Ethnicity - Hotel Babylon analysis

At the beginning of the scene we are introduced with an establishing shot of a black man in a formal uniform (a suit). First of all this shows that this ultimately breeches the stereotype of black people being heavily involved with crimes, as his job is important, which is reflected through his attire. His demeanour to others proves friendly as he greets costumers. The shot then begins to pan, following the character as he is faced with another black man, who he has previously known. The second character, has a much more in-depth typical features about him, displayed through his actions and words. “Booze and ganja” are two of the words in which we hear him say, we connote these two words with the fact that black people stereotypically are linked with crimes, ‘ganja’ being illegally. We then hear the man link ‘girls’ in with the two words. We can link this in with the idea that society feel under threat from rape from different ethnic groups, as they objectify women and possess them as their own, for their own personal needs. We can see that the first man, feels uncomfortable around the presence of the second man, and tries to change the way in which he acts around him, however fails.

We also notice that he has his right ear pierced. Often in TV we link this with being gay. We also get this idea from the way in which the man looks at the other mans body. This is also another breech of the common stereotype of a black man, as we now longer feel inferior to his persona, as he shows that he has a much more feminine physique, than he is letting on to his ‘friend’.

The contrast of the two characters shows the difference in their personalities despite being of the same race. We feel the uneasiness of the first man, as he is shown through many over the shoulder shots, we are able to visualise his features as he talks to his ‘friend’. We notice his unease, through the worry expressed through his eyes and mouth.

In the next scene we are introduced with two women, who are not English, maybe, Russian or Polish. They have the typical job of a cleaner, which is a stereotype for foreign people, as they usually have pretty standard jobs. The music sounds intense and leads to the next scene, where they are enticed by an Asian man with money, to take their clothes off for his pleasure. There are 2 main stereotypes within this scene. One of them would be the fact that the Asian man is well off and is able to use his money for things he enjoys, as he has enough for everyday life. The two women show desperation, as they would demoralise and sexualise themselves for extra money.

The next scene shows us a close up shot of a white man; we can also see by his suit, that his attire is smart, which shows that he may have an important role in the hotel. When walking with the woman, who is also smartly dressed, we can see him looking at the workers who walk past him with discontent, as if they were not working to as high of a standard in which he wishes. He elongates his blinks to enhance the features of his eyes where he shows dissatisfaction with other workers. The angle of the shot is slightly titled upwards so that we as the audience feel inferior to this character as if we were another character within the TV drama. This links in with the common stereotype that white people are highly educated so therefore end up with jobs in which they are superior. However the next scene this stereotype is then breeched as we see two men arguing…

The two men are from different ethnic groups but are both chefs. These two chefs argue as the Italian man feels that he is better than the English man, they both encounter in racial slurs. Both people from the different ethnic groups think that they are better at cooking, however as an audience, from the stereotype we know, we would probably assume that the Italian chef is a much better cook, as Italy is famous for many different food, whereas Britain is not.