The Representation of race through editing and sequencing in The Bill

The two races shown in this extract are Asian and British. By use of shot sequencing, camera angles and movements and editing they are represented as equal.

This extract opens with a high-angle shot of an Asian girl who is the suspect. This shot indicates that she is weak or unimportant, however as she stands up the camera pans up with her, keeping her central in the shot, therefore signifying that the action is revolving around her, and consequently that she is important, weather as a victim or an equal. From here there is panning across to an Asian police woman who is standing at the same level as her. This suggests that the two are equal, however as they are separated by the back of a male British officer, they are of opposing sides. The British police officer is not featured in this single panning shot until it smoothly becomes a tracking shot. This may indicate that he is considered of a higher class or importance than the two Asian women, however as he is in the same panning/tracking shot as them, he is supposedly equal to them. This may lead to the analogy that the two Asian people are not equal to the British man, however despite being of opposing sides, the two women are of the same race, so are therefore equal. In contradiction to this, there are two-shots of the two police officers. This suggests that although they are of different races they are equal. As the suspect is of the same race as the police officer, the immediate representation of the suspect is not a reflection on racial (in)equality.

Throughout this sequence the Asian suspect and the Asian police officer are opposite each other, and never in the same frame. This is obviously no reflection on race as they are of the same race; however the British police man is also never shown in the same frame as the suspect. Although he is shown in the same frame as his Asian co-worker, indicating that they are equal despite racial differences. Also a close-up on him is always matched with a close-up on the suspect. This suggests that they are equal, as are the suspect and the Asian police woman, as their close-ups are also matched.

In the interview there is an Asian man, in the background, sitting beside the Suspect. He is only ever shown in shots with the suspect; never in the same shot as either police officer, Asian or British. A two-shot of the police officers is always matched with a two-shot of the suspect and the Asian man. This indicates that the two Asians are represented as being opposed to the police, possibly linking to the racial stereotype of Asian terrorists. The Asian man is sitting opposite the Asian police woman; however they are never in the same shot. This denotes that they are against each other because she is an authoritative figure, representative of law and order, not because of race. He is also wearing a turban, stereotypically linked with terrorism, where she is in a police uniform. The Asian man and Asian officer are both quiet during the interview, where the suspect and the British man are talking intensely. This indicates that the Asian man and officer are against each other, where the British officer and the suspect are against each other. This could be representative of two rifts in society; the rift between figures of authority such as police officers, and civilians, or possibly terrorists, and the rift between British and Asian people. The British Officer and the Suspect both appear closer to the camera and higher in the frame, so are represented as more important than the other pair.

When the British man says “…interracial harmony,” the focus is on the Asian police woman, therefore suggesting that there is interracial harmony between the police officers, however this may not be so in the case of the suspect. The British police officer says, “I don’t do racism”, this is reinforced by a close-up on the Asian police officer directly after he states this. There is then a close up on the suspect. This may indicate that he is equal to her as well as to his colleague.

All of the editing and sequencing in this clip indicates that the Asian characters are equal to the British man, the only factor changing their equality is the police officer’s power and authority. In general this extract uses a range of techniques to represent race equally. 

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following: Camera shots/angles/movement/composition, Editing, Sound, Mise-en-scene

In Doctor Who women are presented as generally equal to men as their roles and superiority change throughout the extract, however the woman in the red dress is presented as superior to everyone. At first the master, and therefore men, were more powerful and important than women. The master was in control and the only women were the woman in the red dress and Martha’s family, dressed in maid uniforms. This lowered their status. However when Martha was brought in, although she was dragged, she was central in all of the shots and therefore presented as an important character. There were many close-ups matched between the Master and Martha, signifying that they are both important and equal, however as the extract progressed the close-ups on the master began to show his weakness, whereas Martha was shown as powerful. However Martha, at times is presented as weaker than the Master by high-angle shots of her matched with low-angle shots of the Master. High-angle shots of all of the other characters are also used in conjunction with low-angle shots of the Master, and the woman in the red dress, showing that they are more important or powerful than the other characters.

Throughout Martha’s speech, where she explains her plans to defeat the Master high-angle close-ups of her are juxtaposed with a clear sense of authority. Martha is also presented as powerful as she is wearing dark, military-esque clothing and has her hair tied back. This indicates that she is prepared for action and is able to defend herself, however these traits are sometimes associated with men, and are deemed manly. As Martha is speaking the music begins to build up and become louder and more intense. This indicates that Martha is powerful as the music is on her side, and as the music is very powerful and hopeful sounding, it shows that she is good, therefore denoting that women are generally good and powerful as a group. After Martha’s speech the master is obviously very weak and frightened, showing that he may be defeated by a woman. However the music becomes much more intense as the Doctor becomes more powerful, indicating that he is more important than Martha. The importance and power levels of male and female characters are constantly being reversed throughout this extract, therefore representing both genders as equal.

