Prezzi - Regional identity stereotypes

Prezzi - Gender stereotypes

Prezzi - stereotypes

Class and Status Stereotypes

The definition of class is people having the same social, economic or educational status.
The definition of status is relative, social or professional position, standing.

The different classes are upper class, middle class and working class.
The different status's are high status and low status.

Stereotypes of upper class include:

• High paid
• Snobby
• Posh
• Play polo
• Watch opera and ballet
• Have private education
• More than one big house
• House in a foreign country
• Dress very smart
• Have expensive possessions such as jewellery  

Stereotypes of middle class include:

• Small successful businesses
• Medium sized houses
• Careful with money
• Traditional family 
• Church goers
• Well dressed 

Stereotypes of working class include:

• Low income
• Blue collar workers
• undereducated 
• Hard working
• Exploited 
• Manuel labourers 
• Lazy
• Small houses possibly council flats
• Strong family bonds

Stereotypes of High status include:

• Stereotypically in high paid jobs
• They think they are above people
• They boss people around
• Have a superior attitude
• Think they know best
• Live in big houses

• They follow the instruction of a person of higher status
• Earn less money
• Live in smaller houses than high status people
• Not as much is expected of them
• Less intelligent that high status people

Audience Theory

The media is made up of producers and consumers, also known as transmitters and receivers  Producers create the media and the consumers read the media. Media texts include Television programs, video's and posters etc. 

The simple communication theory

Stuart Hall suggested the encode and decode theory.

The producer/transmitter comes up with a message they want to show in there media. 

They then have to encode it, this might be in English. 

Then they have to say it out loud.

The receiver then hears the message for example they will hear the words of the message.

Finally the receiver has to decode the message.

The problem that this theory has is that the message can be decoded in different ways, for example the receiver may speak a different language to what the message is coded in or the receiver may interpret the message in the wrong way. 

The effects of the media

The first theory of the effect of the media is the Hypodermic needle. This theory suggests that the media brainwashes the consumers. This means that the media says something and the consumer is injected with the message and believe it to be true and correct. This theory dates from the 1920's. 

The second theory is Step flow. This is that the consumer follows the view of an opinion leader, they do not make their own opinion they only select which opinion leader to follow. Opinion leaders are people such as critics. This theory is thought to be a more sophisticated theory than the hypodermic needle theory.

The third theory is Uses and gratifications. This theory gives the consumer more respect, it says that the consumer makes their own opinion and only uses the media for pleasure. They make choices and selections on what to watch and what to believe. This was a republished and expanded version by Blulmer and Katz in 1974 suggesting that the audience use media for

Diversion - to escape or get emotional release from daily pressure. 

Personal relationship - Media creates a virtual companion and social discussion point with others.

Surveillance  - The consumer uses the media to find out what is going on in the world (voyeurism) 

The original theory was suggested by Lasswell in 1948, this was that the audience used the media for 

• Surveillance 
• correlation
• entertainment 
• cultural transmission 

A censor decides what age rating a film is.
A gate keeper chooses what makes the news.

The mode of address is how the media addresses the consumer, whether it is formally or informally. The media can construct a particular mode of address in order to aim the media text at a specific audience. For example the news is very formal and the presenter looks directly at the camera, the producer will have done this so that the audience feel that they can trust that what she is telling them is the truth.
 Oppositional reading is when the consumer deliberately decides to misread the intended message of the media. Rejection or subversion of the preferred reading.

Negotiated reading is when the consumer understands the meaning but it doesn't relate to them so it is of no interest to them to decode it.

Aberrant readings is when someone misreads or misunderstands the message the producers are trying to portray.  

Roland Barthes's theory: 
Denotation in media means that the producer puts in a sign that is supposed to make the consumer think something for example empty wine bottles on a table with a character acting drunk. Connotation is when the consumer takes this denotation and assumes that the character has drunk it all although they have not actually seen them do so.

Semiology is the study of signs and symbols.

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representations of age

Age can be shown in many ways. Typical stereotypes of old age are grey hair, wrinkles and hard hearing. Age is how old you are dependant on when you were born, how long you have been alive and in existence.

