Writing an essay: Doc Martin

Regional identity is constructed within the extract to highlight the stereotypical binary opposite between those who live in the city (intelligent, stressed, impatient) and people who live in the countryside (ignorant, calm, unconcerned) positioning the audience to find humour, rather than challenge traditional representations, in the differences between Doc Martin and the local residence.

The establishing shot is of a doctors surgery that is outdated, lacking in modern features that one would expect to see - this positions the audience to believe that the countryside is 'behind' when regarding technological advancement, especially in contrast to the city. This is a common stereotype of the countryside that is often presented in television drama. With the use of a wide angle shot, the audience can see a dramatic contrast between Doc Martin who represents the city (dressed in a suit and tie) and the two men dressed in boiler suits (representing the countryside). In this frame, Doc Martin is positioned higher than the two men, which could connate authority, whereas one of the two men appears lackadaisical; he is sitting down, eating and overweight. The room appears to be uncared for though the use of mise en scene: there are boxes stacked in the background and the two men are repairing the broken tap.

Holding the wide angle shot for a prolonged amount of time, as well as the lack of editing, connotes to the common stereotype that the countryside is passive and sleepy - linking to the overweight character who is depicted being lazy on the job. It also compares to the fast lifestyle of the city (Doc Martin) because the action is forced to slow down. The amount of hard editing begins to increase, however, once the water pipe is broken and stress levels begin to rise: the audience is positioned to feel Dr Martin's current stress, as the other characters are being somewhat useless and are refusing to aid in the situation - this could refer to the common stereotype that those in the countryside are unconcerned and relaxed. A high angled camera shot is used when focusing on the dog, to position the audience to think that Dr Martin is going to hurt it and we are left with a sense of pity and fear - we infer that people from the city are angry, and pose a threat. Non-diegetic sound is used when Doc Martin is threatening the dog, to create a greater foreboding atmosphere.

A medium long shot, with a wide angle, is used to depict Dr Martin walking to the police station: this suggests that, unlike the city, the countryside is much quieter. There is a significant lack of cars on his journey which suggests that the countryside is clean and free from pollution. More non-diegetic sound is used on his journey, to create a light hearted atmosphere that positions the audience to think that the countryside "plods along" slowly - highly contrasted to the erratic nature of city life. Once Dr Martin has reached the police station, the mise en scene is similar to that of the doctors surgery; this could be referencing to the lack of crime in the countryside, as there is little need for technological advancement: the computer in the background of the frame appears antiquated. The policeman's dialect is different to Dr Martin's, and we as the reader assume that he is quiescent and "dim" - especially when compared to Martin's loud voice.

The "oner" used to present the engagement between the older woman and Dr Martin is used to reinforce that there is little action in the countryside. With the use of mine en scene, the audience is positioned to think that the older woman is rich, as she is the only character in the extract to own a car. This suggests that, in the countryside, only those who are richer can afford to drive a car and thus links with the stereotype that the countryside is "backwards". 

When Dr Martin notices the younger woman in the school, a close up reaction shot is used between the two characters to suggest that both of them will interact with each other eventually - a POV shot also highlights Dr Martin's interest in the woman. This engagement between two characters is ended quickly through a cut to a wider shot that depicts an old woman with freshly grown cabbages - this mise en scene positions the audience to believe that most people in rural areas are farmers, even those who are old.

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.