Although the woman in the red dress has a frightened expression and is standing behind the railing as if she has been put on a shelf by the man, the shots are composed so that she is higher up than the man, suggesting that she is more important. She looks as if she is looking down on the events and seeing them from a god-like perspective. This is partly due to the woman's costume. Her hair is styled in a casually coiffed fashion, and she is wearing little make-up, the style of her dress is almost Greek goddess-like, with a modern seductive twist. The red of her nails and dress connotes power and possibly evil. She looks out of place in the scene as she is the only colorful thing there, and she is not simplistically dressed. The master is dressed in a simple black and white tuxedo, which shows he is rich, however he looks untidy in comparison to the woman and their environment. He consistently holds a fairly casual posture, and looks relaxed until he is challenged by Martha. Where the woman is standing straight and powerfully, he is slouching informally and this ridicules him slightly. He looks as if he is comfortable in this environment, possibly because he thinks that he is in control, and is possessive towards the woman, however she holds a passive and strong position and is higher up, so may feel that she knows she is more important than the man.

Their surroundings are simplistically decorated with modern natural wood furnishings. However there are also high-tech scientific diagrams on the walls, and unnatural lighting. The wooden furnishings therefore seem pretentious. The ceiling is large and black, this looks intimidating and gives an underlying effect of tension and makes the scene seem more dangerous. There is unnatural white lighting coming from the left onto the background and the man, the fact that it is not natural connotes that his power is superficial. However the lighting on the woman is coming from the right side, and is an unnatural pink/red light. This could show that she is a much-loved possession of the man, but also that she is seductive, powerful and/or evil.

There is a point in the narrative of this extract where all of the characters, except for the Master, repeat the word “Doctor” over and over again. The woman in the red dress also joins in with this, despite apparently being on the Master’s side. This shows that she is intelligent and morally sound, possibly representative of woman as a stereotype. There is a high-angle shot of her as she says this. This shows that all of the characters, and therefore genders are equal in their bid to destroy the Master and restore the Doctor. It also denotes that all of these characters are less important than the Doctor, who is male. When the Doctor is restored to his original form, he emanates an ethereal light and floats towards the Master in a powerful way. The Master and the Doctor are against each other, and the Master tries to kill the doctor by use of a sonic screwdriver, however the Doctor is more powerful, and takes the screwdriver from him. The Male protagonist and antagonist are therefore presented as cooler. They are the characters which are involved in the action and are therefore more important. While this happens Martha is shown running and hugging her family, who are dressed as maids. This shows that they are equal, however Captain Jack, and other male characters are also in the same position as Martha and her family. This signifies that gender is not intentionally reflected on in the Master and Doctor’s battle. There are also close-ups of a countdown timer, consistently placed throughout the extract. This could signify that the operation underway is more important than any of the characters, male or female.

In general women and men are presented fairly equally, as their importance and power statuses are reversed constantly throughout this extract. However the main female characters in this extract are presented as much more intelligent than the Master or the Doctor, both men. The Master and the Doctor are both presented as much more action-based characters who despite being important and more physically strong than the women, are not as powerful as Martha or the woman in the Red dress. All of the characters shown in the outside world after the Master’s defeat are shown celebrating together, male or female. Therefore connoting equality between males and females in this extract.

Analyse How Gender is Represented in an Extract of Prime Suspect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuJt7mF_Jzo (first 5 minutes) 


Men are presented as thinking themselves superior to women in this extract to the extent that Helen Mirren's character feels pressured to be like a man. A man who is superior to her describes her by stating, "She's got balls." This shows that, as a woman, she is expected to be masculine in order to do her job. This is also shown by Mirren's short hair-cut, presenting her as more masculine. Although Prime Suspect appears to support the view of equality between men and women, it is clear that Helen Mirren's character feels inferior to her male colleagues. 


In the first scene Helen Mirren is being interviewed by a man. He is shown first in a close-up, indicating that he is important. He speaks first and is therefore leading the dialogue. The man and woman are never in the same frame. Over-shoulder angles and close-ups are used to show that both characters are of equal importance despite how it may seem to the characters, and also to separate them and therefore show the segregation between men and women. Mirren looks down to the floor when the man is talking sternly to her, this shows that she is less powerful than him. She is dressed slightly more informally in white, there the men are all in black suits, matching the dark, sensible decorating. This connotes that the men all belong in this work place where the woman does not.


After Helen Mirren has theft there is 1 wide-angle shot of the man at this desk with an empty chair opposite to show that he does not need her; her absence is welcome. Also as she leaves there is a close-up of the "Commander" sign on the man's door, undermining Mirren's authority and importance. However she is higher in the frame than the sign, therefore indicating that she is more important and associating her with a higher position.


Later this scene is paralleled by an interview between 2 men, the original man and a man superior to him. The 2 men are shown as equal, sitting across from each other in a wide-angle shot. Both men belong in this profession as both are wearing black suits and match the aforementioned environment. Many of the shots and angles used in this scene show both men in the same frame, signifying that they are equal, less close-ups are used for the same reason. Neither of the men ever mention Mirren's character's name, she is always referred to as "her". This undermines her as she is not considered a person, only a female. When "female murder squad officer" is mentioned there is a close-up of the first man to show his discomfort at this prospect.


