Ethnicity Essay

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of ethnicity using camera shots/angles/movement, lighting, sound, mise-en-scene and editing

Hannah Baines

In the Hotel Babylon extract, there are a variety of different ethnicities that are portrayed very stereotypically, including; Italian, White British, Japanese, Mixed race/oriental, Eastern European, and also members of the Black race.

The first scene mainly involves two dominant characters. The two confident owns are black men; one being a resident at the hotel getting out of the pool, and the other being a smart, well-dressed waiter working in the hotel. There is also a white man in the background lounging by the pool, about to be served by the black waiter which is a typical stereotype of a black man having to serve a white man, as this is the way it used to be a long time ago. However, what happens next is the black hotel resident gets out the pool implying that the black waiter also serves other black men. The black hotel-worker is very well-dressed as he is the only one in a suit suggesting he is more superior to the other normal waiters, which also implies he might be a manager. Stereotypically in TV dramas, and other media forms, black people usually play the character of maids, a chef or other house-workers. They are often the characters with minor importance and little power, so the black man working as a manager subverts the usual conventions of the representation of black people in TV drama. However, the second black man is more stereotypical of usual conventions. He is represented as a ‘gangster’ type as he wears gold chains and he uses typical gangster language such as saying “bro” and “homie”. The audience can also make a guess that he is from Jamaica due to not only his language but also his taste in clothes; he wears a tropical coloured pair of swim shorts, and these colourful patterns are very typical of the Jamaican culture. Camera movements of shot reaction shots, close-ups and zooms highlight the facial expressions of both the characters which give off the atmosphere that they produce; for example, the waiter seems to be nervous and uncomfortable when he talks to the resident, which makes the audience feel on-edge. Whereas the resident seems calmed and ‘chilled’ which gives off a relaxed feeling to the audience. From these camera movements and from how uncomfortable the worker looks, it implies a sexual meaning within the scene; it gradually suggests that the waiter is homosexual, and this is due to prolonged shots of the resident’s body, followed by the reaction of the waiter clearly staring at his body looking surprised by his muscular figure. There is also romantic music with this scene which implies a similar thing.

The second scene includes two maids going in to a resident’s bedroom. The maids appear to be Eastern-European, and we can tell this because of their accents, but also their small-builds and also their skin tone. It soon becomes clear that they are working as prostitutes, and this is a typical convention as the foreign people tend to have the jobs with a lower authority. The two women have very different representations to each other. Both of them look very similar on the outside but they both have alternate personality traits. One of the women is very timid and quiet both vocally and in their body language. Also, there is a major symbolic meaning through the wear of a cross necklace, which signifies that she is a Christian. The other woman in the scene is very confident and self-assured, and this suggests that she has been in the trade for much longer. She has a very blunt dialogue saying “he pays double, for double”, which suggests she takes part in sexual favours for the extra money. They both begin to undress and it soon becomes clear they are about to make money from delivering services to a Japanese resident, which is a very common representation of this ethnicity. The ‘Japanese businessman’ is a very well-known stereotype and it is often used in TV dramas. They are also often known for being very sexual; in particular, Asian women are known for selling themselves for money, and Asian men are a major part of that trade. As the women undress, the difference in their personalities and experience are suggested through their under-clothing and body language. The shy maid wears plain, white underwear which has connotations of purity and innocence, and she seems reluctant to take part in the services. This is contrasting to the other maid who wears black underwear which has major connotations of sex and seduction. This juxtaposition is very suggestive of their differing personalities. This maid, compared to the other one, follows the representation that foreign women from a poorer background are in desperate need for money because it is harder to get well-paying work. It also follows the convention that they have no self-respect. However, the other maid from the same background subverts this convention. The music accompanying the characters scene is quite tense as it builds up, suggesting they are doing something wrong.

The third scene is significantly shorter than the others. It is a scene of a mixed race woman trotting to assist to a resident giving them toilet paper. Because it is such a short scene, the character doesn’t portray a very strong representation because there is no sign of particular stereotype or convention. However, it is clear that she is also of a fairly superior position due to her smart clothing and her upright posture and posh body language. However, she plays a rather submissive character when it comes to serving the resident, suggesting that she is still being partly represented as not very superior following a typical representation.  

The fourth scene includes the two White British hotel owners. Their occupation is clear as they are smartly dressed but not in uniform, and they are treated with respect from the other staff working in the hotel. It follows a conventional representation that white people are the most superior in contrast to other ethnicities. Also achieving this purpose is the camera shots and movements. The camera uses a long shot to show the audience that the managers are dressed smartly and professionally to show their superiority in the hierarchy of importance. There is also continuity editing in the camera edits of the scene as at the end of the scene, it stops tracking the characters movement and focuses out as they walk towards the camera which allows the following scene to follow on without a transition.

The fifth scene is in the chef’s kitchen. It involves the managers, and two head chefs, and also other chefs. One of the two head chefs is British. We can tell this because he is big, tall, white, fairly chubby and wears a big white hat which is a convention for a British head chef. The second head chef appears to be either Italian or Mediterranean. There are indications that he could be from either background. We could say that he is Mediterranean due to his general appearance and accent. He is dark skinned, dark-haired and is fairly aggressive in his actions and general persona. However you could also guess that he is from a place such a Greece due to the kiss on the other chef’s forehead, and this is a Greek habit. Similarly, he also does a kissing action with his hand which then he releases in the air next to him, which is typically Italian. However there is most evidence that he is from a Mediterranean background. The representation of the aggressive, violent chef is common and can be identified through his speech. He uses the word “English” as an insult hinting that he does not have any respect or time for British people.

The last scene is scene six. It involves the promiscuous Eastern-European maid leaving the Japanese man’s hotel room. It also shows the mixed-race/oriental woman catching the maid in action doing up her buttons, showing the difference in their ethnic representations; the maid being represented as very professional and the other being very provocative. There is also music playing in the scene which is similar to burlesque music, further showing her sexual representation.