Holby City Essay

Click here to watch the link

How representations of gender are created using cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene for Holby City

 There are many different representations of gender in this Holby City extract which are all shown in many different ways. This essay will explore these stereotypes through the use of certain examples in the extract.

In the very first scene, we see a doctor in scrubs called Michael acting very aggressively to the woman who called his name. He attempts to end their relationship in the hallway of the hospital. While he does this, his voice is loud and definite which shows he plays the more dominant role in this scene. However, when the woman he is talking to threatens to tell their boss about his mistake in an operation, his voice alters from being an aggressive tone to being very concerned and distressed about the consequences if she actually told them. In the next scene, the dominant male doctor from the previous scene meets his colleague in the corridor. When this happens, he doesn’t seem to be as confident as the last time we saw him, but instead he appears quieter and slightly nervous. The colleague seems to have superiority over Michael and he has a raised voice and demands Michael to do a task.

In a later scene, Michael is clearly in a rush, and because of this, his voice is quite sarcastic. This sarcasm is noticed by Hal and he therefore becomes very angry. His voice is raised and is shouting at Michael about how he has ruined Amelia's implants. Amelia’s father continues to stick up for her as though because she is a girl, she cannot stand up for herself as well as he could do it for her. In the following scene, when the men are talking about their broken bones whilst playing sports, they refer to each others sports as 'girl's games'. This displays their gender bias; the fact that they believe they are the more dominant sex and that ‘girls’ sports don’t mean as much and aren’t as competitive for example. When Michael comes to apologises to Amelia, the scene shows that he isn't as strong and dominant as the audience thinks he is as he then gives into what other people have been telling him to do.

As for the women in the extract, the representations differ. In the first scene, the woman is initially shown to be the weaker sex as she is being dumped by Michael. However, she changes this stereotype when she reveals that she knows about the mishap in the operation. By saying this, she gains authority over the situation to let it be steered her own way. However, this is short-lived as he replies saying that he doesn’t care.

During the next scene, we see a woman who is screaming down a phone trying to call her dad as though she were a young child. This action shows that she is very weak as it implies that she relies on a man. Amelia’s self-confidence is increased when she is told by Hal that he loves her. After this happens, Amelia goes from thinking she was a ‘nobody’ to respecting herself the way she is, and agrees for Michael to put her back to the way she was before the operation went wrong.               

The sound in the extract is entirely diegetic, due to the natural sounds such as people walking around the corridors, and patient’s beds being pushed. We can also hear the phones in the reception ringing and background talking, along with machine beeps. Throughout the scene, the transitions are quick to fasten the pace of the scene which successfully creates tension and suspense when the characters argue. A shot-reaction-shot is used when Michael tells the woman in the first scene that their relationship is over. As this happens, it is clear by the reaction shot of his face that he is serious and angry. The last reaction shot is where the woman looks worried and upset that he has broken up with her and therefore feeling vulnerable.

Continuity editing is used when the men playing sports are talking whilst looking at the x-rays of their broken bones.  Many different styles of editing is used throughout the scene to build enigma and general mystery to give clues to the audience about what might happens later in the episode.  For example, when the woman is screaming down the phone, the audience don’t know the result of this storyline. There are many different techniques in the cinematography used in the extract. An aerial shot is used when we see Michael and the woman walk away from each other in the corridor. This shot transfers into a medium shot where we see the two characters waist-up so we know where to focus our attention; on their conversation. The extract includes close-up shots of both characters when certain things are said which shows their facial expressions which subsequently allowed the audience to understand how they are feeling. An over-the-shoulder shot is used when Michael walks away from the conversation so the audience can see the true feelings of the person who is being left through their expression. Finally, when Michael and Hal argue about the operation that went wrong, the camera is at a low-angle which shows that both of the men are equally dominant characters.

The mise-en-scene that is evident in the extract is very iconic making it obvious that the set is a hospital. These icons include props such as scrubs, lots of rooms and all the machines that are walked past during the extract. The lighting in the scene of argument is low-key lighting which connotates sadness, but when they finish arguing, the lights become brighter meaning something good is about to happen. This is evident because later in the extract, Michael apologises and everything is settled. All the doctors are in scrubs apart from the two characters who are looking at their x-rays, whereas the patients are clearly patients due to the stereotypical night gowns. Everything in the extracts looks like it was in a hospital otherwise the drama would not be the way that it should be. 

Ethnicity Essay on the Spooks Extract

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity using the following; cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

The protagonist character in the scene is an Iraqi man who maintains a smart appearance through his dress-sense as he is in a suit. He is also clean-shaven and well-presented which implies he is wealthy and significant in society. This goes against some major ethnic stereotypes as it is a very common representation of the Iraqi population to be living in poverty and need of wealth and help for example. His physical appearance challenges the stereotype of a typical Iraqi because they are commonly known to wear turbans and have facial hair such as a beard. The public is most likely to have adopted this stereotype due to publicly-known Muslims such as Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden who both, despite having a significant event to their names, both conform to this representation in having facial hair and not dressing smartly.

