Cranford Essay

Class and status within this clip is clear to see, because of the contrast between characters, what they wear, and which location they belong in.
It is easiest to see within the Mise En Scene as the clothing of the characters differs depending on their class. Harry, a lower class child, is wearing scruffy clothes, and when a two shot between him and Mr Carter occurs, their outfits juxtapose due to the rich, formal outfit of the higher class sir. 

Low key lighting is used at the beginning of the clip around Harry, to emphasize his unhappy state, due to the fact they are poor. The contrast between the shack and the manor is shown through the master shots; the shack covered with foliage versus the manor surrounded by by space to show its size. The interior of the shack is bare and the dialogue is the focus, not the interior , whereas in the office, the master shot emphasizes its status. 

Harry looks onto the house through the trees, as the house is shrouded by branches. This shows he isn't supposed to be there due to the fact he doesn't fit in with the location, as he belongs in the small, dark, broken shack. When Harry sneaks up to the greenhouse, a shot from inside the greenhouse is used to show he is looking in. This reverse style shot is used to show he is an outsider and doesn't belong inside the wealthy establishment. 

There is also a  contrast between Harry's mother and the Ladies of the Manor who sit in horse and carriages. Harry's mother barely says a word whereas the ladies in carriages are quite vocal and loud with laughter and happiness. This gives the impression that people of a lower class are generally unhappier due to the fact they don't have a satisfying life; whereas richer people enjoy life because they are wealthy and of a higher social status. 

Sound is also key in this clip as the dialogue also represents the divide between lower and higher classes. 'Appy birthday 'Arry' shows the informality and lack of pronunciation within the lower class father's speech, indicating lack of education and schooling. Whereas the well spoken Lady of the Manor indicates wealthier people tend to speak in a posh way in comparison to the lower class characters. A diegetic door squeak is also heard, which shows the poor conditions they live in, and they don't have any money to fix the door or make their house more homely. The diegetic rustling and bird sounds add the the fact they live in a secluded area, symbolizing the fact they are the only poor characters around, as the Manor is full of posh, well respected people. 

No non-diegetic music is played when we are inside the poorer household, to focus on the dialogue and action of the characters. It also creates a sad, depressing atmosphere as it is paralleled to the dark, low-key lighting of the scene. However, when we are inside the greenhouse with Harry, exotic and high-pitched music is heard to show how unusual it is for him to be there, as it isn't his natural scenery. The non-diegetic music then continues to be happy when the marquee is being assembled, and this indicates Harry is happier having a job for a well respected household. 

Throughout the clip, Harry looks up to everyone and low-angled camera shots are used to show what little status he has is the world. High-angled shots are used when focusing on Harry's father, as in the household he has the power. Shot/reverse shots are used during their conversation to emphasize what they are saying and their reactions to the topic of the conversation. 
When Harry is in the Office, different levels are used to show the difference in status, as Harry is sat in the chair and Mr Carter is stood up, towering over him; although not in a condescending way as the audience gets the impression he feels sorry of the boy, as he gives him bread and a drink. 

Cranford - Class and Status

Mise en scene:

Harry
scruffy clothes
dark small house
bare feet
low key lighting

Mr Carter
expensive boots
cane
nice office

Lady of manor
white extravagant dress

Ladies in carriages
curled hair, expensive dresses

Man on horse

ladies all cooing to him
top hat
people have heard of himrespectable 

The mise-en-scene in this clip reveals a contrast between rich and poor people. The poor people are seen to be living in the forest and wear dark, scruffy clothes. In contrast to this, the rich are dressed in higher class clothing. Focusing on Harry and the older man, he is shown to be a lower-class boy with little knowledge and no formal schooling. The dark, dingy lighting juxtaposes with the older man, who has clean and sophisticated clothes. The older man, Mr Carter, pays the boy and as the boy eats the bread in the office, he is seen to be sympathetic towards Harry.

Sound:

birds and rustling in the woods
poor family live out of the way
dialogue 'Appy birthday 'Arry' indicates non RP speech
door squeaks = run down cottage

heavy depressing music
music when dad rises indicated he hold the power
when no dialogue, indicates depressing
music when boy giddy= emotional

horses and well spoken Lady of the manor indicate wealth

music upbeat when work commences on marquee


When we are first introduced to Harry, non-diegetic sound is heavy and depressing, this represents the class of the boy, showing that he does not have a happy or fulfilling life at this young age. The door squeaking when he arrives home indicates that his family do not have a wealthy lifestyle.
When the boy enters the greenhouse, the music is of a higher pitch which could indicate the higher status of the owners of the greenhouse.
The viewer is then introduced to the sound of heavy footsteps giving us the impression that someone of higher status is approaching and this creates tension.


