Ethnicity On Television

Ethnicity in: Hotel Babylon

Identifying ethnicities

It's fairly easy to identify what ethnicity a person is on television, because of the extreme stereotypes that feature in dramas. In this extract from Hotel Babylon, many of the characters are portrayed as their stereotypes that, when analysed, are actually extremely racist - despite the fact that it's a BBC production!

This female character is dressed in white clothes, with blonde hair and, most likely, has blue eyes - fitting with the common stereotype. She also has the line of: "brain like a sieve" when referring to the black character, which fits with the television drama "rule" that white characters are sometimes racist. Not only this, but the woman is strong-willed and is dominant over those who are of ethnic minorities and is portrayed as a good person.

This Asian character is shown to be in a low-budget bat cave setup surrounded by technology. According to the rules of TV drama, all Asian people are "nerdy' and love computers and other geeky items; remember, if it's on TV it must be true! The fact that this character is using a computer, the audience may link her ethnicity with Asian even before hearing her speak. Asian characters are often "submissive" (yes, really) and this can be seen within the extract: she is the first person out of all the characters to say "thank you", despite being considered in a higher position than them in the hotel. 

Despite the fact that the character's are from different ethnic backgrounds, they still aid one another in this extract. Adam (a black character) saves the life of an Eastern European character, by feeding her jam (who knew jam was so useful?). This sense of unity suggests that the ethnic minority groups treat each other with respect and are like a large community.  

Four Key Themes in Racial Representations

There are four key themes that need to be acknowledged when analysing racial representations;

1. Exotic - yes, this is as incredibly racist as it sounds. I guess it's like comparing a character to a piece of fruit??
2. Dangerous - does the character pose any danger because of their ethnicity?
3. Humorous - is any humour evoked because of the character's ethnicity?
4. Pitied - are we supposed to pity a character because of their ethnicity?

In the extract from Hotel Babylon, there is a black character (Ibrahim) that is presented as "exotic" (or tribal) and we feel pity for him. In the image below, taken from the extract, the audience can presumably see Ibrahim's family; they are dressed in what looks like traditional dress and it seems to fit with the tribal stereotype.

By picturing this tribal family, suddenly Ibrahim's character becomes more exotic. As an audience, this doesn't appear to be racist of any sort: it helps us to identify his ethnicity/origin and merely enhances our pity for him. It is only with clear analysis that we realise this is stereotypical - just because a person is black, it doesn't mean they have a tribal family back home!

Ibrahim is also presented as a weaker character, compared to other characters in the extract. There is a particular scene in which Ibrahim is apprehended by three white characters - suggesting that, because he is black, he is weaker.

Message of the clip

The audience can infer that white characters in the television drama have more power over ethnic minorities. There certainly appears to be a mix of conflict and unity between ethnicities: the conflict between the white Immigration Officers and the staff of the hotel is large. But then there is a unity of many different ethnicities within the hotel, for example - the asian woman takes responsibility when helping to hide the hotel staff, despite them being a completely different ethnic minority to her.

Since the BBC is considered to be a fairly liberal broadcasting station, it is likely that Hotel Babylon (in this clip particularly) is supposed to be highlighting the differences in ethnicity and create pity for ethnic minorities. As a little extra, I began to think about the name of the television program itself: Babylon is said to be the most important cities in the Ancient Middle East and is often referenced in the Bible. Christianity is a religion that is widespread among different ethnicities - perhaps Babylon was chosen to suggest that the large variety of characters, with different ethnicities, are all working together?

Relating Perkins' assumptions to Hotel Babylon

Tessa Perkins used her academic roots in sociology to create ideas about stereotypes in film. She decided that stereotypes can be challenged, and identified five assumptions that can be objected:

1. Stereotypes aren't always negative - not all stereotypes are negative, for example: British people are typically linked with the Queen and are considered to drink lots of tea.
2. Stereotypes aren't always about minority/less powerful groups of people - we often stereotype politicians or upper class people.
3. Stereotypes can be about your own 'group'.
4. They aren't rigid or unchanging.
5. Stereotypes aren't always false.

Stereotypes aren't always negative:

It is a common stereotype that migrant workers are hard-working and committed. In this screenshot we can see Ibrahim, a migrant worker, cleaning the carpet and staying focused. This links with the stereotype that migrants are hard-working but also challenges the stereotype that Black people are lazy.

Stereotypes aren't always false:

It is a stereotype that Asian people are often smart and more intelligent than other ethnicities. Even their school systems are based on working hard and that's why many are successful. 

Stereotypes aren't rigid or unchanging:

If this television program was made 40/50 years ago, the manager of a hotel wouldn't be a female character. Now that out society has evolved, so ha our stereotype of women: it is now completely acceptable for a woman to be in a high up position with power in her hands. This proves that stereotypes can evolve and change, especially when society changes as well.

Camera Shots in Hotel Babylon

This clip lacks a substantial establishing shot because the audience doesn't really learn anything from it; the only thing we can see in the establishing shot is a close up shot of a man in a suit. 

However, this close up shot soon becomes a medium long shot, suggesting that this man now has a larger perspective on what is going on - thus increasing our perspective as well.

During the scene in which Ibrahim is tackled by the Immigration Officers, a close up reaction shot is used, to present the character's fear more clearly to the audience. This particular shot is also a zoom shot, increasing drama and excitement - it also appears to be a handheld shot, as there is a slight shakiness to it. The use of a handheld shot brings realism to the scene, and we get a sense that the Immigration officers are now running at the character. 

Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) there aren't many "exciting" shots that evoke feelings towards ethnicity; there is a significant lack in low/high angled to portray a shift in power, which is clearly an easy way to represent the imbalance in ethnicity.