Doc Martin extract essay

Discuss the Ways the Extract Constructs Representations of Regional Identity

Doc Martin- Discuss the ways the extract constructs representations of regional identity

Discuss the ways the extract constructs representations of regional identity.

• Camera/angles/movement
• Sound
• Editing
• Mise-en scene

Notes

• Cornish- Often shown as being 'backwards', living in rural areas or working on farms
• London- Rich, posh, snobby, upper class
• Establishing shot at beginning shows setting and characters in frame
• Outfits vary, deep focus allows us to see the costumes clearly
• Working class workers
• Middle class doctor
• Lighting encourages the look of working class (manual labour)
• Low angle shot proves that Doc Martin is a higher status
• Visually see the sink which emphasises what the workers are doing (action code)
• One of the workers (son), is an unconventional character who goes against the stereotype
• Music is sleepy sounding which shows the village is quiet and calm
• When the water bursts, it shows they can't handle stress as they can't deal with it but Doc Martin can which shows he is from a different background
• Close up of his face as he shouts which shows his commanding nature as he is from a different background
• Long shot of him walking with dog which shows his clothing compared to villagers with basic clothes (semic code)
• Over the shoulder shot 
• Mid shot 
• Shot reverse shot shows fast paced editing 
• Tracking shot follows person

Example of tv dramas that represent regional identity

Doc Martin- Set in a rural Cornish village/ shown as being backwards and living in rural areas



Downton Abbey- A very wealthy family living in a large castle like house/very rich, posh, happy, living in castles and being very “royal.”

Shameless- Set in Manchester on a Chatsworth council estate/ Portrayed as being uneducated, chavs and criminals 

Happy Valley- Shown as living in the Calder Valley in Yorkshire/ Portrayed as living in the rural countryside


Stella- A simple job that doesn't require much labour as she may be seen a less intelligent. As well as being set in a rural town in Wales/ Often shown as being less intelligent and living in the countryside

Representation of regional identity

• Refers to here in the UK someone is from
• Refers to areas such as 'north' or 'south', and country 'England' or 'Scotland' and cities such as 'London' or 'Manchester'

•Scottish – often shown as being money obsessed, won’t pay for anything, drinks a lot of alcohol, loves the outdoors, wears kilts, eats haggis, quite aggressive and violent

 

•Welsh –Often shown as living in the middle of the countryside, less intelligent, good at singing (Male voice choirs),with people making jokes about them “shagging sheep”

 

• Irish – often shown as living in the countryside, working in rural areas such as farms, being very religious, being good at dancing and singing (love a good craic), very friendly but less intelligent

 

• English – often shown as being racist (think St George cross on houses or cars), obsessed with beer and football living in London. Sometimes the stereotype goes in the opposite direction of showing English people as very rich, posh, happy, living in castles and being very “royal.”

 

•London – There are two main stereotypes of Londoners. One is that they are often shown as being rich, posh, snobby, upper class, Hugh Grant types from central or west london. The other is that they often shown as being from north, east or south London, poor, common, lower class, criminalistic, violent “Kidulthood” style

 

•Manchester / Newcastle / Liverpool – Often shown as being “chavs”, wearing fake designer labels, or tracksuits, drinking a lot, being aggressive, uneducated, criminals

 

• Essex – often shown as being glamorous but cheap, footballer’s wives, lots of partying, being quite stupid

 

•Yorkshire – Often shown as living in rural countryside, with rolling hills and cobbled streets, being quite old fashioned (despite Yorkshire being the biggest county and containing large cities such as: Leeds, York and Sheffield)

 

•Cornwall / Somerset – Often shown as being “backwards”, living in rural areas, working on farms

 

•South England – often shown as being the centre of culture, modern, classy, clever, sunny, richer, doing middle class jobs where one dresses smartly

 

•North England – often shown as being poorer, bad weather, lower class, aggressive, less culture, less clever, doing working class jobs such as builders etc

To what extent does digital distributon affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the area of media you have studied

It is argued that digital distribution has a massive impact on marketing and consumption of media products. E.g. things like Netflix or iTunes.






Through the use of internet, VOD has become increasing popular. It allows people to watch and stream movies from home rather than go out and rent a DVD etc. VOD was launched in 2001 and many companies soon used it through the internet and allows people to access better streaming and downloading for films.




A film directed by Bill Wheatley called A Field in England (who also directed Kill List), released this film at the same time on VOD, DVD and cinema. He believed that this would boost the films income as it was available to more people on its release.


However, films like Mad Max Fury Road were illegally pirated thousands of times. The studios won't earn any money from this illegal method but it still gains recognition for the film and the studios.

