In the opening scene, the first character that is presented to us is a black male. Immediately, we can observe that he is dressed in formal attire, wearing a suit. From looking at this costume, we can assume that the character has a managerial or supervisory role within his workplace (which appears to be a hotel), this would make him a middle class citizen. This opposes the stereotype that ethnic minorities are generally hierarchically inferior in comparison to white British members of the community. In addition, the character uses politeness features in his dialogue, by saying "thank you very much" before saying "hello" to another passer-by, whilst smiling, showing that he is well-mannered. Also, a long tracking shot is used to show a complete profile of the character, where we can observe his body language. From doing this, we can see that the individual is upholding a strong posture and also the way he places his hand upon his tie suggests that he takes pride in his appearance. Both of these factors once again oppose the stereotype that ethnic minorities (young black males in particular) may not be considered to be as well presented as British working males, due to the ways in which they are often portrayed in the media, where they are commonly associated with wearing hoodies and baseball caps for example.
After this, a long shot is used to show the man walking poolside when another black male climbs out of the swimming pool and approaches him. The use of this shot allows us to notice the composition of the frame, where we can see the new character climbing out of the pool on his hands and knees, giving us the idea that he has comparably less status than the managerial character, although they appear to be of a similar ethnicity. When the stands from the floor, we are shown a mid reaction shot of the suited man. The use of this shot enables us to notice that he is somewhat startled by this sudden approach. It may be assumed that many black males of this age and size would not be alarmed by an encounter like this, as many would have the preconceived idea that black males may be tougher than many from other ethnic backgrounds.
After this,a shot reverse shot process (over the shoulder shots) is used to show the two men, who appear to be old friends', conversing. When we can see are shown the new character on screen, we can immediately note that he conforms to the obvious stereotype of a young black male, due to his braided hair style, baggy swimming shorts, bright silver jewellery and tattoos; each of which we might associate with someone with a more criminal or rough background. As he speaks we can notice certain aspects of his sociolect which would further support this, such as "bruv", "blud", "slicked up", "7 years 'man'", "bredrins", "booze", "girls" and "ganja". Meanwhile, the suited man is much more reserved and introvert and from his lack of speech and we can tell that he is the least powerful participant in the conversation, responding with answers such as "i don't know" rather than immediately agreeing. This is also reinforced with by his use of body language, as he often avoids eye contact and is seen scratching his head, showing that he is uncomfortable in the situation. There is a small zoom in the final shot which is complimented by a slight change in the non-diegetic background soundtrack, as it becomes more minor, empty and tense to emphasise this. Previously in the conversation, another long shot is used that allows us to also observe his body language, using his hands to point, as he tries to get away from the conversation. He says "look i better get back to the desk", again showing that he feels uneasy, but also that he is work-driven. However, he is unsuccessful, again showing that he is less dominant than the other male, although he is of a higher class. The use of cutting between the two characters frequently juxtaposes the characters well, and allows the audience to see that although both are of a similar ethnicity, one character conforms to the negative stereotypes of black males whilst the other challenges it.
In the next scene, the first shot is mid shot which is tilting camera movement is used (low to high) to show two women carting a trolley through the hotel corridor. The use of this movement draws attention to the fact that the trolley contains cleaning products, and that subsequently we can infer (also due to their costume) that the women are maids. When we hear the women converse, it becomes apparent that they are of an Eastern European background, which is stereotypically a common background for a maid or cleaner to be from as it is a routine, low-skilled occupation. As these characters are introduced, there is a change in the soundtrack, as it increases in tempo and makes us feel that something out of the ordinary is approaching. This is confirmed when a close up shot is used to show two stars written on a customer's room card which is being held by one of the maids, who says that the client is "paying double for double". This combined with a close up shot of a pile of cash on the counter inside the room suggests that the two women are driven by having money, which reflects the stereotype that many european workers are poorly paid.
This is further reinforced when the women then go inside and begin to strip for an asian man who is sat inside the room, showing that they will go to all lengths in order to make money. As they do this, an upbeat, diegetic soundtrack is played as the man turns on the stereo system. As this music plays we are shown lots of close up reaction shots of the man, and the pace of editing increase as the shots become shorter (many around 1-2 seconds). Each of these factors reflect the excitement of the man, illustrating that he is adhering to the stereotype of asian men being very hyper sexual, having extreme sexual fantasies and desires. He doesn't speak throughout the whole scene and looks anxious as he goes to turn the stereo off, which is shown by a tilting close up reaction shot. This suggests that he is lacking in confidence. It is also a common stereotype that many asian men have these kind of personalities, whereby they are very timid and reserved, and he conforms with this. Also, regularly, the scene cuts to a long shot that is taken from behind the man, and shows his position in terms of composure in the room. From this we can see that he is sat down and is therefore lower to the standing women in the frame, giving us the idea that he is less dominant, which further reinforces that aforementioned statement. Throughout this scene, we are also shown close up reaction shots of one of the female maids. The use of this shot allows us to discover how the woman feels about what she is taking part in, which is uneasy and uncomfortable. She then leaves the room, which is shown by a long shot. This action shows us that she is challenging the stereotype, and that not all eastern european women are willing to go to such lengths to earn money.