The scene is set in a dark and eerie room in an apartment which appears to be empty and abandoned. However, we can tell that the room is in a high class apartment as it is very large and has stylish and tasteful wall designs. This also challenges the stereotype of Iraqi citizens, as people would not expect to see such class. The only source of light is the sun shining through the window. This reinforces the significance of the room being dark so it is harder for people to see in. The beginning of the scene begins via an establishing shot. The sunlight through the window is only shining on the two British characters (the ones being held captive) which represents their characters being the 'goodies', whereas the Iraqi man and his guard stand in the dark suggesting they are evil and playing darker and more villainous roles. This establishing shot soon cuts to a low-angle shot of the Iraqi man, representing his status as a powerful man his high levels of authority and power. The scene also uses a very minimal amount of props which manages to create an unnerving atmosphere. The only decoration is a thin layer of net used in the place of a curtain which highlights the fact that nobody on the outside can see in, which implies a dangerous feeling to the audience that if nobody could see in, anything could happen in the room without anyone knowing which therefore gives a fear of the unknown. Another of the very few props in the scene is a smallish item under a white sheet in the corner of the room. As this object is unknown to the audience, it successfully creates tension through a fear of the unknown, as neither the audience nor British characters know what is under it.

Throughout the scene, there is a very low string sound playing in the background, which creates a highly tense atmosphere. At the beginning of the scene, this non-diegetic music is less noticeable, but as the scene continues and the female spy tells her hostage-taker that her spies already know his next move, the music becomes louder and more noticeable as more instruments are added which helps to build tension at the same time as more action and threats towards the British spies take place.

  It is a possibility that the Iraqi man is not the only character who challenges typical stereotypes but also the British spies in hostage. This is due to the more dominant spy being a woman, and the other is a black man, which audiences may not expect as black men typically take the role of the villain or criminal in TV dramas. Having these particular people as these characters challenges the stereotype that only white males are British spies, and also that women are usually the ones who need to be saved. These predictable yet unused stereotypes were highlighted in Propp’s theory, in which both these characters would normally have fallen. Both of these characters are also smartly dressed in suits, which has connotations of significance and power. This tells the audience that the British spies and the Iraqi man are all fairly upper-class and are of equal power, which results in adding more tension anxiousness to the scene as the audience do not know how the situation will conclude.

The guard in the room is dressed completely in black with just his eyes visible through a balaclava, which has strong connotations that he is a ruthless and intimidating character who is their purely to keep them in line. The guard also wears a leather jacket which suggests he is likely to be more physically violent than the Iraqi man as usually, criminals and many villains wear a leather jacket because it is represented to be ‘tough’.

A steady-cam is used frequently throughout the scene for an edgy and jumpy effect which makes the audience feel as though they are in the scene, which ultimately adds to the tension and suspense to the overall feel. There is also the use of shot-reaction-shot which shows some close-ups of the expressions of each character in the scene. One time where this happens is when the Iraqi man questions the British spies about an agent who he has just had his men kill, and as the agent’s name is said by the man, the shot cuts from the man talking, to the female spy who looks scared and shocked. The third part of this shot-reaction-shot is when the camera focuses on the black British spy who stares at the woman with the same look of fear on his face. There is also the use of an extreme close-up of the eye of the guard which is perfectly timed with the dark and sinister sound of a drum that sounds like the explosion of a bomb in the distance. As this sound is the sound of a bomb, it automatically connotates a feeling of fear within the audience. 

All these shots have been specifically chosen to make the scene cohesive; so it flows well and it’s easy to understand. If it was not edited in this way, the built up tense atmosphere would be completely lost. to be edited together by the editor to hint to the audience that even though the woman instinctively denies knowing anything, the spies do actually know what the Iraqi man is talking about as both spies have worried and uncomfortable facial expressions, especially as the Iraqi man puts down the image of the dead agent on the table. At this time, there is a non-diegetic knife-sharpening sound as the camera flashes white and the scene suddenly cuts to a close-up of the image. This technique helps to generate a very dramatic effect as the British people realise the Iraqi man knows they are lying about knowing everything. This is a major key point in the scene, as it is exactly when the Iraqi man loses his patience and starts physically threatening the spies by pulling up the woman from her chair and harshly pushing her on another chair – in front of the mysterious object in the sheet .The non-diegetic music also becomes more prominent as the situation gets even more tense and dangerous. This music gets louder and slightly more fast-paced as the scene goes on, reinforcing that something bad is happening.