The extract puts a large emphasis on the contrasting lifestyles of the different characters throughout. There are different ethnicities within the extract, including African American, Chinese, Upper Class White and Working Class White and the clip has portrayed each of the ethnic groups as having differing lifestyles.
The opening scene, in a working class neighbourhood, shows a wide shot of a caravan parked in a drive way and as two African American people walk home carrying white bags. The shot then changes to an elderly African American man playing a trumpet, which immediately establishes a sense of his ethnicity as he is playing a jazz tune which is associated with that ethnic group. He is dressed in dark colours, very simply. The lighting is dark and there are lots of shadows in the shot.
The next character to be introduced is someone who also seems to have links to jazz music. He appears to be a friend of the trumpet player, and is trying to convince him to play a gig. This reinforces a sense of community. They also speak very casually to one another, and they both have thick accents and use phrases such as, 'I ain't playing' no gig'. This suggests a lack of education for both of them.
The upper class white community is portrayed in a prestigious and superior way. Firstly there is a wide shot of the room that the family are sitting in, showing large tall windows and lightly coloured sofas. The room is decorated lavishly and all of the mise en scene in this shot is grand and interesting. Contrasting the first scene with this, the idea of an economic gap between ethnic groups is established. The fact that people of the same race have been portrayed together in the first two scenes further establishes the idea of ethnicity.
The people in this scene are shown to be well educated and they speak in a much more formal way than the previous scene. Their lifestyle, through this short scene, is shown to be more relaxed and they definitely have more money than the African Americans in the previous scene. The mother Ramona's views differ from her son's, as she mutters a racist comment and he refutes it.
The next scene shows ethnicity by introducing one character. She appears to be a working class white woman, dressed in casual and simple clothing. She differs from the previous scene because she is on her way into work. She enters a kitchen and then steps into a completely empty bar and signs. The lack of dialogue and the fact that she is alone shows a struggle and perhaps loneliness. It appears that she is exhausted and perhaps at a loss, because of the extreme close up on her face as she shakes her head. Her ethnicity, working class white, is portrayed in a tired and fed up way in the city where she lives, New Orleans.
In the hospital, there is another character introduced. There is a noticeable emphasis on her accent, her ethnicity is immediately obvious as Asian and more specifically Chinese. She is a small build and is shown as very short beside the younger black man from the first scene. Due to the fact she is a doctor, her education is obvious and this contrasts again with how the black men are portrayed. His language is relaxed and informal again with phrases such as 'ain't we all' and hers is formal and correct grammar.
The last scene also has two African American people, a man and a woman, working. What is interesting about each of these scenes is that every ethnic group has been portrayed in their work place except the upper class white people. This in itself is a way that the writer has tried to show this group.
The people in this scene are wearing casual and brightly coloured clothing. There is jazz music in the background , reinforcing the sense of community and the music that is associated with this ethnicity. The man refers to his gang and describes them as, 'living like refugees in their own country'. This emotive language shows a familiarity and a closeness that he feels towards his 'gang'. Again we are shown the sense of community for the African American characters.
The opening scene, in a working class neighbourhood, shows a wide shot of a caravan parked in a drive way and as two African American people walk home carrying white bags. The shot then changes to an elderly African American man playing a trumpet, which immediately establishes a sense of his ethnicity as he is playing a jazz tune which is associated with that ethnic group. He is dressed in dark colours, very simply. The lighting is dark and there are lots of shadows in the shot.
The next character to be introduced is someone who also seems to have links to jazz music. He appears to be a friend of the trumpet player, and is trying to convince him to play a gig. This reinforces a sense of community. They also speak very casually to one another, and they both have thick accents and use phrases such as, 'I ain't playing' no gig'. This suggests a lack of education for both of them.
The upper class white community is portrayed in a prestigious and superior way. Firstly there is a wide shot of the room that the family are sitting in, showing large tall windows and lightly coloured sofas. The room is decorated lavishly and all of the mise en scene in this shot is grand and interesting. Contrasting the first scene with this, the idea of an economic gap between ethnic groups is established. The fact that people of the same race have been portrayed together in the first two scenes further establishes the idea of ethnicity.
The people in this scene are shown to be well educated and they speak in a much more formal way than the previous scene. Their lifestyle, through this short scene, is shown to be more relaxed and they definitely have more money than the African Americans in the previous scene. The mother Ramona's views differ from her son's, as she mutters a racist comment and he refutes it.
The next scene shows ethnicity by introducing one character. She appears to be a working class white woman, dressed in casual and simple clothing. She differs from the previous scene because she is on her way into work. She enters a kitchen and then steps into a completely empty bar and signs. The lack of dialogue and the fact that she is alone shows a struggle and perhaps loneliness. It appears that she is exhausted and perhaps at a loss, because of the extreme close up on her face as she shakes her head. Her ethnicity, working class white, is portrayed in a tired and fed up way in the city where she lives, New Orleans.
In the hospital, there is another character introduced. There is a noticeable emphasis on her accent, her ethnicity is immediately obvious as Asian and more specifically Chinese. She is a small build and is shown as very short beside the younger black man from the first scene. Due to the fact she is a doctor, her education is obvious and this contrasts again with how the black men are portrayed. His language is relaxed and informal again with phrases such as 'ain't we all' and hers is formal and correct grammar.
The last scene also has two African American people, a man and a woman, working. What is interesting about each of these scenes is that every ethnic group has been portrayed in their work place except the upper class white people. This in itself is a way that the writer has tried to show this group.
The people in this scene are wearing casual and brightly coloured clothing. There is jazz music in the background , reinforcing the sense of community and the music that is associated with this ethnicity. The man refers to his gang and describes them as, 'living like refugees in their own country'. This emotive language shows a familiarity and a closeness that he feels towards his 'gang'. Again we are shown the sense of community for the African American characters.
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