Representation of Ethnicity- Hotel Babylon- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl5EDzss4-Q

"Analyse the representation of ethnicity through the use of cinematography, sound and mise-en-scene"

In this scene of Hotel Babylon, many different types of people are represented in many different ways. There are a pair/two people for every different ethnicity. The most common difference is the nationality of these people and their accents. All throughout the clip there is modern electrical sounding music, showing that this was shot in modern day and that a lot of the actors are young.

In the first scene, the two black men talk in a very quick manner and use hand gestures to reinforce their points. They also talk in a very casual way and use slang: “Let’s have a party, like in the old day’s man.” The over the shoulder shots show that these two people used to be good friends and that they are in the same ethnicity group. When the man in the pool gets out, the camera looks up at the man in the suit (tilt shot), making him look more powerful. He also is politer compared to his old friend, as he has been working in an English hotel.

The two women who are house maids are obviously not British, but their accents sound as if they’re from somewhere in Eastern Europe. Stereotypically women who are room service maids in hotels are from another nationality and that they don’t have much money. Also, women from Eastern Europe are expected to be attractive and sensual. This is shown as they take their clothes off, helped by the slow, fun and sensual song playing whilst they take them off. Because they are seen as an item, they will take their clothes off and they will take the money as they don’t earn much as it is.

The chef in the kitchen is seen to be a kind man with a big smile who looks after his workers well and is good at his job. This chef sounds as if he’s from Europe and he does the classical Italian gestures, such as kissing his colleague on the forehead and kissing his hand as he moves his fingers away from his mouth. He and his colleagues are also wearing European uniforms for working in a kitchen. Realistically this man is two-faced and acts differently when people aren’t looking around his kitchen.

The English man and woman are represented to be in a higher class in the way they dress with good manners and politeness due to their accents. They use polite English phrases with others such as “You are looking well” and “I hope it all goes well”.