Camera:

can't see the house in full view, hidden by trees shows Harry shouldn't be there
camera moves with and focuses on Harry, shows he's important,
over the shoulder shot of father telling Harry off
camera shows Harry looking up to all characters
mid/long shot of cramped room
zooms in on boots, showing how grateful he is for them
mid shot of Harry alone in dark
house is surrounded by leaves and shot through the window shows he is an outsider
Mr Carter's boots juxtapose with Harry shoes
two shot shows the differences between the two
high angle of Mr Carter shows his status
Lady on steps = status
master shot of doctor on horse implies he is important

In this clip, the camera angles show class and status in a variety of ways. The juxtaposition of the shack and the manor is shown through the master shots; the shack covered with foliage versus the manor surrounded by by space to show its size. The interior of the shack is bare and the dialogue is the focus, not the interior , whereas in the office, the master shot emphasizes its status. A two shot of the pair shows the clear differences in class and status. The camera follows the work of the outdoor workers to show manual labour compared to the lords and ladies in the carriages who are doing nothing to prepare for the event. 

Editing:

The editing in this clip is continuity editing to create a sense of realism. The conversation between Harry and his father is carried out using shot reverse shots which illustrates the father's harsh reaction to his son wanting to learn. 

The cutting between the shack, the greenhouse and the manor activities reveals how the class of the characters is closely connected to the locations where they live or work. Many uses of eyeline match and point of view shots are used when the focus in on Harry, indicating that he likes the boots and longs for the bunch of grapes but restrains himself; he is accustomed at the young age of ten to accept disappointment.

Sexuality

Is the sexuality of the characters easily  identifiable?

We can see that Maude is constantly staring and the other woman, and we can see she has feelings other than friendship towards her. At the beginning of th clip the two girls are standing, facing the mirror and Maude is stood in the background, half hidden by the other girl, this shows she can't show her feelings, but seeing the reflection of her and the other girl in the mirror is something she desires as they are together. When she is painting the other woman asleep, the camera zooms in on her face and expressions, then cuts to show us what she is looking at; her breasts. This leads us to believe; Maude is a lesbian who has to hide her feelings as they are not seen as 'right' in society. At the beginning of the clip the two girls are standing, facing the mirror and Maude is stood in the background, half hidden by the other girl, this shows she can't show her feelings, but seeing the reflection of her and the other girl in the mirror is something she desires as they are together. It is unsure whether the other girl returns the feelings for her also, as the camera never shows us her thoughts of feelings as the protagonist is Maude. Also, towards the end of the clip, there is a scene in which the other girl is undressing and it I in slow motion to emphasize the action and make it more seductive. The camera then cuts to the lesbians face to show she is watching.

Is the sexuality represented as being important in their life?

Because this clip focuses on Maude's feelings for the other girl it leads us to believe that the feelings she has consumes her and takes up most of her life. We also hear her talking in the non-diegetic voice over and this allows us to see her thoughts as they can’t she can’t be open in society.  A sound bridge of the voiceover is also used to show the clip is centred on her because this is her life. When she is painting the girl and the paint drips, it shows the lack of control she has over her feelings and the fact it is beginning to affect her life. Red also has connotations of love, as well as danger, so these feelings could begin to shape and define her life and who she is.

Are particular sexualities seen as more powerful, better, normal? If so, how?

In this clip, as it is set in the past, we see that it is not seen as normal for girls to have feelings for other girls, as it isn’t seen as the normal way to fall in love. The man in this clip is adamant that Maude should marry him as the other girl “must think we’re in love with on another” as this is a conventional relationship, that somehow benefits them both, although we don’t find out why as it doesn’t explain this is the clip.

What message is the clip aiming to portray about sexuality?

In this clip, i think sexuality is meant to be portrayed as something you can't control, as well as something people have to hide because of their circumstances and situations. For example, when the man puts his hand over Maude's mouth to keep her from shouting out, this could also represent the fact he doesn’t want Maude to tell the girl she loves her, as it could ruin things or have a bad outcome, so instead he proposes a cover up marriage.

Is the time/ era / context of the clip important or relevant when considering attitudes towards sexuality?

We can see the context of the clip is around the Victorian era, as the women wear old fashioned dresses and hairstyles that we would only find in that time period. Throughout the clip we hear non-diegetic paralleled classical music that enhances the feeling of being in the past along with the setting of the TV show. These contribute to the fact that different sexualities, other than straight, were seen as unusual and wrong because of the society and way people were expected to behave.

Sexuality in Torchwood

In this scene, Jack asks Ianto out for dinner, although at the beginning of  we are not sure that Ianto is actually gay. Despite Jack's flirting and use of words to describe the office (such as "exotic" and "i always get excited in these places"), Ianto changes the subject to avoid talking about the office and this makes us think he might not want to talk about it because it makes him uncomfortable as Jack is gay. However, when Jack asks him to Dinner and a Movie we see Ianto say yes, showing he is in fact gay. 