In a later scene, we are introduced to a new set of characters; a white British male and a female. From the use of formal costume of the characters we can deduce that the male has a managerial position and that the good looking woman is his female assistant which is typical for British men within high male managerial roles. As the pair walk along the corridor, a long shot gives us a sense of their high status. This shot shows the two composed in the centre of the frame, whilst the uniformed subordinate workers walk around them. The couples' body language shows that they have no intention of letting others past them as they walk, and instead they make people go out of their way in order to get past them, such as at 2:28. This presents the British as being rude, inconsiderate and conceited, which is a common stereotype associated with them.
The two then walk in to a kitchen environment, where they are confronted by a chef who we can immediately infer to be Italian, from his accent. He is an extreme example of the stereotype for the Italian man. Firstly, we can see that he is a good cook, as his black costume suggests that he perhaps has the role of head chef in the kitchen. Also, he has the many mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of an Italian man given their culture, such as when he kisses his hand, which is a symbol that an Italian is enjoying the taste of their food and the way in which he is typically affectionate (as most Italians are thought to be) by the way he greets the woman and kisses the other male chef on the head, shown by a mid shot.
After the managers leave the room, some tension between the English and Italian chef arises. This is immediately introduced with a slight change of non-diegetic music tonally, as it becomes more minor in key. After this, a close up shot shows the English chef begin to direct abuse at the Italian. This could portray the stereotype that British like to start trouble. In reaction to this, we are shown a mid shot of the back of the Italian as he retaliates. The fact that he doesn't turn to the English chef shows that he isn't phased by the initial comment. In this retaliation, he remains calm and calls the other chef and 'English pleb'. Following this he states that the chef is an 'English Cretin'. The way he has foregrounded the fact that the chef is English is very stereotypical of those from other background, as generally it could be argued that the English are not very popular amongst other nationalities. In response to this the English chef immediately turns and confronts the man face to face, as the pace of editing increases. This perhaps suggests that the English are often very patriotic and do not take insults about their country lightly. This is emphasised by the use of a close up to show the character's reaction. Finally, we see a mid to long shot in the scene. This allows us to compare the size of the two competing characters, along side one another and makes it noticeable that the although the English man is much larger, the Italian man is still equally dominant, reflecting the stereotype that Italian's have large confidence.
To conclude, a variety of ethnicities are shown in this clip and many of them generally conform to the associated stereotype of each them, due to the way that they are represented using editing, camera work, sound and mise-en-scéne.
After this, a long shot is used to show the man walking poolside when another black male climbs out of the swimming pool and approaches him. The use of this shot allows us to notice the composition of the frame, where we can see the new character climbing out of the pool on his hands and knees, giving us the idea that he has comparably less status than the managerial character, although they appear to be of a similar ethnicity. When the stands from the floor, we are shown a mid reaction shot of the suited man. The use of this shot enables us to notice that he is somewhat startled by this sudden approach. It may be assumed that many black males of this age and size would not be alarmed by an encounter like this, as many would have the preconceived idea that black males may be tougher than many from other ethnic backgrounds.
After this,a shot reverse shot process (over the shoulder shots) is used to show the two men, who appear to be old friends', conversing. When we can see are shown the new character on screen, we can immediately note that he conforms to the obvious stereotype of a young black male, due to his braided hair style, baggy swimming shorts, bright silver jewellery and tattoos; each of which we might associate with someone with a more criminal or rough background. As he speaks we can notice certain aspects of his sociolect which would further support this, such as "bruv", "blud", "slicked up", "7 years 'man'", "bredrins", "booze", "girls" and "ganja". Meanwhile, the suited man is much more reserved and introvert and from his lack of speech and we can tell that he is the least powerful participant in the conversation, responding with answers such as "i don't know" rather than immediately agreeing. This is also reinforced with by his use of body language, as he often avoids eye contact and is seen scratching his head, showing that he is uncomfortable in the situation. There is a small zoom in the final shot which is complimented by a slight change in the non-diegetic background soundtrack, as it becomes more minor, empty and tense to emphasise this. Previously in the conversation, another long shot is used that allows us to also observe his body language, using his hands to point, as he tries to get away from the conversation. He says "look i better get back to the desk", again showing that he feels uneasy, but also that he is work-driven. However, he is unsuccessful, again showing that he is less dominant than the other male, although he is of a higher class. The use of cutting between the two characters frequently juxtaposes the characters well, and allows the audience to see that although both are of a similar ethnicity, one character conforms to the negative stereotypes of black males whilst the other challenges it.
