During the extract,
the social class is shown throughout the clip using four different components.
The extract begins with the camera moving about from left to right, in the
direction of the two characters, the camera uses a tracking movement. This
camera movement has been used to show the audience the setting in which the
clip is based in, the camera moves from left to right, rather than focusing on
one thing i.e. the character or a particular prop. A long shot has been used by
the camera which is quite effective for the audience as it shows them the
‘posh’ type room in which the clip has been set. These camera shots and angles
are used so that the audience can identify the characters and the setting at once.
It is obvious that social class is portrayed in the scene as the camera uses
many angles to show the type of room the characters are in, as it has lavish
furniture and large windows at the end of the room in which you can identify a
large acre of land which can suggest that the doctors surgery and the people
that work there are high class.
The sound in the clip
also shows social class, this is because the first male character that appears
in the clip (Richie) uses dialogue to the lady receptionist but talks down to
her and it comes across as if he is belittling her, which suggests that he possesses
more power than her, also because he is a man, he may feel that he has the
right to talk down to her, although he is most probably the same class as the receptionist.
He says “Looking for doctor Whiting” and by him speaking in a demanding and
patronizing tone, makes Richie seem like a powerful and higher class character.
The receptionist replies to Richie by saying, “Do you have an appointment” in a
softer tone than Richie, but also comes across quite stern. This makes her look
as if she is trying to show she is more powerful than him, because she may feel
that she is higher class than him or that she does not wish to be spoken down
to. As there is not any non-digetic sound and there is just dialogue, it builds
tension when the doctor’ receptionist rebels against Richie. More dialogue is used
when Ritchie replies, “Just tell him its Richie”. The receptionist replied to the
patient again by replying “I’m afraid doctor Whiting can’t see anyone without
an appointment” and then pauses to let Richie think but then adds “I’m afraid
I’m going to have to ask you to remove your car”. This shows representation of
class because the woman who is the higher class is more dominating and
demanding, even though at the beginning of the clip, the male character seems
more powerful than her. However, by the receptionist telling Richie to move his
car, this makes her seem demanding and as if she is now talking down to him.
Editing has also been
used in the extract to represent social class. An example of editing that has
been used is when the camera movement moves back to the very first tracking to
view the whole reception room again. The camera shot of Richie’s close up shot
of his face has been edited and has been cut into a long shot. This goes from
making Richie look powerful to looking smaller which suggests he may not be
higher class. The next shot that is shown of Richie is the close up in the
doctor’s room. This editing cut has been done from one long shot to a close up
to show his facial expression. Due to Richie’s personality comes across to the
audience as aggressive and patronising, it shows that he is not from a very
posh or formal background unlike the receptionist who uses a formal tone of
voice and vocabulary and also Doctor Whiting who is also formal and seems very
dedicated and passionate about his job as a Doctor. You can see this from
listening to the dialogue “What do you want Richie?” This dialogue shows that
the Doctor thinks Richie must be ‘messing him around’ and wasting his time by
joking about. It represents class because the Doctor is clearly from a higher
class than Richie and is looking down onto Ritchie who seems to be upsetting or
annoying people in the reception area.
Mise-en-scene in both
scenes has been portrayed to represent social class because in the reception
area and then into the doctor’s room both show representation of class. The
reception area is very large, with props used to show that the doctors is for
higher class people as the furniture is very posh, such as the couch and the
receptionist’s large, wooden desk. The receptionist’s costume is also very
smart and formal, much more formal than an ordinary, middle class’ receptionist’s
clothes. Even though Richie is in a suit and comes across as quite formal from
his costume, the way he presents himself by picking up the prop, a computer
keyboard and almost hits the receptionist with it, he comes across as
intimidating and violent. This makes Richie look like he is from a high class
by being demanding to the receptionist and coming across as powerful. After
Doctor Whiting comes to see what the fuss was bout, he sees Richie at reception
and caught him with the keyboard prop in his hand and about to swing at the
woman.
Overall, social class has been represented in
this clip by the use of sound, Mise-en-scene, editing and camera shots. Camera
shots and angles are effective by making the character look more or less
powerful which can represent their class type and the higher class looking
powerful. The sound and dialogue plays a big part in the clip because the tone
of voice i.e. the formal language or tone they use can make them seem high
class because of their background and the way they have been brought up makes
them speak in a different way to those who are from a middle class background.
