class and status in tv drama
TRANSCRIPT
C L A S S A N D S TAT U S
REPRESENTATION OF STEREOTYPES
STEREOTYPICAL CLASSESLower Class Working Class Middle Class Upper Class
Scruffy clothes Foul mouthed Possible lack of
hygiene Regular
smoking and drinking
Close knit community
Fairly neat Smoking and
drinking
Neat clothing Fairly well
spoken Decent jobs Not so
regularly smoking and drinking
Fancy clothing Very well
spoken Well mannered Wealthy
There’s a clear difference in class and status in Game of Thrones. The lower class citizens are wearing dirty, dull coloured clothes, whereas the upper class are wearing fine materials and gold. In the bottom left hand image, the camera is slightly behind the dark haired girl and looking slightly up at the red haired woman. This tells us that the red haired woman is of a higher class. In the other bottom image, he boy is wearing a gold crown which clearly shows his status in their society.
GAME OF THRONEShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=537wyCW5aAQ
In the first 50 seconds of the YouTube video, the lower class character is shown sitting on the floor looking up at the woman. This portrays the woman’s power and class. She is shown looking down on him during an over the shoulder shot.
DOWNTON ABBEY
In the lower middle photo, the upper class characters are wearing bright and vibrant colours, however in the image at the bottom left , the lower class are wearing dull colours. In the bottom right image, the house workers (lower class) are wearing their uniform, which also consists of dull colours. The material of the clothing is different also. The upper class have rich material like cotton and silk, whereas the workers are wearing linen.
The camera is looking slightly down on the lower class family in the bottom left shot, this also portrays their social status as is makes them appear less important.
EASTENDERSThe two photos below shown two different families of different classes. On the left are The Mitchell Family. They are seen as higher class in the picture due to a number of factors. Firstly, their clothing is of high quality, with materials such as silk and cotton. The type of clothing mainly consists of shirts and blouses, showing there authority and social class. The image is also able to portray the families class by the way they are standing. They have their arms folded, stood up straight, staring at the camera with a serious face. This shows there power and dominance.
The Jackson family on the right show a different side however. They are wearing more informal clothes of which could be considered to much cheaper. ‘Tacky’ furniture such as the mask on the wall and the dated wallpaper could suggest that they can’t afford to redecorate. The apparent closeness of the family could also suggest their social class, as the working class are stereotypically closer.
