Find more videos like this on Beauchamp College Media
With reference to the camera, editing, sound and mis en scene, discuss how ethnicity is represented in this clip.
In the five minute clip of 'Compulsion' we watched, an Indian family are celebrating their daughters 25th Birthday. Her parents want her to traditionally marry an Indian man, however at the party she has an affair with a white man from her University.
Camera
At the beginning of the programme there is an establishing shot, showing the house at which the party is being held, it shows a large house, this shows that the family that own the home are have a lot of money and come from a rich Indian community. There is a point of view shot as Ray Winstone's character is watching the family's daughter, there is also a music change, this emphasises a dark presence as he is usually associated with gangster stereotypes. In the clip, his stereotype is met as he deals drugs to the son of the Indian family. This adds to the representation of white people corrupting the Indian community and linking them to the white criminal community. This is shown through the stereotype of Indians being responsible and classy community.
Sound
The music used in the clip is non diegetic sound, it is traditional Indian music, reflecting the background of the family and emphasising where they come from and their culture. The accents of the characters also emphasise their ethnicity, for example, the Indian parents have Indian accents, but their children, as they have grown up in England, have English accents. This emphasises the fact that the children are moving away from the culture of their family, as their son is dealing with drugs and their daughter is secretly seeing a white English man she met at the English University, Cambridge.
Mis en Scene
The costumes used in the clip highlight which ethnic background each character comes from. The Indian parents are wearing traditional Indian clothing, however their son is wearing a suit and their daughter is wearing a dress, although the style does have some Indian aspects - this again emphasises that their children are moving away from the Indian culture or their family and are moving towards more English culture and the difference between the older and younger generations in the Indian community. In addition, the friends of the daughter are wearing suits and dresses, something typically English people would wear.
The setting of the clip is decorated in a very traditional Indian way, which puts emphasis on the family's background. In addition to this, the family have very traditional Indian values as the girl's father escorts her across the room to meet a friend's son, eluding to an arranged marriage. This is portrayed in a negative way as the audience are experiencing it form her point of view. When the son is dealing with drugs, it puts emphasis that he has enough money, suggesting he comes from a rich background, as does the fact the the daughter attends Cambridge University.