My initial thoughts of this clip are that this is three generations of one family sitting down at a table having dinner. I think Patrick is the Grandad or uncle type figure based on his age and characteristics, Denise is his niece or relation, the man is her husband or boyfriend and the two young girls are their children. In the clip the younger generation are represented to be looking for knowledge from the oldest person although the youngest girls is shown to know more than the man and the woman who are the middle generation. This suggests that education has improved since the middle generation but the old man seems to have strong knowledge about a certain time in his life that everyone finds interesting. Age is represented to effect the knowledge of each generation showing the oldest to have knowledge from personal experience, the youngest to have knowledge from education and the middle generation are just being taught by the other generations.

Representation of age can also be looked at through camera shots, angles, composition and movement, Mise-en-scene, sound and editing.

Firstly I will discuss how camera shots, angles, composition and movement are used to represent age in this clip. The first shot is of the old man, Patrick. The camera pans round all of the characters but Patrick seems to remain the centre of the shot through out. This could be to show how he is the centre of conversation and his age is the reason for this due to his knowledge. The camera also shows the whole table a lot, this is probably to show the three generations of people sitting at the table emphasising the age of each. Patrick takes up most of the camera time also suggesting high importance and interest which is all to do with his age and his knowledge of the past. There are a lot of close ups of Patrick's face, not only showing the facial expressions but also showing the wrinkles, grey hair and moustache. The camera shows reaction shots of the characters and they are laughing a lot, this is showing how Patrick is funny and this could be suggesting that with age comes humour. There is a close up of the mother, Denise's hand on the elder daughter hand suggesting that the middle generation are caring and supportive

Next I will discuss how Mise-en-scene is used in order to represent age. The clothing worn by each generation is a clear representation of age. The youngest girl is wearing glasses and appears to be wearing braces, although these generally are stereotypes for girls of this age I think her choice of clothing and glasses are quite unlike the choice other people of this age would make. The clothing of this character could be to show how in this family the youngest girl is also of highest intelligence out of those in the room, this fits well with her knowledge within the clip.
The second youngest girl, her sister, seems to be more interested in fashion and her appearance but this is implying that she is of less intelligence that her younger sister. This suggests that as you get older you care less about intelligence and more about appearance. This daughter is also wearing hoop earrings suggesting that she may have quite high self confidence and attitude. Denise, the mother is also wearing hoop earrings possible suggesting that she is trying to appear younger than she is which is a typical feature of an older woman. She is also wearing quite dark dingy clothing suggesting that although she will wear the earrings she doesn't quite have the same confidence as her daughter who is wearing a very bright blue jumper.
Similarly the middle aged man who I have understood to be Denise's partner is also wearing a plain dark coloured jumper, this shows how he also has possibly lost the confidence to wear anything that shows any character. Black and other dark colours can be interpreted to be quite dull, miserable colours, suggesting that this time in life is of no importance and you are seen as very dull and boring. This also goes with the fact that the two middle aged characters seem to have the least knowledge. Patrick seems to have bright colours on again backing up his knowledgeable and funny personality. The waist coat is a typical elderly man stereotype.
The scene appears to be set in a building with quite old fashioned décor suggesting that this is probably Patrick's house. The shelves all seem to be covered in ornaments etc suggesting Patrick to be quite old as these are probably supposed to be something he has collected over time and the collecting of things is a stereotype of people of the older generation. Patrick is drinking rum which is not a drink typically drunk by young people due to its acquired taste. He also has greying hair and a moustache suggesting that he is old.

Next I will discuss how sound, in the clip is used to represent age.
First of all I will discuss the effects sound in this clip. This includes the voices of each character. Patrick's accent shows his age as he clearly has a different past to the others as they all have standard London accents. In the background music can be heard but not pop or modern music showing Patrick's age.

Lastly I will look at how editing in the clip is used to represent age. First of all there are strait cuts to one shot to another, this creates a feeling of continuity in the conversations between characters. This also makes the scene seem as if it has been filmed in order although this is probably not the case.

Overall the clip shows people of elderly age to have high amounts of knowledge of past events. They show them to also bring comedy to the conversation and seem to portray them as interesting people to be around. This clip portray's middle aged people to be at quite a boring time in their life by dressing them in dull clothing. The also make them seem as if they are trying to hold on to their youth by wearing aspects of the clothes of the younger generation. Finally they portray the youngest generation to be one of two things, interested in knowledge and education or interested in clothing, appearance and fashion. They are also shown to be quite intelligence as they do seem to have more intelligence than the middle generation.

