Representation Essay (Holiday Homework Task 2)

Grace Watson

8 April 2020

Media Studies

Representation essay - Holiday Homework Task 2

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In the extract from “Eastenders”, one is instantly aware of the representation of different ages. This is evident right from the first shot, almost a wide-mid shot, where the relatively neat young man is positioned on a phone call, with three older individuals standing a bit behind him. The older individuals seem to sympathise for him, relating to the stereotype of the older generation being caring and compassionate. This age representation is once again revealed where the young pizza delivery man, his cap facing backward revealing his informal, almost ‘gangster’, cool vibe (stereotype of teenagers being arrogant), is contrasted to the older individuals mentioned above as well. In this case, he appears to be lively, passionate and energetic in comparison to the older three who seem more tired and needing of quiet and peace. Their longing for quiet is confirmed in the middle-aged man’s statement referring to them having a “nice quiet day”... Later in the clip, a very young boy, who appears to be around twelve years old in age, is pictured alongside a middle-aged man. Here, he appears to be vulnerable as he is trusting of the wrong person, he doesn’t know what awaits him. It’s as if the older man is taking advantage of his innocence by getting him to steel items on his behalf. Overall, the clip depicts the younger generation as having energy and passion, and the older generations as being more quiet and peaceful, perhaps even slightly lethargic (representation of age). It also, secondly, portrays the younger generation as being disrespectful through the character of the pizza delivery guy, and, thirdly, discusses the representation of class/status in which the characters depicted appear to come from poorer backgrounds. There are various comparisons throughout.

Effect has been created through miss-en-scene. The setting of the clip is England (emphasised by the British accent of the characters), and is more specifically set in and around a bar, the “Bic Public House”, typical of Britain where the British citizens (representation of ethnicity) love and enjoy visiting the bar for a drink with friends and family. One is completely aware that it is in the bar because of the alcoholic drinks all around the room which are symbols of a bar, and the diegetic sound of bar music which hints to it being a place for people to come and enjoy some time of rest. The lighting within the bar is more warm and homely, with hues of reds and maroons. Oppositely, the lighting outside is more cold (England). This contrast creates a sense of the bar being a safe haven for the British people who live in the area, where they can escape from their poor, harsh realities. There is a relation to the representation of class/status, where the characters depicted appear to come from poorer backgrounds, discussed in more detail further on. 

In the opening scene, as the young boy in the bar puts down the phone, the three older individuals standing behind him begin discussing. The older lady, her old-age symbolised by her deep wrinkles and white hair, says that “He could do a lot better if you ask me”, “She goes for a bloke like I go for a pack of twenty”. Here, she is referring to the woman with whom the younger gentlemen was on a call to and her referral to the “pack of twenty” (cigarettes) relates to the regional identity and class/status of a more rough background. The woman has a husky, harsh voice. It is not poised nor delicate. Her frown wrinkles and smoking tendencies relate to her poorer background. This is further emphasised later by the dirty looking street along which the bar is situated revealed by a wide shot. Following the old lady’s statement, a close-up shot (camera) of the middle-aged man hugging the woman relates to perhaps a romantic relationship between the two (representation of love and romance). However, their talking about another girl just before hugging encourages questioning within the viewer who wonders if the man is cheating on the woman who is at home, who is at home? Is it his sister, or their daughter, a friend, or perhaps his wife? This possibility of him perhaps cheating on the individual at home, as the viewer is not yet certain, could relate to their poorer lifestyles and perhaps lower standard of morals.

In terms of clothing/costumes, the characters within the bar are dressed relatively normally. Not fancy, but rather humble. The pizza delivery guy is dressed in his work attire which matches the design on both his hat and the stolen scooter. This attire symbolises his position of working at the pizza outlet. Finally, the questionable character revealed to the viewer at the very end of the clip, who has a large wound on the side of his head, is dressed in black. The colour black is associated with darkness and danger, which, along with his scar and dark rings around his eyes, causes the viewer to suspect that he is a dodgy character... which is furthermore emphasised by his convincing a young child to steel on his behalf and his closing sentence of “Goodluck...... you’re gonna need it.”

Soon after the conversation between the three older characters in the bar, a mid shot is used to highlight a young man barging through the door carrying pizzas. He has great energy and zeal, as discussed in the opening paragraphs, and his initial happiness and excitement is highlighted by the mid shot of him on his entry and the close-up shots of as he speaks to those behind the counter.

