Representation in films

1.Ferris Bueller’s Day Off2. Slumdog Millionaire3. High School Musical

Ferris Bueller’s Day OffIn the opening we see the Buellers’ house and it is shown to be a very large and sophisticated looking home, from the outside. They also have three cars parked beside it, all of these imply that money is not an issue for them and they are quite high class in the ranking score. Also, this is the first scene we see therefore this implies that the money and the wealth in this family is important and we see this instantly. The location of the house looks like a very quiet and posh area.

These camera angles can also demonstrate different social classes. In this mis-en-scene we see both the protagonist and his sister at quite a close up shot, this can imply their level on the social class being quite high up. They are part of the upper class as these camera angles are usually used to represent the characters importance to the film

The sounding used in this opening sequence does not reflect on the families upper class reputation, we get an insight they are a normal family but wealthy at the same time.

Here we see the protagonists mother and father, yet again the camera is zoomed quite closely to their faces showing their importance to the film and their higher class role. The mother is shown wearing nicely done makeup, implying she has taken a long amount of time to apply it so therefore we see she takes her appearance seriously and wants to maintain her sophisticated reputation everyday. She also has expensive looking earrings and necklace this again reflects on her social class being part of the upper class. Her hairstyle was very popular when this film was being made at the time, so this can imply how up to date this family is and how modern they are just as being sophisticated.

The father is shown as a very classy looking man, just like the mother and this again is reflecting upon his class scale being upper class. He is also wearing a formal suit with the matching cream toned colours.

Throughout the opening scene the camera angles do not reflect on the family’s social class, no unique shots have been used as they are all just normal cuts. The storyline being based on high school implies they are very normal regardless the fact they are an upper class family.

Slumdog Millionaire This is the first shot we see, the protagonists face as a major close up and I noticed that he is wearing a white tank top. This reflects on the simplicity of his character and also due to the lack of other clothing that is not visible we could say he is part of a much lower class. He is shown wearing no jewellery, or any other specific type of clothing. The close up shot implies his importance to the film that he is the main character and that he is the first person we are instantly shown. The orange lighting that is used can indicate the danger of some sort or perhaps the heat of that environment which we then later on learn is based in India, Mumbai.

This is a very unusual scene that comes straight after the close shot of the protagonist which we realise is part of the lower class. There is money getting thrown into a bathtub and hands are shown with very expensive looking jewellery. We get an immediate insight of the wealth introduced in this film and that it has 100% got something to do with the protagonist as his face is shown directly before and after this scene. Making the audience question, could he be part of the upper class and wealthy side?

This scene is showing a side shot of the protagonist and another male character talking to him. The fact the protagonist is not making direct eye contact whilst he’s talking to him could be due to the fact that he is not on the same wealth, popularity or class level as this other character. The new character that is introduced is wearing a very business formal suit and a tie along with it, whilst the protagonist is just wearing a simple shirt. The lighting shown in this scene is blue which reflects on the new characters suit colour, this can imply his importance to the film which we then find out is true due to the fact he makes the protagonist wealthy from winning the show. In this scene it is very obvious the TV presenter is of a much higher class than the protagonist.

High School MusicalThe first scene we see as the audience is a school building. With this front shot we see the schools simplicity, indicating that this is a normal school for teenagers to go too, there is no specific class for this (private schools being for upper wealthier class).

The first two characters we see is a male student and the teacher of the class teaching. The camera shot is a front angle and is showing the student sat down implying he is below the teacher on the social scale, she is of a higher class compared to the male student and also shows that she is older than him. They are both wearing bright and bold colours of blue and pink mainly, implying they are both two different people but the students family are of a middle/upper class buying him these clothes and she is of a middle/upper class for the same reasons.

We are then shown the rest of the pupils sat in this classroom. I noticed in this shot after watching the whole film that all the main and important characters have been seated at the front and middle row. Zack (male student in blue) being the protagonist is sat directly at the front and in the middle, this implies his importance to the film and also his social class scale. They are all wearing very bold colours bringing it out that they are all middle class.

The rest of the class is now not in this camera shot anymore and it is showing 3 characters. The main face we see is the protagonist and it is a direct zoom in of his face showing and implying yet again his class scale being higher than everyone elses but yet he still goes to a normal school living a normal teenage life. The second character we see is his friend behind him also as a zoom up implying his importance to the protagonists life which we then find out they are best friends. Finally, the last character we see is behind the protagonists friend and it is a female character, implying her importance to the protagonist which later we find out is his girlfriend. Here, we are subtly introduced to the important characters.

The protagonists friend behind him is holding a basketball, which is known as a sport that can make you very wealthy and very famous if you succeed in it. He Is instantly now recognised as sport but also an upper class male.