Homework - Complete a textual analysis of the following clip to discuss how class is represented.

Class is shown in this clip through the use of camera shots, sound, Mise-en-scene and editing. The location and clothing that the characters wear also plays a big part in there class and status.

Class is related to money, job, where you live and social status. Stereotypically high class people live in big houses in posh areas, they have good, high paid jobs and are friends with other people like this.

My initial thoughts of this clip are that these people are supposed to be low class and living of of very little money. Family appears to be low on the fathers priorities although this appears to be a very big family. The prospect of family seems to mean a lot to the children. In the clip the main point of discussion for the characters is that they may be given a house in a will, the house house turn out to be a caravan.

Firstly I will look at how camera shots and angle can be used to represent class. As the man walks down the stairs the camera angle is very unsteady. Firstly this could be linked to the conversation happening in this point in the clip as they are talking about how the man was drunk and drugged up the night before and the unsteady camera represents his mind at this time. This camera shot could also be because the clip is about these poor people and the lack of steady filming with a tripod or equipment could be representing the low budget.
The next shot is an establishing shot from the fathers point of view. This shot shows the man's large family all cramped round a small table and also shows the messy low quality cramped house in which they are living.
The camera pans through all of the children's/teenagers faces showing there reaction to what there father is saying.
At 1 minute 3 seconds the camera cuts to the father doing the same thing a few times emphasising that at this point he doesn't seem to be of a sane mind.
The use of a medium long shot at 2 minutes 13 seconds shows the whole family, there clothes and there relaxed posture suggesting low class as people who are high class like to hold themselves quite upright. Also high class people would believe it inappropriate to be out side in their night clothes.
The height of the characters in the medium long shot shows who has authority in the family or at least suggests who is supposed to have the authority. All of the children at some point can bee seen looking up to the father implying that they look up to him but the disappointed look on their face tells the audience that he has perhaps let them down.
At 2 minutes 15 second When the man in the suit approaches them he is taller than everyone else. This and the fact he is wearing a suit implies that he is of a higher class than this family.

Next I will look at how the Mise-en-scene in the clip can also be shown to represent class. First of all the teenage sons have very short 'slap head' hair cuts which is quite stereotypical of people of a lower class. The clothes of the boys are also quite stereotypical, they are very informal and relaxed suggesting no jobs or urgency to be anywhere. Hoodies are often thought to be worn by low class people who are in gangs and cause trouble.
The house is very small and cramped and the walls are not painted. Their appears to be no order, rubbish everywhere and the family appears to be lacking a mother figure. The lack of care for the house and welfare of the family suggests that they are of a low class. There is beer cans and vodka all around the place with children present, beer is not usually a drink recognisably drunk by high class people such as wine and champagne would traditionally be.
The family is very big a typical convention of a low class family and there is a young girl probably of teenage years has a child.
The fathers appearance is quite rough and unwashed. He has long greasy looking hair and an unshaven appearance, this is not usually a typical look for high class business type people suggesting that these people are of a low class.
The teenagers are not wearing particularly fashionable clothing  as they may not be able to afford it or other things may be of more priority to this family.
The family don't talk very posh and use quite a lot of swear words when conversing with each other, this suggests low respect for each other and stereotypically suggests low class.
There house appears to be quite close to other houses which is not typical of high class people as they usually live in houses with a lot of space around them and are more private.

The editing in the clip can also be made to represent class. All of the eye line matches are made so that the children are looking up to the father showing how he has authority. His eye line does not often specifically look at anyone suggesting that he is avoiding eye contact suggesting that he has let them down. At  1 minute 3 seconds the camera makes strait cuts to the father as he has sort of a mad moment. This editing is emphasising his actions and adds to the feeling of insanity we get from him at this point.

