Ethnicity Mock Essay

Notes:


Location: English hotel.
Ben: Suit - challenging black stereotype: difference.
Tel: Tattoos, corn rows.
Two European women - maids, one okay to escort men, other not. challenges and reinforces.
Italian man: stereotypical chef, English man put on front. Then confrontation: black and white- binary opposites. Knife: Italian mafia stereotype reinforced.
Englishmen: alcoholic.
English woman knock on door: suspicious - European top

Sound
Ben: Dialogue - very well spoken - challenges
Tel: Slang i.e. 'bro' and 'booty tang'
Dialogue: English woman and man: well spoken -
Music: European: stops with knock.
Music: faster confrontation
Dialogue: Giavani: 'piggy little eyes' 'you pig ugly English cretin' 'prat'

Editing
shot reverse shot - juxtaposition - challenging and reinforcing the stereotypes
jump cut to English woman.
shot reverse shot, woman and man conversation: stereotypical worried, challenged laid back.

Camera
Ben: Pans with his movement until Tel, camera moves to mid shot to show his shock.
Woman and man: mid shot to introduce, long shot, mid shot to focus on dialogue.
Smooth cut to kitchen, cuts to Giavani and then to Englishman. juxtaposition.



Ethnicity Mock Essay
Time: 42 minutes
Chloe Oaten

From the very beginning it is apparent that there will be a comparison between English people and other ethnicities due to the hotel being set in London. The majority of English people are white. The extract begins by panning black man named Ben, walking down the side of a swimming pool, who is wearing a tailored suit, challenging the stereotype of a black male, in two ways; one being that they stereotypically wear track suits or casual clothing, and the other being that black males in particular are either in gangs or unemployed, this denotes difference. Furthermore, we stereotypically assume that he will speak in slang rather than an extended vocabulary, however when we hear him speak, the stereotype is challenged again as he is well spoken.  Therefore, when the camera changes to a midshot, the stereotype being challenged means that when we are introduced to his old friend 'Tel' who is also a black male, the stereotype is put into juxtaposition with the way Tel is. For instance, Tel has tattoos on his body, big earrings, cornrows in his hair and stereotypically uses slang such as 'bro' and 'booty tang', the difference and juxtaposition is clear. When Tel suggests a party, Ben is reluctant, and gives in to the pressure when Tel wont give up and replies with 'yeah, sounds good bro', as he feels as if he has to conform to his friend and his ideology. This shows conflict in their views even though they are of same ethnicity. The conversation in which takes place between these two characters is presented in a shot reverse shot, once again demonstrating the juxtaposition between them.

The next scene we see is revolved around two European women, who are both dressed in maid's uniform, maid being on of many stereotypes of European women, therefore the stereotype is reinforced. Furthermore, when the women enter the hotel room, you assume they will be tidying the room as they should be, however when they begin to undress, it is apparent they are not only maids but escorts, another stereotype of European women. And yet, the unity of these women is challenged when one of the women decides against prostitution, and leaves, in effect creating a conflict and challenging the stereotype. Also, one of the women is wearing black underwear which denotes darkness or sin, whereas the woman who left is wearing white, which denotes purity or virginity.This creates a juxtaposition between the two women. The man in question who is hiring them to sleep with him, is challenging a stereotype also, as stereotypically Chinese men are wholesome and monogamist, whereas this man is not.

The introduction to a English, white female and male, is presented by a mid shot which changes to a long shot, giving the audience a thorough establishing shot to these two characters, in order to show the difference in them to the other ethnicities we have already seen. The mid shot, is used in this scene to focus on the characters mannerisms and more importantly, dialogue, as they are speaking fluently. Following this, a shot reverse shot is used in order to demonstrate the difference in the two people, as  the woman is stereotypically laid back and the man is worried, therefore challenging the stereotype. As the two characters progress into the kitchen with a smooth cut edit, the camera jumps from a white male who is wearing white to an Italian male called Giavanni who is wearing black, demonstrating bi-nary oppositions and a juxtapostion between the two. Italian people are allocated two main stereotypes; chef or mafia, therefore the stereotype is reinforced as he is a chef and when the two characters leave, there is conflict between the white chef and him, where he pulls out a knife, yet again reinforcing an italian stereotype of being part of a mafia. Also, Giavanni's dialogue fits the stereotype as his speaks with an accent, and when he says to the white male 'you piggish English cretin', there is conflict between the two men, where the white male replies with 'prat'.