In the next scene, the first shot is mid shot which is tilting camera movement is used (low to high) to show two women carting a trolley through the hotel corridor. The use of this movement draws attention to the fact that the trolley contains cleaning products, and that subsequently we can infer (also due to their costume) that the women are maids. When we hear the women converse, it becomes apparent that they are of an Eastern European background, which is stereotypically a common background for a maid or cleaner to be from as it is a routine, low-skilled occupation. As these characters are introduced, there is a change in the soundtrack, as it increases in tempo and makes us feel that something out of the ordinary is approaching. This is confirmed when a close up shot is used to show two stars written on a customer's room card which is being held by one of the maids, who says that the client is "paying double for double". This combined with a close up shot of a pile of cash on the counter inside the room suggests that the two women are driven by having money, which reflects the stereotype that many european workers are poorly paid.
This is further reinforced when the women then go inside and begin to strip for an asian man who is sat inside the room, showing that they will go to all lengths in order to make money. As they do this, an upbeat, diegetic soundtrack is played as the man turns on the stereo system. As this music plays we are shown lots of close up reaction shots of the man, and the pace of editing increase as the shots become shorter (many around 1-2 seconds). Each of these factors reflect the excitement of the man, illustrating that he is adhering to the stereotype of asian men being very hyper sexual, having extreme sexual fantasies and desires. He doesn't speak throughout the whole scene and looks anxious as he goes to turn the stereo off, which is shown by a tilting close up reaction shot. This suggests that he is lacking in confidence. It is also a common stereotype that many asian men have these kind of personalities, whereby they are very timid and reserved, and he conforms with this. Also, regularly, the scene cuts to a long shot that is taken from behind the man, and shows his position in terms of composure in the room. From this we can see that he is sat down and is therefore lower to the standing women in the frame, giving us the idea that he is less dominant, which further reinforces that aforementioned statement. Throughout this scene, we are also shown close up reaction shots of one of the female maids. The use of this shot allows us to discover how the woman feels about what she is taking part in, which is uneasy and uncomfortable. She then leaves the room, which is shown by a long shot. This action shows us that she is challenging the stereotype, and that not all eastern european women are willing to go to such lengths to earn money.
In a later scene, we are introduced to a new set of characters; a white British male and a female. From the use of formal costume of the characters we can deduce that the male has a managerial position and that the good looking woman is his female assistant which is typical for British men within high male managerial roles. As the pair walk along the corridor, a long shot gives us a sense of their high status. This shot shows the two composed in the centre of the frame, whilst the uniformed subordinate workers walk around them. The couples' body language shows that they have no intention of letting others past them as they walk, and instead they make people go out of their way in order to get past them, such as at 2:28. This presents the British as being rude, inconsiderate and conceited, which is a common stereotype associated with them.
The two then walk in to a kitchen environment, where they are confronted by a chef who we can immediately infer to be Italian, from his accent. He is an extreme example of the stereotype for the Italian man. Firstly, we can see that he is a good cook, as his black costume suggests that he perhaps has the role of head chef in the kitchen. Also, he has the many mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of an Italian man given their culture, such as when he kisses his hand, which is a symbol that an Italian is enjoying the taste of their food and the way in which he is typically affectionate (as most Italians are thought to be) by the way he greets the woman and kisses the other male chef on the head, shown by a mid shot.
After the managers leave the room, some tension between the English and Italian chef arises. This is immediately introduced with a slight change of non-diegetic music tonally, as it becomes more minor in key. After this, a close up shot shows the English chef begin to direct abuse at the Italian. This could portray the stereotype that British like to start trouble. In reaction to this, we are shown a mid shot of the back of the Italian as he retaliates. The fact that he doesn't turn to the English chef shows that he isn't phased by the initial comment. In this retaliation, he remains calm and calls the other chef and 'English pleb'. Following this he states that the chef is an 'English Cretin'. The way he has foregrounded the fact that the chef is English is very stereotypical of those from other background, as generally it could be argued that the English are not very popular amongst other nationalities. In response to this the English chef immediately turns and confronts the man face to face, as the pace of editing increases. This perhaps suggests that the English are often very patriotic and do not take insults about their country lightly. This is emphasised by the use of a close up to show the character's reaction. Finally, we see a mid to long shot in the scene. This allows us to compare the size of the two competing characters, along side one another and makes it noticeable that the although the English man is much larger, the Italian man is still equally dominant, reflecting the stereotype that Italian's have large confidence.
To conclude, a variety of ethnicities are shown in this clip and many of them generally conform to the associated stereotype of each them, due to the way that they are represented using editing, camera work, sound and mise-en-scéne.
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