Finally sound in the clip is made to represent class. Non-diegetic and a-synchronous sound in the clip includes the mood music and the faint sound of screaming, shouting and possibly the sound of sirens at 18 seconds. This is suggesting that they live in a close area so that you can hear people living around you and the area that they live in has trouble with the law, which is common with low class and money areas. The background music has comical tones suggesting that this family are an object of humour. This music is often played when the characters are laughing at or with their father.
Dietetic sounds and synchronous in the clip include things such as talking, the baby making noises, footsteps as the boy stands up. This is all emphasising what is going on in the clip for example as the boy stands up you can hear rustling which is emphasising that he is moving through rubbish and that the house is cramped.

Overall from watching the clip several times I would make the assumption that this family is of low class and struggles to live on what they do have. The children/teenagers all seem to look up to their father but give the impression that they are let down by him a lot. The aim of the writers of this clip was to give the impression of the lower class family but not to necessarily to create sympathy or empathy for them, but to show the audience the funny side of lower class living.

Stereotypes shown in the clip...

Low class:

Undereducated - in the clip the characters could fall under the stereotype of under educated as they do not use fancy language and there is no mention of education.

Lazy - the characters in this clip could be lazy as they don't actually do anything physically challenging in the clip and the house is a mess suggesting that the do not clean showing laziness.

Small housing (possibly council houses) - although there is no mention of the house being a council house it appears to be small with the number of occupants. 

Strong family bonds - in the clip family does appear to be important to the characters as they are talking about how they stayed because they want their father.

There appears to be no signs of the characters in the clip being hard working, exploited or manual labourers which are all stereotypes of the working class.

Middle class:

There is no signs that the family are church goers, own small businesses, careful with money or are well dressed which are stereotypes of the middle class. However they could be seen as a traditional family as they are all sitting round a table together. 

High class: 

There are no signs of the family being High paid, Snobby, Posh, Playing polo, Watching opera and ballet, having private education, dressing very smart, or having expensive possessions such as jewellery. However they can be seen as having two homes as the caravan could be classed as a home.

High status:

The father in the clip appears to have a higher status than the children as he had the power to lock them out. However they do speak down to there father lowering his status. 

Representation of gender - The hustle

In this post I will discuss the ways in which gender can be represented by camera shots, angle, movement and composition, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. In the video different aspects portray both the male and female characters to have certain characteristics based on their gender.

Firstly in the post I will discuss the effect that camera shots, angles and movement have on how we look at the characters gender. The first shot is a close up of the blond lady, this shot is showing her reaction and facial expression and is showing her to be sly and deceitful by her pout. The next shot of interest is when it is an over the shoulder shot over the man's shoulder looks down upon the elderly lady. This is suggesting that men are of higher importance that woman. The next shot is of the whole room, this is establishes the location that the characters are in and emphasises that this man is working in an upper class lady's shop. it is also showing status as the man is higher than both women and the blond woman is higher than the elder woman. This is also backing up my poking about men being higher as it's a high end shop. This shot is also showing the action in the room. The camera again close ups on the woman's face showing her sly untrustworthy face.
The next shot shows the elder woman looking up to the man showing how she is looking up to him as he knocks her down when she can't afford the dress once again showing social standing between the characters. The next shot shows a close up of the ladies hand. In the shot we see her jewellery and her red nails this is suggesting that women are only interested in material items and the father nails are red could possibly showing class and power as red is a very strong colour. The camera shows the shop man as he does a feminine run out of the room. The fact that he ran in this way and works in a women's clothing shop can also affect our view on gender as he appears to be quite a feminine character despite still being portrayed as higher that the women. The next shot is a pan shot from the blond woman's feet up to her head this shot shows the woman to look sexy and sophisticated which is a contrast to how the elder lady was portrayed.
In the next scene the is just two shots, one if from the other side of the bar showing the two men as they conversation but is more on one man's side. This matches the content of clip as at this point he seems to be the more successful one of the two. In the second should it stays behind the bar but is on the side of the second man, this could be because at this point the other man appears to assert his authority and take an interest in what he has just been told. the fact there is only two very simple shot in this scene can be said to be  representing how men are uncomplicated unlike the woman in the next scene.
The next shot is of the blond woman's hand showing that she has no ring. Next the cameras held very unsteady and follows the lady as she frantically searches for the ring. This is suggesting that women are so attached to their material items that they will be unstable if they loose them. The males reaction is backing up this point as this seems to be shown on his face.
Lastly in this scene the woman looks at the camera and makes eye contact with the audience, this implies that women get what they want.
In the next scene it is in line with the man as he searches for the ring, the fact that this man is on the floor shows how women can control males, suggesting that men will obey women. Next the camera pans up the new male character showing his smart appearance. As it does this this camera angle shows the status of these two characters. The shop worker who has more feminine aspects to his character is lower than the new character who appears very cool, sophisticated and regains his manly hood throughout the clip. The camera then does over the shoulder shots showing get confrontation between the men. Lastly the cameras watches the man leave the shot as he makes eye contact with her camera.

