Hotel Babylon shows the core representational groups of ethnicity and class/status. Ethnicity is seen through the way that there are immigrants working in the Hotel Babylon. Class and status is then shown through the way that the men look down on the ethnic people. We see this contrast between the people in the hotel who hold dominance over the immigrants. Stuart Hall's reception theory is seen in this clip as there is an encoded message in which the audience decodes. When this message is sent, the audience realises and see’s that these immigrants are more than just illegal citizens, but that they have come to the UK for a fresh start and want to become a part of the society of the UK. But the immigration officers are trying to take away this hope, hence why the audience is touched and provoked with emotions that feel for the illegal citizens. Which then leads them to understand their story.
Through Mise- en scene the costumes of all the people link to the setting of a hotel as Immigrants wear cleaning and chief uniforms of the working class, as they are at the bottom of the line. The costumes act like a disguise for the immigrants to blend in as they are hiding from the immigration officers. The more upper Class people walk-through the hotel doors, suits and dresses representing wealth and power held over the immigrants, They walk with their heads high in contrast with the way that the immigrants have their heads low doing their Job. This represents that they have no emotion towards them and are doing their job. There is also a Juxtaposition between the men in the suit and the illegal immigrant wearing a red cleaning uniform, Abraham. This image tells us that the immigrants want to live in freedom, with officers standing in their way.
The receptionist is wearing a full white uniform, looking presentable as the first person the customers would see, which symbolises purity and innocence seen through her actions as she smiles to the people who walk in and also links to how she sent the code to help the immigrants. The lighting is mainly on her which also represents her kindness and angelic presence in the hotel making her be seen as an independent person who goes out of her way to help the immigrants. Colours such as red and gold in the hotel show it as a five star hotel, representing wealth and a luxury setting, also then creating a contrast between the illegal immigrants who are working there. Jackie, the character who helps save the immigrants, wears red clothes and red lipstick, showing us that she is a fierce woman and isn't afraid to stand up for herself and for the immigrants which is seen through her running around the hotel saving them. Jackie shows through her tone towards the men in suits that she is trying to protect the immigrants and give them their freedom.
The audience get an idea that she may have been in a similar situation in the past, making it more important for her to save them from being taken away. The staff at the hotel take risks to help them from this hunt going on. Giving the audience a side making them feel vulnerable for them, hence why we see the officers as the 'bad guys'. In the end of the clip we see religion through the immigrants who pray before they eat which contrasts to everyone else who have already started eating. This creates stereotypical Characters as many people see ethical people as religious. This distinguishes them from the other workers in the scene as they construct pride in their ethnicity.
Sound helps us as an audience gain a better understanding of the tone and pace shown through dialogue and the diegetic/non diegetic sound, linking to the representation theory that is used to help understand the mood and tone in each scene. The man who walks in introduces himself as " My name Is John Voyak" , appearing straightforward and unfriendly, contrasting to the receptionist who is kind and has a soft friendly tone. This shows that John has no emotion for the immigrants and just wants them gone even if it kills them.
The receptionist appears calm as she watches as the team of men walk towards her, she looks them up and down, and talks with a calm tone trying not to make a big deal. She then asks one of the staff if they had remembered to hand something to housekeeping and makes it clear to the officers that she is annoyed by the staffs disregard for not having it done before, she shows this by saying "brain of a Shive'' to the men, talking about the former staff member. Pretending to be dominant over him. Also trying to hide the fact that it was actually a code letting the staff member know that the immigration service is at the hotel. This then leads to the beginning of the Intense non diegetic music playing louder as all the immigrants that are behind the doors of the staff area run to their hiding spot in one of the ‘staff only’ rooms, representing immigrants as being frantic and scared of their freedom being taken away from them.
Speaking in different languages creates this distressed tone as Jackie gathers everyone up, linking to the representation of Ethnicity. When locked up in the staffroom there is dead silence, only hearing the heavy breathing of the diebetic lady, representing nerves and a sense of not knowing what is going to happen.When the cleaner helping the diebetic lady turns around and says " I wasn't always a cleaner" this shows us as an audience that the man may have been a doctor in the past, this is seen through the way that he finds a solution to quickly to help her, representing that he is qualified In his country but is not qualified in UK, proving to us that the immigrants will do anything to get out of their country to get freedom.
There is a fast beating Sound when Jackie finds out that Abraham is not in the room, her facial expressions change and we can tell that she is worried but she knows that she can't do anything about it. There is a parallel used to see the two different scenes appearing after each other. One is of the immigrants safe and the other is of Abraham cleaning in the open. The tone is shown through how the sound is intense and uptight locked in the staffroom as if they're nervous to find out what's happening, and the opposite is of Abraham as he has his headphones on with no idea of what is happening.
The camera work is vital in understanding the code that is being presented in each scene. The handheld camera shown throughout the clip, represents the intensity of the immigrants' life, linking to how they are running to the staffroom which is proven to keep them safe. This creates a sense of the unknown as they will never know if they will get caught and are always expected to stay on the front foot. Here, the audience gain a sorrowful feeling for them as they are hopeless but can't go back to where they came from. The pace in the camera shots are very fast which makes them seem chaotic, representing them as not part of this country and out of order.
A lot of movement shown through a dolly shows that something intense is about to happen along with the Over the shoulder shot and close ups used to see the reactions of the people, helping the audience get a sense of mood and tone shown. Towards the end, the shots start to slow down, representing sadness and loss of a character and how they were all treated like family by the staff. The use of high angles of the men looking down on the immigrants represents the lack of freedom and represents the high power the officers have over them.
Editing helps create a fast paced scene, achieved by the shot reverse shots, sound bridges, quick jump cuts, harsh transitions along with continuity editing. These quick cuts help show the relationship between the group of immigrants and the group of men trying to catch them. The fast paced handheld shots make it feel like a game of hide and seek where the immigrants are always running and hiding.
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