Representation Of Ethnicity In Hotel Babylon.

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Explain how ethnicity is represented in the clip. Mention mise en scene, editing and sound.


The clip starts with looking at the ethnicity of black people, portrayed in two different ways. The two characters could be describe as binary opposites because they are so different to each other, it shows one guy called Benjamin, who works for the hotel, as someone who doesn't want to get involved with the things he did in his past, in effect he has turned his life around and become a 'respectable person'. On the other hand, his old friend, who he hasn't seen in 7 years (signifying how well he has managed to stay away from his past), wants to carrying on living in his younger years. The lighting in this scene is quite dull, maybe showing the stereotypical idea that black people are involved in 'shady deals', or activities that need to be kept in the dark. Benjamin's friend has dreadlocks and tattoos,adding to the image that black males are mixed up in dangerous things, and could be referred to as a 'rebel' in simpler terms. During the exchange between the two characters the over the shoulder shot is used. It helps to show the binary opposites by panning between the two characters, allowing the viewers to compare the two and notice the differences between them. The music played in the clip has a slight beat to it, like hip hop or rap music does, giving the section a 'gangster' feel to it.

In the next section the clip shows two female cleaners, both of which are French, dragging cleaning trolleys to a particular room. This could show that mainly European women do these types of jobs, aka cleaning jobs, because they either don't have the qualifications for a better job or that the can only get work in low paid jobs as they are 'illegal immigrants'. When they enter the room there is a Japanese man sitting on the bed, in a dressing gown, apparently waiting for them. The older of the two maids has already said that the man "pays double for double" suggesting that they may have to do something extra than just cleaning his room in return for extra money, which portrays the woman as greedy, as they seem to be willing to do anything for some more money. The said money is shown to be placed upon a table in two neat piles, showing the stereotypical idea that Japanese people are very tidy and organised. He then picks up the remote and turns the CD player on which plays Moulin Rouge, which is a up beat, sexy song making the scene feel quite sexual and as the music plays the cleaners start to take off their uniforms, giving the audience a good idea about what they have to do for the extra money. Close up shots are used on the Japanese mans face, showing him getting sweaty and watching the maids avidly. The use of this camera angle allows the audience to see the stereotypical view of Japanese men being perverts or dirty people, as he's paying the maids to strip off for him.

The scene after is short and shows a woman who works for the hotel coming into someones room. She then passes some toilet paper through the door to a Mr Taylor, who is not seen in the section. Mr Taylor sounds angry and impatient when speaking to the woman, and as he is British, it portrays British people as rude and impatient. The two actors that we see next, also British, are talking about the chefs in the hotel kitchens. They are dressed very smartly and talk 'properly', suggesting that they are from the 'upper classes' of people, and therefore are quite posh.

Finally the scene in the kitchen involves an Italian chef and a British chef. The Italian chef is dressed in black whereas the British chef is dressed in white, and you find out that the Italian man has slept with the British chefs wife. The black dress suggests an 'evil' side, as black it usually associated with evil, with white being its binary opposite, therefore symbolises the 'good' aspect. Also the fact that the Italian chef has slept with another mans wife could show Italian's to be 'womanisers' and quite reckless people. This is backed up when, during an argument between the two chefs, the Italian man picks up a meat cleaver and threatens to use it, which fits in with the idea of Italians being reckless, and adds the idea that get angry quite easily, that they are 'hot-headed'. Throughout the argument each chef calls each other offensive names in reference to their ethnicity allowing the camera to flick back and forth between them and close in on their faces giving the audience the impression of how angry both are getting, and showing, in some ways, Italian and British stereotypes.

In conclusion I think that Hotel Babylon represents ethnicity quite simply, picking up and using some stereotypes, but not being too controversial about it. They stick to the ideas about ethnicity that are already thought by the audience, therefore avoiding a cognitive dissonance, and allowing the audience to concentrate on the story line the characters are involved in, rather than their, possibly, complicated ethnicity.