Representation Of Ethnicity

 Representation Of Ethnicity 

• Mise En Scene

Throughout the clip, there is a dark and oppressive tone, this relates to terrorism in the sense that the subject of terrorism is dark in itself and this inevitably relates to ethnicity as the stereotypical terrorist is unfortunately an Arabic or middle eastern man. This stereotype can be noticed in the background. On the flip side, the Dark and Oppressive tone could relate to both the seriousness of the situation itself and the occupation of Danny. Due to him being a black male, a spy is not a stereotypical occupation of his ethnic group. Incredibly, the white, middle class man who is stereotyped (unlike the other races) as law abiding is out of harms way. 

• Sound

Throughout this clip there is tense sound which in my opinion reflects the conflict between the two previously mentioned stereotypes, Black and Arabian. This is illustrated by the bongo's which play at the start contrasting with the Call to Prayer at the end. The bongo drums emphasise the common tribal, soulful, African or Jamaican accent stereotype of a Black man, this sound of bongo drums then goes once the expectation is defied and Danny is revealed to have a 'Queens English' speech. The music towards the end that reminds me of the Call to Prayer, highlights a middle eastern or Arabic connection and it being the final music, it shows how the Arabic side in the ethnic battle eventually prevailed but also indicates a common stereotype that religion is a cause for terrorism, especially the Muslim religion practised by the middle eastern ethnicities.  The drumming throughout the clip gives a sense of otherness and makes the whole clip surreal but also builds tension to foreshadow the grizzly scene to come.

• Editing

In this clip, a white screen is shown towards the end, this may highlight a flash grenade of some kind which inevitably links to war, specifically the war on terror which is stereotypically the middle eastern ethnicities.  The lots of cuts show the bravery of the black man and the evil of the terrorist, also the fact that from the start Danny has more screen time, indicates how he has the moral high ground which is unusual according to the stereotype of black men only being physically strong. Another unexpected defiance of a stereotype is the binary opposites of a strong black man compared to the weak white man, even though Danny is stronger than adam, it isnt the physical stereotype, it is the strength to do what is necessary (another unlikely mment from an unlikely Danny). 

• Camera Shots, Angles, Movement and Composition

During this scene, a handheld camera is used which creates a shaking effect, which could suggest the overall nervousness of the scene or the nervousness of the characters involved. Also there are lots of close ups to Danny’s face, this is because the director wanted to fully capture the reaction of Danny to what is going on and emphasise my previous point that he takes the moral high ground so inevitably deserves the increse in screen time, unfortunately this gets shot down. Camera work is also used to show the power in the scene, they use low shots looking up at the ‘terrorist’ to show his power and dominance and also indicate racial profiling and indicate that the cameraman is someone underneath or oppressed by the terrorist as if a slave or weaker human being.