In this clip there is some debate as to whether Jack is gay, as this is when he meets everyone for the first time. His sexuality is unknown, but comments are made about his clothing which leads us to believe he isn't straight. However, because Gwen and the other woman argue that he isn't gay, we see he could be a flirtatious person or he could be confused about his sexuality; especially the line "He'll shag anything if it's gorgeous enough". 



Captain Jack; The flirt. 

Essay for Mr Ford

How is Media Convergence Important for Audiences and Institutions

Gender in Sherlock

This clip shows that women can be helpless and this adheres to the stereotype men are in control and are superior to women. This clip shows Mrs Hudson is helpless against the brute force of the men and she can't do anything to save herself. This also adds to the stereotype females are physically and sometimes emotionally or mentally weak. 



In contrast to the stereotypical views the first clip suggests, this next clip shows that women can be clever and appear to be something they are not. This clip shows that women can be as good as men as Mrs Hudson manages to help out in the situation by pretending to be crying. This contradicts the original clip as she is in fact helpful and strong in the face of adversity. "Mrs Hudson, leave Baker Street? England would fall." shows that Sherlock and John do need her around and feel she is important in their lives. 

Hustle - Gender Essay

The things we stereo-typically associate with males and females cloud our judgement on what certain characters are going to be like within television programmes  We are first introduced to this clip of Hustle when a posh looking woman enters a boutique shop. We instantly think she is  materialistic as she look immaculate and wears posh, expensive clothes and heads straight to the dresses. This conforms to the stereo-typical views that women love to shop and like expensive things. When the camera later sweeps over her body, we can see she is wearing an expensive ring as well as other types of jewellery. This shows she is wealthy and is of a higher class, which could show both the 'modern woman' who works for a living and has an important job, or the 'old-fashioned' housewife who doesn't work, cleans the house and lives off the money of her husband. 

We are also introduced to another woman and the male shop assistant. There are high-angled shots used to show the woman is out of place because of what she is wearing, and this is then confirmed when the dress is "a little out of her price range". Over the shoulder shots are used when the shop assistant is talking, as it stresses his importance and power in the scene. We often assume men have more power over women because they are seen as the dominant gender in society. However, the shop assistant isn't exactly a typical male due to his feminine personality and presumed sexuality. When he is talking to the vulnerable client he peers over her to make her feel smaller and uncomfortable. This adheres to the initial conclusion men are superior and can manipulate women by being the dominant gender. 

When the scene changes a wipe transition is used along with the sound of a curtain sliding, this enhances the idea women are materialistic and like to shop and buy clothes. When we see the higher class woman again the camera sweeps up her body as she is wearing the dress. She is making emphasized noises that exclaim how much she loves the dress and this conforms to the idea women enjoy shopping and spending money, as well as liking expensive "£2000" dresses. When asking about the price the woman acts in a girly manor by using her hands and smiling a lot. This is typical behaviour we would expect from females and it adds to the portrayal of the character within the clip.  

Once the woman has lost her ring we can see she behaves in the way a typical woman would when losing a precious item. She exclaims that her "husband will kill her" upon losing the ring as it's worth a lot of money. She then also talks about a hair-dressing appointment which is something a stereotypical girl would be worried about missing. A hand-held camera and the pace of the editing have been used to show the frantic and worried movements of the woman. When she says the words "Please help me!" and "Please, anything!" it creates the idea women are helpless and need the assistance of a man to help them with things. This adds to the idea males are more superior and are better than women as they often help a 'damsel in distress'. 

When we meet the con-artist who 'finds' the ring we instantly get the impression he is masculine and behaves like a typical male. He doesn't talk in a posh manor as he says things such as "She didn't get that out of a cracker did she"and he chews gum. These actions adhere to what we think most men behave like, as he wants to claim the reward and assert his male dominance over the shop assistant. He also breaks the fourth wall in this scene, which shows he is in control of the situation and can do what he wants. The camera angle juxtaposes with the situation as a high-angled shot in being used when looking at the con-man, when he is in fact more powerful than the shop assistant. This could have been to show that even though the shop assistant should have authority over him, he doesn't because gender and masculinity have come into play. The con-man has natural power over him without trying because of the way he behaves and the things he says. 

At the end of the clip we see that the posh woman is too a con artist and she isn't as feminine as we first thought. She seems to be in charge o the situation as she and the male con-artist have managed to get £1500 from the shop assistant. This goes against the stereo-typical views we have of women as males are seen to be the dominant ones, and in this situation the woman isn't helpless and struggling, she is smart and business-like. Overall. this clip both contradicts and adheres to the initial thoughts we have about gender, as women can be both smart and materialistic, and men can be both masculine and powerless.