Hotel Babylon - Ethnicity

In the 5 minute extract that we were given of Hotel Babylon (shown above), it shows us a lot about the ethnicity throughout it all. When the immigration officers came to the hotel the main officer shows us that he has authority to investigate the hotel. Due to the camera work, is shows us shots from below which makes him look powerful. This can suggest that he is the antagonist right from the start of the clip.

Camera:

The camera work is a hand held camera at some parts to have the effect of fast paced scenes. It also shows how distressed the people are about just a few immigration officers and it shows how there life is always in danger just because of their ethnicity.They follow the antagonist as he walks around the lobby at the start of the extract, as well as doing downwards shots to make him look high and powerful. Ethnicity is shown here as he is a part of the immigration and it makes him look a lot more powerful than the immigrants which is extremely ethical and is seen as a big issue. Wide shots were used to show off the hotel but also the pathways behind all the luxury are dark and not what you would expect.

Editing:

They used a lot of fast paced cuts to make the scenes a lot more fast paced and like I said before that they are distressed just because of there ethnicity made it have no flow, which is what the makers wanted. It adds a sense of intensity as well as the sound track follows on from a scene onto another. This keeps the flow of intensity throughout the whole of the part where they are hiding from immigration. Because of there is so much tension that it shows the dark side of the way that different ethnic groups are treated in this TV drama.

Sound:

The soundtrack throughout the whole extract gets extremely intense and fast paced when the immigration officers walk in and they try to hide them in the staff room.  When Ibrahim is taken away, the music stops completely as the woman runs and cries for help and the release of him. This is to allow us to hear the reactions of the people who are in the hotel. Afterwards when they go to clear out his locker or storage area, the music turns extremely upsetting and overrules the sound of the whole scene. This creates the atmosphere that this is what there life is because of there ethnicity and that this is what they have to put up with everyday.

Mise-en-scene:

The Mise-en-scene in this extract isn't meant to show off anything, it sets the mood that this scene is not a happy scene at all. The lighting is extremely darker than usual which sets the mood for the entire extract. The way this shows ethnicity is that where in the lobby its all fancy and luxurious but in the back allies and the kitchen is all dark and that's where the immigrants work. They can't work out in the lobby due to their ethnicity. It also is strange how the hotel has this side to it when people think that it's just an extremely wealthy hotel.