Hotel Babylon representation essay

This British TV Drama series 'Hotel Babylon' shows the core representation groups of ethnicity and class/status. Ethnicity is seen through the illegal immigrants working in the Hotel Babylon. Class and status is shown through men looking down on the ethnic people. We see a contrast between the  people of status who hold dominance over the immigrants. Stuart Halls reception theory is seen in this clip as there is an encoded message in which the audience decodes. This message sent to the audience is that these immigrants are more than just illegal citizens, but that they have come to the UK for a fresh start and to become apart of their society. The officers try take away this hope hence why the audience are touched and provoke emotions to feel for them and understand their story. Through the technical elements the audience are able to see the changes of mood and tone throughout each scene. 

Through Mise- en scene the costumes connote to the setting of a hotel as Immigrants wear cleaning and chief uniforms of the working class, as they start from the bottom. Costumes act like the mask for the immigrants to blend in as they are hiding from the immigration officers. The men of Class and status walk-through the hotel doors wearing black suits representing wealth and power held over the immigrants. This represents that they have no emotion towards them and are doing their job. A Juxtaposition between the men in the suit and the illegal immigrant wearing a red cleaning uniform, Abraham. These two images tell us that the immigrants want to live in freedom, with officers in their way. The receptionist is wearing a full white uniform, looking presentable as the first person customers would see, which is a symbolic colour representing pure and innocence seen through her actions as she helps the immigrants. The lighting shines down on her representing her kindness and angelic presence in the hotel making her be seen as independant who goes out of her way to help the immigrants. Symbolic colours such as red and gold in the hotel show it as a five star, representing wealth and a luxury setting, creating a contrast between the illegal immigrants who are secretly working there. Jackie the character who helps save the immigrants, wears a red blouse and red lipstick, representing that she is fierce 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 her tone towards the men in suits that she is trying to protect the immigrants and their freedom. The audience get clues that she might have been in a similar situation making it more important for her to save them from being deported. The staff like Jackie take risks and disobey the law to help them from this hunt going on, creating the audience to side with and feel vulnerable for them, hence why we picture the officers as 'bad guys'. Near the end of the clip we see religion through the immigrants who pray before they eat which contrasts to everyone else who starts eating straight away. This almost creates stereotypical Characters as many people see ethnical people as religious. This distinguishes them from the other workers in the scene as they construct pride in their ethnicity. 

Sound helps gain a better understanding of the tone and pace through dialogue and diegetic/non diegetic sound, linking to  the representation theory is used to help understand the mood and tone in each scene. " My name Is John Voyak" the man in search of immigrants, appearing straightforward and unfriendly contrasting to the receptionists who sounds kind. This represents John having no emotion for immigrants and wants them gone even if it kills them. The receptionist seems sinister towards the team of men as she looks up and down, with a calm tone trying not to make a big deal, contrasting to what she feels on the inside. She asks one of the staff to go hand something to house keeping and makes it clear to the officers that she 'is on their side' by saying "brain of a Shive" to the staff, Pretending like she's acting dominant over him. This is a code letting staff know that the immigration service is at the hotel which starts the Intense non diegetic music playing louder as the Group of Immigrants run to their hiding spot in the staffroom, representing immigrants as being frantic and scared for their lives with no freedom. Yelling in different languages creates a distressed tone as Jackie rounds up everyone, showing different Ethnicities. In the locked staffroom there is silence, only hearing deep breathing, representing nerves and a sense of not knowing what is going to happen. " I wasn't always a cleaner" was said by one of the coloured men as he helps a diabetic lady who has fainted, meaning that the man used to be a doctor seen through finding a solution quickly to help her, representing that he is qualified In his country however, not qualified in UK, showing that immigrants do anything to get out of their country and to save their lives. There is a fast pace Sound when Jackie finds out that Abraham is not in the room, we see her facial expressions and can tell that she is worried but can't do anything about it.  A parallel is used to see two different scenes appearing after each other. One is the immigrants safe and the other is Abraham cleaning in the wide open. The tone through sound is intense and uptight locked in the staffroom as they're nervous to find out what's happening, on the other hand Abraham has headphones on with no idea what is happening. 

Camera work is vital in understanding the code being presented in each scene. The handheld camera throughout the clip, represents the intensity of the immigrants life, running to the staffroom which would keep them safe. This creates a sense of the unknown as they never know if they will get caught and are always caught up in fear. Here, the audience gain a sympathetic feel for them as they are hopeless but can't go back to where they came from. The pace in camera shots are very fast which makes them seem chaotic representing them as not part of this country and out of order. A high angle is used when the white men look down on the coloured man, contrasting to them looking directly in the white British receptionist eyes. Another high angle is seen when the immigrants all look over the lady who fainted in the staffroom. However, this high angle didn't make them dominant over the lady but equalised them as they cared for her and help her get better. This shows the difference in ethnicities and attitudes between the immigrants and the officers. A lot of movement through a dolly shows that something intense is happening along with Over the shoulder shot and close ups used to see reactions helping the audience get a sense of mood and tone portrayed. Near the end, the shots start to slow down and become slow, 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. Slow paced shots are also seen during the beginning to keep everything calm and collected which contrasts to what is actually happening behind the scenes with stress and chaos like a game of hide and seek. 

Editing helps create a fast paced scene, achieved from 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. These quick cuts help the audience realise what their lives would've been like back in their home countries and that it is safer for them to be in this country. Parallel editing is seen showing shots between the groups of  immigrants in staffroom and then shots of Abraham vacuuming in the hallways. Shots in staffroom are faster and hectic compared to the shots showing Abraham vacuuming which is slow and relaxed as he has no idea. This represents the immigrants fear they have and shows what would happen to them if they got caught, representing danger seen through the frequent cutaway shots. This means that the working class/the immigrants are living a dangerous life as they have a threat to being caught. Slower paced shots and transitions are scene at the end of the clip due to the sadness and loss of Abraham. This represents that emotion and feeling that the immigrants have, proving they are not just objects.