When this prospect is mentioned to the other staff the office is panned slowly. This denotes the male dominance in this occupation as only men are present. Women are not accepted. In this scene all the men laugh at the thought of a woman being superior to them. Although this undermines Helen Mirren's character, the men have to be addressed like children which almost ridicules them.


Helen Mirren's character is presented as much more empathetic and human. There is a close-up of Mirren followed by a close-up of the Victim's photograph. Mirren's expression is slightly pained, this shows an emotional connection. This shot also compares the victim to her as they are both women, possibly showing Mirren as weak. However when talking to a woman, Mirren is more relaxed and in control. 


There are more 2 shots when Mirren is talking to a woman, showing them as equal, just as with the 2 men in an interview. Mirren is, however higher in the frame, so she is more powerful than the other woman. This may be because she is thought to have a man's job, and in this scenario authority comes hand in hand with masculinity. 


There are many tracking shots of Helen Mirren's character, indicating that she is important as the main character, who the TV drama follows. When leaving the Commander's office a second time, a tracking shot is used. As this angle the "Commander" sign is even lower compared to her than in the first scene. She is very sensible until she celebrates to herself while walking. Although this depicts her as less sensible and dignified than the men, where the men's desks are empty and under-used, hers is full and she is clearly immersed in her work, denoting she is more intelligent and therefore superior. 


No non-diegetic sound is used in this extract. This brings an element of realism to Prime Suspect, denoting that the program was produced knowing that women are thought of as inferior, and raising this as a very real issue. 

Doctor Who - How gender is being represented through mise-en-scene.

In Doctor Who women are presented as generally equal to men, however in the stills that I annotated the woman was presented as superior to the man. Although the woman has a frightened expression and is standing behind the railing as if she has been put on a shelf by the man, she is higher up in the picture than the man, suggesting that she is more important. She looks as if she is looking down on the events and seeing them from a god-like perspective. This is partly due to the woman's costume. Her hair is styled in a naturally fancy-looking way, and she is wearing little make-up, the style of her dress is almost Greek goddess-like, with a modern seductive twist. The red of her nails and dress connotes power and possibly evil. She looks out of place in the scene as she is the only colorful thing there, and she is not simplistically dressed. The man  is dressed in a simple black and white tuxedo, which shows he is rich, however he looks untidy in comparison to the woman and their environment. He is holding a casual position, and looks relaxed. Where the woman is standing straight and powerfully, he is slouching informally and this ridicules him slightly. He looks as if he is comfortable in this environment, possibly because he thinks that he is in control, and is possessive towards the woman, however she holds a passive and strong position and is higher up, so may feel that she knows she is more important than the man.


Their surroundings are simplistically decorated with modern natural wood furnishings. However there are also high-tech scientific diagrams on the walls, and unnatural lighting. The wooden furnishings therefore seem pretentious. The ceiling is large and black, this looks scary and gives an underlying effect of tension and makes the scene seem more dangerous.


There is unnatural white lighting coming from the left onto the background and the man, the fact that it is not natural connotes that his power is superficial. However the lighting on the woman is coming from the right side, and is an unnatural pink/red light. This could show that she is a much-loved possession of the man, but also that she is seductive, powerful and/or evil.

How do Camera Movements Reflect Ethnicity in "Spooks"?

The scene opens with a crane shot on the scene, however due to the lighting the ethnicity of the characters are initially ambiguous. In this crane shot, as a viewer you are already able to see that one man has power over two others, who are sitting down back to back. You can see that they are less powerful because of their height levels. All of the shots of the Asian man who has the power are low angle, and mostly close-ups or extreme close-ups. This is to make him seem taller and therefore more powerful, whereas the other two characters (a white woman and a black man) are shown from higher-angled shots and less close-ups. This is because they are less powerful. There is a crab-shot on the Asian man, this shows that you will want to watch him intently as he is dangerous. The camera movement mimics the point of view of the characters. The crab-shot is not used on the white or black characters, this signifies that they are not dangerous. Tilt shots are also used, only showing the Asian man, again to show the extent of his power.


The Asian man is shown as a danger, this supports the negative racial stereotype linked with people of this ethnicity, and because of that the focus is on him. Hand-held camera is also used throughout, this makes the situation seem more real as it is less manufactured. This presents the Asian man as a more real danger.


The black man and white woman are on the same level of power, shown by similar close-ups and lack of tilt-shots, however the Asian is the centre of focus and also more powerful. This presents the idea of racial separation. The Asian man is separated from the other characters by appearing to be in a different class from them. This connotes separation of the Asian community from other ethnicities, via stereotyping. The Asian man is dangerous, this represents all Asian people as also dangerous, and separates them from the rest of society.