His entering is accompanied by the diegetic sound and sound effect of the door as it opens and then shuts behind him. The sound effect of the door creates a sense of his “grand entrance”, relating to his confidence. The shot-reverse-shot (editing) of the conversation between him and the older three reveal his loud and confident voice along with his smiling and passion in comparison to the older characters’ more quiet, gentle volume in tone which creates a contrast of how the young are more lively than the old who are more boring and look forward to “quiet days” which the young would deem as painful! The mid shots and occasional close-up shots of their faces reveal a sense of confusion or concern. His light wrinkles contrast to the old lady’s deep wrinkles mentioned earlier, and his often use of raps to communicate what he desires to say correlates to his being younger and more “cool”.

Continuity editing has been used to create an easily followable sequence in which the viewer can easily understand what is happening in the extract. Longer lasting shots (editing) in the beginning of the clip create a peaceful atmosphere in which the young man is on a call and the older three characters behind him are quietly chatting. However, when the pizza delivery guy arrives, his energy and zeal is soon mimicked by the more quick cuts (editing) and alternating camera shots, especially during the conversation when the tension rises between him and the middle-aged man behind the counter. The continuous action of him raising his fist toward the older man often throughout the clip, creates a sense of him trying to intimidate someone older than him, or even worse, being willing to actually punch him physically. Despite his energy, the pizza delivery guy appears to be disrespectful. 

His disrespect is emphasised, firstly, when he informs the middle-aged man behind the counter that he is not his “son”, in which his backchatting is unacceptable, and secondly, when he completely disregards the woman and informs the man alongside her that his “girl here is talking mad slow, so obviously there’s some kind of learning difficulty at play here”. When disregarding the woman, he gives the thumbs up signal, a symbol of something being ok, or good, however in this case he means it sarcastically. He has no manners. All of the above support the stereotype of the younger generation being disrespectful and disobedient... the second main idea evident in the clip.

Instead of being completely infuriated by his ill-manners, the two ladies find it rather hilarious, and often laugh at his behaviour. This could relate to how older people respond to disobedience in reality.... their utter shock at it causes them to giggle. Despite their finding it funny, the over-the-shoulder shot of the young delivery guy looking at the middle-aged man earlier when they were located in the bar, and then again as they stood outside on the street with the pizza delivery guy pointing toward the middle-aged man (highly disrespectful to point) picture him as being angry and frustrated with the pizza delivery guy.

Also evident in the clip is the representation of gender. Typically, woman are stereotyped as being gentle, delicate and kind. In the old lady’s question of “Are you gonna ret him or am I,” a more aggressive tone is sensed. This, along with the focused determination on the younger lady’s face as she addresses the delivery man, revealed by a close-up shot, challenges the typical stereotype mentioned above.

As the story progresses, the delivery man’s scooter is stolen, and as the characters move outside of the bar, the diegetic sound and sound effects of cars in the distance create a sense of it being a busy atmosphere. Accompanied with this is the wide shot of the woman on a phone call to the police, with all of the other characters, as well as those who were in the bar, standing in clusters behind her. Here, the viewer can clearly see that each character is dressed warmly in large jumpers, once again emphasising the location as being England, where it is rather cold.

Effect has been further created through the further use of sound and camera. The sound effect of the police siren as well as the word “Police” written along the side of the car (written language) symbolises the police as having arrived. As they arrive, a wide shot of a young boy entering a door, reveals his facial expression as being suspicious. The viewer instantly begins to question his reliability, and suspect that it is perhaps him who stole the scooter. The following shot of him entering a foreign kitchen and scrummaging through a pink purse which most certainly does not belong to him (close-up shot), along with the sound effect of the keys jingling as he lifts them up and tightens his grip on them with a grin on his face (mid shot) highlights his steeling the keys. His tip-toeing and quiet movements towards the door, revealed by a pan shot, relate to his doing something wrong.

The very next shot is one of the aforementioned young boy alongside an older man dressed in black, the scooter included in the shot, confirming that it was, indeed, the young boy who stole it. Within the shot it is evident that the older man has a large wound on the side of his face and large black rings around his eyes, both relating to his being involved in dangerous activities which pairs with his dark clothing symbolising danger and death, as mentioned above. The viewer becomes aware that the young boy is vulnerable compared to the older man. As the older man hands him both a necklace to “pawn” and money, question is furthermore sparked within the viewer. Although the boy seems completely content and leaves the location, the older man’s words of “Goodluck” followed by a softer “...you’re gonna need it” encourages the viewer to worry on behalf of the child. Finally, the clip ends with the closing full shot of the older, questionable character sitting on the bench with his shoulders on his knees... and the viewer begins to contemplate what is to come.