superiority
over the other chefs. As the conflict continues, insults and name calling are
added to liven up the argument and grab the attention of the other workers. After
this, a close up of the head chef picking up a knife from the working surface is
included with additional emphasis using sound effects to try and intimidate the
chef even further. This follows the stereotypical view that this character is a
threat to society as the character is threatening another with a butcher’s
knife.
The final scene follows the worker that was previously
visited with the toilet issue. It appears that she is returning to her former
post. That is until she hears the music from the room that contains the cleaner
that has prostituted herself. The character knocks on the door and then quickly
hides. This draws out the female cleaner, looking suspicious and guilty. A cut
of the female worker behind the wall is viewed through a close up of her hiding
behind the wall and then peeking round. This extends her curiosity. As she
looks away, the cleaner rearranges herself in attempt to show that nothing has
happened. She then leaves and returns to her cleaning duties as if nothing has
happened.
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