Discuss ways in which the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity

In the extract of Hotel Babylon, representation of ethnicity is constructed with the help camera angles, mise en scene, editing and sound.

In the opening scene of the extract, mise en scene is used to show us a white male with a suit on being talked to by two men in uniform who appear to be police officers. A semic code is then used to portray to the audience that this man is the owner of the hotel because of the clothes he is wearing and his attitude towards the police officers as he appears to be controlling man which suits the owner of a hotel. We can tell that he is high up in the hierarchy of his workplace which fits the stereotype of white males being wealthy and having good jobs.

The following scene shows lots of illegal working racing around to try and get hidden. Dramatic, intense music is included to portray the workers panic and hurry to hide and not be found. Quick editing is used to cut between different people trying to find a hiding spot to increase the feeling of urgency. There appears to be conflict between the two races as the white officers are entering to find the non-white workers and take them away as they don't have the authority to be doing what they're doing. This is a stereotype as there is conflict between the races.

In the following scene an action code is used when a woman faints due to her diabetes. A black male immediately helps her out, this is a countertype  as black males are usually portrayed as only caring about themselves and a bit thuggish but he is caring and helps her out.

In the next scene, a black male cleaner is captured by the white officers. This meets the stereotype of black people being criminals as during a mid shot we can see that the white man is in charge and the black male has clearly been captured. Also he meets the stereotype of black people being pitied or pitiful as we are made to feel sorry for him in this circumstance.

In conclusion, ethnicity stereotypes are massively used in this extract through the use of camera work, mise en scene, editing and sound to show the storyline that white males and coming into the hotel to capture the black workers.

Discuss ways in which the extract constructs the representation of age

From this extract of Waterloo Road, we can see that the representation of age is constructed with the help of camera angles, mise en scene, sound and editing.

In the opening scene, we can see camera angles such as a establishing shot and a panning shot. The establishing shot portrays the characters that will be involved in this scene, being two pupils and a male teacher and the shot gives us an idea of the time of day, location etc. The panning shot reveals that the two pupils are wearing similar clothing and the male teacher is wearing smarter clothing. From this mise en scene we can put together that the male teacher is higher up in authority as he is wearing his own clothing and has the power to do that but the other two younger men in the scene can't do that as they are younger and don't have the authority so they must wear the correct uniform. By the teacher wearing these clothes it fits the stereotype of them being work orientated, whilst he tells the boys off for not wearing their uniform correctly, which meets the stereotype of teenagers being lazy and they meet the stereotype of arrogance when they talk back to the teacher. Over the shoulder shots are used so the audience can follow the conversation between the pupils and the teacher. When a second teacher arrives on the scene, the flow of the conversation abruptly stops when she finds out her camera is broken. The atmosphere becomes more hostile which fits the stereotype of there being conflict between different age groups and shows the generation gap.

The next scene shows an interior, two shot of a boy and a girl walking down the school corridor. The mise en scene implies that they are in a school environment as everyone is wearing similar uniform to each other, they are all carrying bags and it is very busy and crowded. This two shot combines with an establishing shot to show the location that it is set in. Loud, intense music is added when another girl enters the scene and starts to verbally attack them both, and then physically attacks a different boy. This loud music portrays the conflict between them. The girl that enters the scene meets the stereotype of teenagers being out of control due to her breaking school rules and attacking someone.

The following scene shows a male teacher sitting at the front of the classroom full of students. He fits the stereotype of adults being in control and having more power as the students seem to obey his commands. Loud music is introduced during a sound bridge over to a scene of the girl from a previous scene attacking a boy and cornering him in a room aggressively. A symbolic code is recognised as the room is darker than all the others which implies that something dark or bad is going to happen. When she is attacking the boy, it meets the stereotype of teenagers being selfish as she is only picking on him because she wants to and no other reason at all. Over the shoulder shots are rapidly used to keep up with the conversation. A countertype is also shown as they both seem to be expressing emotions but a stereotype for teenagers is that they don't show emotions but they clearly do as she is getting angry and he is scared and panicking.

In the next scene an adult is shown wearing teenagers clothes. When two girls appear and see him, they see him through a low angle shot and he sees them as a high angle shot, this implies that he has more power than them because of his status as a teacher. A countertype is also shown as a stereotype for adults is that they dress smartly but he is dressed in a jeans and a t-shirt so he doesn't meet the stereotype but counteracts it.

In conclusion, stereotypes and countertypes are portrayed through this extract in the use of camera angles, mise en scene, editing and sound.