Analyse how the producers construct the representations of working class in the first six minutes of Shameless

   The representations of working class have been clearly presented by the producers of Shameless in terms of the language and living standards of the characters. We can see that the main character is named Frank and the series is based on his life. He is a lone-parent which is said by a sociologist, Charles Murray to be a reason of poor living standards and can influence children in a negative way as in this case, grow up without a mother figure. This causes unemployment and underachieving.

The series begins with a brief introduction of the characters. We notice that there is a jump cut of the establishing shot which focuses on the estate. The jump cut puts emphasis on the area which the characters live in and call their home.

We are introduced to Frank's children when they hit their father with a loaf of bread, this suggests that the children are not disciplined like middle class children. This is exaggerated by a low angle shot of the children when they check to see if their father is concious. We can interpret that the body language between one another within the household is quite violent and rude. The clothing of the characters is seen as quite chavvish and informal as opposed to the middle class who dress formally.

The working class is represented in a very rough yet homely neighbourhood. We see that although the characters live in the working class they still share a good relationship with their neighbours. The interpretation of parties in the working class are considered as setting cars on fire and creating riots by throwing beer cans into the fire and creating a significant amount of havoc. A sound of a siren is heard and a close up of the police car is being focused on, the bright sirens illustrate that the police are the working classes worst enemy. An establishing shot is focused on as the police run after the neighbourhood after they had created riots on the street. The credits then appear with the title of the TV drama, 'Shameless'. This title compliments the establishing shot as it shows that this is a norm for this neighbourhood as they have no shame for actions which have been performed.

We can notice flashes of police lights which are reflected on the faces of the neighbours as they throw beer can into the fire and are burning this car. This emphasises the idea that creating chaos and havoc is a traditional norm of the working class.

The high angle shot of the front of the house creates a stereotype of how the working class supposably lives. The caravan suggests that they are travellers who are family orientated. There are washing machines and cookers outside which creating a very cheap image and we see that the working class do not care about how they present themselves.

This over the shoulder shot demonstrates that the working class is represented as dirty and scruffy looking. We see this as Phillip is about to enter Karens house, her mother is uneasy about him entering with his filthy, soily shoes on. She insists that he take his shoes of and place them in a carrier bag. This shows a clear class difference as Karens mother is presented in a clean and formal way as opposed to Phillip who has muddy shoes and is dressed in dirty shoes. As Karens mother opens the door we sense she felt very uncomfortable and frightened about opening the door for him, this suggested that the working class was seen as hooligans and wild animals who do not believe in hygiene.

The extreme close-up of Phillip putting his clothes in the wash is emphasised as the washing bag is a black carrir bag compared to a laundry basket, illustrating that they can not afford luxuries as they are ofthe working class.

The mid shot suggests that the working class are quite poor and would go to extremes to get money froom anywhere as this shot is of a stranger stealing the bag of the eldest daughter whilst she is out clubbing in a public nightclub. This illustrates that people are capable of anything if they need money and need their daily necessities.

The language which was spoken by Veronica suggests a very informal and restricted code, this suugests that she is from a working class background as she has poor english. She comes accross as quit rude as she addresses the night club bouncer as a 'fat twat'.

We can acknowledge that these boys are from the working class as they share an overcrowded room with one another which suggests that they do not have enough rooms for them all to be independent. The soundtrack creates a very out of place atmosphere which suggests that the working class is incapable of fitting in with the middle class.

The overall representation of the working class is that they are very careless and would do anything to get by in the world. 

Ashes to Ashes Practical and Analysis

a)The character Gene Hunt is presented as the head of the force and the main character in the scene. We see this as when Hunt is presented on screen low angle shots are shown to present his significance and importance of the situation. The shot creates the idea that Hunt is a God like character in the series. He is seen as the protagonist in the series.

When watching this scene, our perception of Gene Hunt changes all the time. We can say that he is clearly the boss of those of the same gender, he treats and speaks to them with a very impolite and harsh tone when talking to the villlain in the scene. However, perception of Hunt then are transformed as we see the villain being handcuffed by him and then we interpret that he is a positive character.

We see the care approaching in wild and fast manner which sugests that this could reflect the personality of Hunt himself. His driving reflects his chracter.

