"Hotel Babylon" Ethnicity Mock

How does the clip challenge or reinforce positive or negative stereotypes of ethnicity?
1) Camera angles, shot types, composition and movement
2) Editing or cuts, pace if edit, prominence and continuity
3) Sound; dialogue and soundtrack, foley and sound effects
4) MES - Location, costume, lighting and performance

When the Caucasian police arrive in the beginning of this extract, music starts to play in the background which changes the atmosphere and gives the impression that they are a threat. "We're just here to stop anyone getting out." This dialogue spoken by one of the police officers show that they have authority, reinforcing the stereotype of white people being superior and in power. There are tracking and following camera movements on the white men from the immigration company to symbolise that they're of higher importance. The close-ups used on the main immigration officer's face informs the audience of his dominance and authority, reinforcing the stereotype of Caucasian people being superior. The black male in the hotel lobby who is asked to do a task by the Caucasian woman at the front desk was sitting upright with his legs crossed in a very formal fashion. He was well-dressed in a suit and conversing with a white man, challenging the idea of black people being threatening and dangerous. His speech (stylised dialogue) was articulate and the camera had a tranquil, calm and steady pace at his first appearance, further challenging the "dangerous" stereotype that is thrust upon that race. Shot/reverse shot is used to show the conversation between the well-dressed black guy and the woman at the front desk to show conflict. The way it is edited sharply also shows the clear division of race and ethnicity and that the black man is the only one of his race in that area throughout the conversation. The Caucasian people in this part of the extract are edited in a way to have prominence which gives off the impression that they're superior and of high importance - this could portray white people in a negative way, reinforcing the stereotype of them being a threat and intimidating. There is juxtaposition between the two female characters at the start of the second scene via their costumes and physicality; the Caucasian woman wears a white suit, has blonde hair and stands upright as she works to assert her professional manner and present herself as being pure and innocent, whereas the Assian woman is leaning on the desk with a pen in her mouth and wearing a red shirt which gives off the impression that she conforms to the ethnic stereotype of being sexualised and tainted. There's a shot/reverse shot involved in the conversation with the main immigration officer and the white lady to hint at the idea that there will be conflict.

Cross-cutting is used in this extract when the immigrants realise that one of their friends isn't hiding with them, causing suspense and reinforcing the stereotype of ethnicity being pitied. The location of the immigrants are in the lower parts of the hotel, showing they're underground, inferior and portrayed as non-threatening. The costume of the immigrants are workers' uniform of chefs, cleaners and housemaids - stereotypical occupations of racial minorities. The fast-paced editing of the immigrants trying to escape reflects the deportation situation they are threatened by. The camera work is shaky to create suspense and clearly show conflict - a hand-held camera could have been used to shoot this scene to give it a more realistic effect. In the scene where they're all hiding together in the staff room, the reinforcement of the unified ethnicity stereotype is shown by the panning out of the camera and the composition of the characters being tightly packed together. When the Asian lady is frantically warning the other immigrants to hide, the editing was fast-paced to keep up with the situation which reinforced the stereotype of conflict within ethnicity. The cuts and edits are sharp which shows that there are threats within/towards this racial group. When one of the foreign workers passes out, the camera looks down on her from a high angle, inferring that she's inferior due to her race. This gives the audience the idea that the stereotype of ethnicity being pitied is relevant. Stylised dialogue of accents to reinforce stereotypes.