Hotel Babylon: Ethnicity

Sound portrays ethnicity in a variety of ways. Throughout the clip there is a range of emotions such as stress and confusion, with this the music corresponds the mood. Music within this clip increases when the pace changes due to the stress of the characters and situations. For example when the immigration officers find the cleaner in the hallway the music intensifies and speeds up to show the emotion that he is feeling which is fear and anger. As a result of this, this scene conforms the the stereotypical view of someone who is in a foreign country working. Due to them being foreign they are instantly imagined to be in jobs such as cleaning of housekeeping, as he is shown it the clip.In addition, when the actors are cleaning out the locker the music slows down to show them reminiscing on the previous character who was the man in the hall way cleaning whose name was Ibrahim. Dialogue is also significant. For example the receptionist describes the black man as ‘brain like sieve’ showing her authority and disrespecting his ability. ‘she’s having a hypo-gly-caemic attack’ showing his knowledge which could benefit our society however he is looked down upon and unwanted due to being an immigrant. Therefore the language that this actor uses subverts the stereotype as he is knowledgable and disregards the typical idea surrounding a migrant worker. As for diegetic and non-diegetic sound, the lift door sound is enhanced when they open to show the officers authority and power over the cleaner.  As well as this, the knock on the door was used as a code to the characters which shows their understanding of what is to come as this sound of the knock makes the woman colleague aware that it is another worker behind the door and not one of the officers as they have a code of warning, which in this instance, a significant knock was used. At the end of the clip there is a pan over the variety of tables all of which are speaking in a different language showing that although they are all together under the same situation, there is still a separation of nationalities, Racial harmony is shown in the kitchen working together and in the small room during the escape, therefore this subverts the stereotype that a range of ethnicities do not get a long, where as in this clip they all unite together. Overall, the audience is positioned in the shoes of the officers as each scenes show the emotion felt by each actor, for example the receptionist is clearly confused in the beginning as well as the Chinese looking woman, however towards the end of this she defends the rest of the immigrants against the officer, although he is heartless and brushes off her defensive comments. Although when Ibrahim is arrested, the audience is placed in his character as the music intensifies making the audience feel guilty and panicked.