Hunt is wearing cowboy boots rather than the usual police uniform. This creates confusion about the occupation of Hunt the audience may be confused whether he is good or bad. From his materialistic items, we gather that he is headstrong, macho and butch man, an image which clearly reflects his personality.

a) Done with Yasmin

b) Possible ways of dilluting the sour image of Hunt could be through the shots. For example, rather than having a shot of his feet, we could create a shot of his clean and fresh innocent face as opposed to the grumpy sour appearance. The editing could be less sharp as at the moment it consists of very sharp cross cutting, maybe the editing could be discretly cross cut to create more of a less macho atmosphere. The shot of him being God like and macho could be an eye level shot to dial down the machoness.

Shameless

Shameless is a BAFT award-winning british television drama series which is situated in a council estate in Manchester.

Production

• The series was produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4.
• Created and written by Paul Abbott, he is also the Executive Producer.
• Company Pictures is an independent British television production company.
• Company Pictures has produced programming for many broadcasters such as BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

Distribution

• First seven-series aired Tuesdays at 10pm from January 2004.
• It been accorded critical acclaim by various sections of the British media, including The Sun newspaper and Newsnight Review on BBC Two.
• Aired on Channel 4
• The sister channel E4 allowed repeats of the weeks episode to be viewed if you missed the First Look on Channel 4.

Reception

• In April 2005, the programme's first series won the Best Drama Series category at the British Academy TV Awards.
• Nominated for Best British Drama at the National TV Awards 2007.
• Won Best Continuing Drama Award at the Royal Television Awards Society North West Awards 2007.
• Sold overseas in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Canada, France, Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, Ireland, US, Italy, Latin America and Israel.

Analyse the representations of gender in the television drama, ‘Ashes to Ashes’

‘Ashes to Ashes’, creates a clear representation of gender within the drama. It can be interpreted that the television drama consists of a male’s domination over women. A very controlling atmosphere is illustrated in the beginning of the episode.
The male role is shown as very controlling and dominant as the episode begins with a low angle shot of a number of tall buildings, this implies that the main character is dominated and controlled by something or someone. A voiceover of a woman telling her story appears suggesting that she is quite vulnerable and innocent. A close-up shot of an adult female driving her teenage child to school is shown. We can interpret that the female character is an independent single mother as she is dressed in formal clothing which means that she is employed. It could be suggested that her job is very masculine as her hair tied back and is not wearing any make-up. These factors suggest that this series is dominated by masculine characters.
A male character is introduced as a suspect who holds a female hostage at gunpoint; this illustrates a sense of violence and aggressiveness towards the female gender. The character is demanding as he holds weaponry in his hand. A mid-shot depicts the body language that the suspect shows towards the female hostage, he violently pushes her to the floor this implies the idea of female being worthless. The suspect is dressed in black this illustrates a dark and dreary atmosphere, which could be considered as murderous. Violent attitudes towards women are seen throughout the beginning as the main character is pushed and thrown around which suggests that the female has an extremely low status as opposed to the male who is at the top of the hierarchy.
The gender of a female is depicted in this drama as very vulnerable and worthless. A close-up of the female character is shown and she is presented as doll like this is due to the fact that she has heavy tart-like make-up and her hair is done up nicely. The women are represented as strictly sex objects as in this drama their bodies are exploited; this is illustrated when a low angle shot of a woman’s wide apart legs is shown with a male figure between it. A tilt up pan focuses on the costume of the female character showing her tight, short and seductive clothing. A point of view shot shows male characters acting very flirtatious and touchy towards the female suggesting that she was a prostitute.
The boat was named ‘Lay Di’ suggesting that there were respectable females in the series however they were very rear. A high angle, establishing shot of the river and the boat is shown which suggesting that the audience is looking down on her.
The dialogue of the male characters is fowl and they insult the female using very offensive language such as ‘slut’ and ‘tart’ which suggests no form of respect to the opposing gender. The female depicted a very warm and sympathising mood from the way she spoke to other characters.
To conclude, we can see that gender was represented in a very patriarchal way as women were considered below men. The women were considered as of no value and only sex objects we see this as they are presented in sexual manners. This is a stereotypical way of representing gender as women are seen under men in the real world.