Next I will look at how the different types of sound represent gender in this clip. The non - diegetic background music is quite Suave and sophisticated at first and sort of gives the audience the feeling of being in a shop like this.
The blond ladies voice is very low and husky, this is giving the audience the impression that she is quite sexy but also deviant as she is really using this to get what she wants. This sound is diegetic and synchronous and goes with what's seen on the screen.
The shop man has a camp, feminine aspect to his voice which go's well with the way he is presented in the rest of the clip.
When the scene changes to the men in the pub the background changes to have more of a jazz feel to it. It is unclear at this point if the sound is A-synchronous and diegetic or whether it is still non-diegetic background music. The music portrays these men to be high class as jazz is playing in their men's club. Non-diegetic sounds in the clip include low hummer of chatter, classes clinking and laughter, this all sets the scene for the audience and creates a sense of realism.
The elder man at the bar has an American accent suggesting that he is Suave and important.
The background music played at the lady searches for her ring has a sort of comical tone to it and the tempo appears to speed up a bit. This is giving the audience the impression that this lady is hysterical and supposed to be a figure of comedy at this point. This makes us wonder if in the media women are seen as an object of entertainment rather than as an individual.
As the new character walks in the music goes back to being steadier and jolly, but also keeps a slight jokey aspect to it. Lastly there is the use of exaggerated sound when the man drops the ring into his hand, this is exaggerating the action as this is the point where the audience (if not already) understand what this clip is about. This is showing the man to be secretive, smooth and very deceitful.

Mise-en-scene in the clip can be interpreted to represent gender. The first lady who cannot afford the dress is grey haired, short and clothed in fairly regular clothes. This is suggesting that she is not that well off or high class. The aim of this character is to get sympathy rather than for the audience to find her attractive like the other woman character. This is showing how women are portrayed to be weak and powerless and it is a man who is putting her down in this scene. The blond lady walks in in a grey  and suit representing power and status. With the fact that she is blond comes with some stereotypes such as being a bit of an air head and ditsy, the reason for this could be that she wants to come across as this in order to get what she wants showing how women can manipulate men. She tries on the long back dress covered in diamonds, this dress is supposed to make her look sexy, sophisticated and high class. This is the way that the media try to portray women in order to appeal to men. Women appear to want to please men and go crazy if they do something that would jeopardise there relationship with there man. The shop worker is wearing a suit and he is working in a high end women's clothes shop, this has then lead to him having the stereotype of being camp and has some feminine aspects such as the way he walks and his pink tie. The men are in a bar, this implies that they are relaxed and calm and in no hurry to do work. they are both dressed in black and look fairly smart which is the same as every man in the clip suggesting all men are high class and smart. They are drinking whisky and smoking in what appears to be a men's club showing a high amount of sophistication. Everything in the clothes shop appears to be blacks, whites and blues which are all quite powerful colours but are also a little bland which could be implying that women are like this too.

In the clip this clip it doesn't always do a strait cut to another scene, it uses an editing effect in order to represent gender. One section slides to another as the shop man walks away, this shows how the man walks quite smoothly away, showing how he has an air of sophistication. The next time when it cuts to the men in the bar it uses a different effect, this time it makes me think of speed, which matches the stereotype of men liking cars, and speed etc.
Overall this video and the media give two representations of women, firstly there is strong, powerful women who get what they want through there clothes and actions. This is shown by the main blond woman in the clip. The other representation is that women are weak and below men, shown by the very first woman in the clip. This clip also gives two representation if men. Firstly there is powerful men who get what they want represented by the con man in the clip. Lastly there is men who are similar to women who are lower than the other men and have more feminine characteristics such as the way they walk shown by the shop keeper.