G322 - Hotel Babylon Essay - Ethnicity

Hotel Babylon Essay – Ethnicity

Hotel Babylon is a British television drama that is based around a hotel setting. This clip is based around the representational issue of ethnicity and the audience are encouraged to believe that the clip opposes the ethnic stereotypes through its use of the micro features: sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene.

The first thing that the audience is shown in the clip is a close up of one of the workers in the hotel, however it isn’t yet clear they are in a hotel, it looks to be a basement. Then the audience hear the first use of diegetic sound, it is that of an elevator opening in the background. The director then presents the audience with a sense of danger and concern as the police have arrived in the scene, this is shown in a mid-shot of them standing in front of the door. As soon as the police arrive, there is an apparent non-diegetic beat in the background to absorb the audience and the beat is acting as a metaphor of a racing heartbeat. The police officers emphasise the idea of danger and also immediate authority, they explain that they are there to ‘stop anyone getting out’; this displays the police’s authority and dominance over the people within the hotel.

The camera then cuts to the classy and sophisticated hotel lobby setting where the director introduces us to one of the female protagonists at the desk using an exaggerated zoom to a close up shot. There is a strong representation of a posh and well-regarded hotel associated with the well-clothed and spoken white woman. The audience is then introduced to the male protagonist through a reverse shot. The male has a exaggerated opening as the shot captures him walking through the lobby to the front desk with great self-confidence. However, it is also obvious in his facial expression as well as body language that he is professional, is most likely not very patient and means business. In the reverse shots at the desk, the male is initially made to look smaller than the female protagonist when the camera is on him, however when it is on her, he is made to look taller and therefore more dominant. This is further reinforced by the wide shot next used, the audience can then see the police guarding the door in the background as well as the male protagonists two men at each side of him. The male is wearing no tie or particularly formal clothing, this also emphasises that he has the power to make the decisions to wear whatever he feels comfortable in, which would signify that he is high up and has a significant amount of authority. The diegetic dialogue of the female protagonist asking ‘Ben’ to go and send the ‘acquisition forms’ downstairs, acts as a code to hide the immigrants before the male immigrant officer finds them. He recognises this and this is reflected in the reverse shot of his unimpressed and smug facial expression, this reinforces the idea that he is well experienced and professional, he knows that the ‘acquisition forms’ are a code.

The scene then cuts to a steady cam shot of Ben running to notify his colleagues of the trouble they may facing with the police. This use of shot is combined with the same fast, percussive non-diegetic beat that the audience was introduced with the danger at the beginning of the sequence. This shot then cuts to Jackie’s overcrowded and small office space in the basement, which juxtaposes with the wide, open feel of the hotel lobby. This highlights the ethnic divide as Jackie, who is of a Chinese ethnicity, is confined in a cramped and dark office, emphasised by the low-key lighting. This is a signifier for imprisonment; combined with the emphasised diegetic sound of keys jangling suggests that she and the immigrants are trapped in their stereotypes. This scene then cuts to the steady cam again with a long shot of Jackie warning the immigrants in the kitchen and we hear her diegetic dialogue of various languages. This emphasises Jackie’s intelligence despite her low rank in the hotels roles.

This then cuts to a deliberate long shot of the immigrants through a barred cage/gate, this acts as an indexical signifier for prison in order to build the idea of the imprisonment as a metaphor and symbolism. The idea of imprisonment and police is a visual motif throughout the clip and reflects the idea of, despite the audience empathising with the immigrants, they are still criminals and the hotel is committing a serious offence in concealing them. Therefore the gate acts as a sign of what is likely to happen to the hotel staff and the immigrants in the future, or if they don’t escape and hide. This then fast cuts to a close up of Jackie trying to open a door and the directors have deliberately amped up the sound of the keys jingling to emphasise danger and also to reiterate the idea of prison guards keys, additionally this is repeated again when all the immigrants are in the staff cupboard to reinforce the danger. 

After this, the directors then chose to shoot a series of close ups of the people who are from different ethnicities in a confined space, this scene his highlights how they are now working together when it comes down to a desperate and dangerous situation such as this. There is an absence of non-diegetic background music when Jackie is counting to create tension in the situation. The camera is then made to do an exaggerated zoom into Jackie’s shocked face as she realises Ibrahim is missing. The non-diegetic percussive beat also picks up again at this point to further emphasise tension.

The director then cross cuts this scene to Ibrahim using an field shot in high key lighting, his surroundings are bright and vibrant which juxtaposes with the dark future he is sure to have after being caught. This is to highlight that Ibrahim is vulnerable to danger unlike the immigrants that are all in the confinements of the cleaning closet. Furthermore, the director does not reside too long on this shot as the majority of the exciting action is happening in the closet. The next scene is where one of the cleaners has a hypoglycaemic attack due to her being diabetic. One of the immigrants then shocks the audience by challenging the stereotype of their trade by revealing through diegetic sound that he ‘wasn’t always a cleaner’, the worker is the only one who knows how to deal with the situation, not Jackie who initially seems the most intelligent out of them all. This juxtaposition of the stereotype is further emphasised by a close up of Jackie’s confused face as Adam carries out the necessary procedures, this shows Adam in a different light as he now seems more educated and complex which challenges the traditional stereotype of Eastern ethnicities having little education and opportunity to progress in the hierarchy of the work place. 

Additionally, this scene then cross cuts to Ibrahim in the hallway setting who is oblivious to what is going on around him, he is still hoovering with his headphones on. This is in another depth of field shot and the audience see’s the immigration officers walk through the lift in the background to the non-diegetic percussive beat emphasising tension and danger for the following scenes. The camera director then does a hyper zoom into a close up of Ibrahim’s shocked and scared expression before attempting to run away from the officers in a long shot.

Again, this cross cuts back to the closet scene where all of the immigrants seem to be calming down slightly, unaware of what is going on with Ibrahim. There is then an exaggerated, diegetic, sudden knock at the door designed to highlight tension in the situation for the audience. The audience don’t know if they are going to get caught or not either, which then further builds tension, the audience are then placed in a position of concern for the immigrants in the closet as they can sense danger. Jackie then walks over to the door and unlocks it with the lock and key, where she is then told that Ibrahim has been caught.

This then cross cuts to the scene in the lobby where the officers are taking Ibrahim away and there are many onlookers who seem to very confused as to what is happening, it is clear they are staying in the hotel, which suggests they are from a high class. There is juxtaposition between Ibrahim’s boiler suit outfit and the regal costume of the posh gests within the hotel to emphasise the ethnic divide. In the end we see the white secretary’s true colours as she disregards Jackie as if to suggest she does not want the immigrants crowding her high-class lobby, as they do not belong there. She then further highlights this indifference by snapping her fingers at Gino to get the guests a drink in a pushy and arrogant manor. 

The sequence finishes with a very orchestral non-diegetic soundtrack as Jackie is shown in a mid-shot cleaning out Ibrahim’s locker. The director deliberately shows close ups of the pictures in his locker to emphasise happier times with his family and how they will no longer be there, metaphorically represented through Jackie clearing away all of his things. The scene is then cut to a slow track pan across the employees canteen, going through a variety of ethnicities in their own groups, unlike the community cohesive feel earlier within the cupboard setting in the sequence; they are now together but separated. The camera is set to stop at two of the immigrants making a prayer before eating their meal. This portrays him as a very traditional and respectable, patriarchal man as he is saying grace before a meal. He then reinforces his authority and power when he tells his the younger girl, possibly his daughter to stop eating before he has finished his prayer, merely by lifting his finger; this power and authority would be unlikely if he was in this position with more influential people within the hotels hierarchy.