Sunday 9 October 2016

Downton Abbey-Class&Status

The clip starts off with an tracking shot of a boy on his bike before panning slightly and then no longer tracking to show an establishing shot of the Abbey. This is continuity editing and as well as the mise en scene (of the setting) we learn that the people who own and live in the Abbey must be very well off and high class, as it is an impressive and expensive looking setting. This is a typical representation of the higher classes owning big mansions and country estates.

The use of cross cut editing changes the setting to a woman in a bedroom, who appears to have just woken up. She is not dressed however you can still see she is higher class from the mise en scene as the room is large and spacious, with elegant décor. The shot then moves to a high angle shot of her looking down out of a window at the boy cycling. Immediately from this shot we learn how she is much higher class than him and how he has a much lower status than her as she is looking down at him. This represents the power and authority she has over him and how her higher class enables her to do this. This is also a typical representation as she is quite literally looking down at the lower classes.

Using continuity editing the scene then changes to the servants quarters downstairs, where the editing is more fast paced and the music that has been playing throughout the clip increases temo. This non-diegtic and asynchronous sound represents how the servants are lower class as in par with the editing as it is far paces which represents how it is far more chaotic and less controlled. The sharp diegtic sound of the bell also shows how the servants have a lower status as they are subject to serving the woman; the sound is sharp and clear to empathise this. The mise en scene also shows the servants lower status as they are in more humble settings, all eating in and sharing the same room and are all already up. This is a binary contrast to the upper class women who has only just got out of bed and again shows their lower class rolls, of being servants, cooks and maids. Being represented as servants is a typical representation of the lower class especially for the time period this clip is set in and as well as being represented as always busy and serving others.     

Cross cut editing and mise en scene shows how even within the servants there are ranks. When the male servant is getting the paper off the paper boy he is standing on one step slightly higher. There is a slight high angle shot here as the servant looks down at the paper boy which shows how although both their statuses are low, the male servant has more authority over the paper boy. These ranks among the lower status characters are also shown when the older male servant is speaking to the servant who is ironing the papers; here a low angle shot is used from ironers point of view which shows how the older servant has more authority over him. This sequence shows how the status and authority differ slightly between the lower class people in this clip. The mise en scene also shows how this older male servant is slightly higher up as his clothes are more high class and respectful, this shows how is probably in charge of all the others.

Again using continuity editing the scene changes to a higher class man descending the stairs. Immediately from the mise en scene the audience can tell he is of a higher status. His setting and his outfit is very grand, he is very smartly dressed and his posture is very proper. The staircase is immense and very clearly shows the audience how wealthy and higher class this man is. He is also accompanied by a dog which is a stereotypical representation of wealthy, upper class men for the time period. There is a new music as we are introduced to this character and this non-diegetic and asynchronous sound represents the man's high status as it empathises his wealth, power and authority, an high angled camera shot is also used to show this. This is very typical representation of a high status man, particularly for this time period as he is male.

An over the shoulder shot is used while this man enters the room and greets the male servant. This also represents his high class and wealth as the audience are seeing it from his point of view, not the servants. This represents how the servants are less important and lower class. As the higher class women enter the room their high status is represented by the mise en scene; they are wearing every elegant, neat and colourful clothes which is a binary contrast to the female maids/servants plain, bland coloured and simple clothes. This represents the high wealth and status these women have. While looking at the paper shallow focus is used on the three higher class characters which blurs out the male servant in the background. This represents their power and importance over the lower classes which is a typical representation of the classes for the time period as it shows how the higher classes were viewed as more important and powerful. 

Shallow focus is used on the upper class male while is he reading the telegraph to show how his emotions change. Once his emotions have changed the music comes back which represents how he controls the situation. This represents him as the most powerful and important which is a typical representation of the upper classes particularly upper class males for this time period. The music increased temo as a point of view shot shows the man entering another upper class woman's room. We can immediately tell she is higher class as her room is very grand and her nightwear is even more fancy than the first upper class women's who was in the clip earlier. This represents how this upper class women has more of a higher status as dose the fact she is still in bed. This is a typical representation of older higher class women for the time. The music increasing and the point of view shot also represent this mans higher status and power. While in the room a point of view and shallow focus shot is used on the male while the woman is slightly blurred in the background. This shows how the male has the most power, authority and the highest status in the household which is a typical representation of upper class males and the upper classes.          

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