Homeland Representation Essay

In this Crime T.V drama of "Homeland" there are two core elements of society that are Gender and Ethnicity which are being represented throughout the extract.  There is a representation of Ethnicity in homeland as there is a Muslim man who is about to be hung for committing a mass murderer, and a white Caucasian women who is trying to prevent him from being hung as he has got valuable information about a U.S attack that may take place. This represents that Muslims are always being punished for the actions and how they have no say in changing it like how the Americans are in a free-of-speech country and they wouldn't of be hung. It also represents how the American women is trying to do the right thing for her country even if it means breaking some laws to get what she wants. There is also a representation of Gender, as there is a female who is represented as someone who has got power and can be bold at times when it maters, there is an American male who is represented as someone who has got a lot of power and is part of the upper class status as he is a CIA director, there is a Muslim man who is also being represented as someone who is not in the upper class but someone in a third world county with no much things or supplies around him, he is represented as someone who is always in trouble and very vulnerable as he is going to be hanged.

These representations engage with the audience as they can pick out key information that they understand by watching, this lines up well with Stuart Halls Theory as the audience may have a dominant reading which is when the audience can decode the message exactly as the producer intended, thereby suggesting that the audience and the producer share the same cultural and ideological positions. Or maybe the audience get a negotiated reading which means the audience may understand the general meaning and the connotations of the message of the producer but they would need to adapt them to fit with your own beliefs. Or they could have the complete opposite with those two and get and oppositional reading which means that the audience rejects the producers message, despite understanding the denotive and conative meanings. I would say the audience get a negotiated reading from looking at the short film as they understand the overall message but they need to adapt to fit their own beliefs.

Camera:
In the short film at the beginning there is an Establishing shot of Iraq, Baghdad, that sets the scene to show us that the extract starts in Iraq. There is a lot of handheld shots in the film which give the the audience a sense of shakiness and instability as it is based in Iraq where not a lot is stable. There is a POV shot of the women driving in the car that gives the audience a sense of how hectic and crowded the streets are with people, which also shows how the women is in a hurry to get from point A to B. Then the camera transitions into a close up of the women on the phone to show her emotions of frustration and impatience.

The camera goes to a long shot of the Muslim military setting up the gallows, while being surrounded by barbed wire and thick concrete walls, after this you can see an over the shoulder shot of the imprisoned Muslim man about to be hung for his acts of crime and then he turns his head to show his worry and agony.

The camera moves into a wide shot with different scenery to show an American man on the phone to the American women in Baghdad, the camera switches between them both to show a conversation of shouting and annoyance.

There is a wide shot of the American women walking while the camera is following her and as she meets up with a Baghdad citizen so she can bribe him to see the prisoner and get U.S. intelligence of a terrorist bomb. The camera changes into a close up of the Muslim man in the cell with curiosity on his face. As soon as the American women walks in there is another over the shoulder shot of the prisoner and her talking about the matters that lie ahead.

Mise-En-Scene:
In the short extract there are citizens in the town of Baghdad, who are wearing religious hats and also many of them are wearing a hijab on their heads. The soldiers are wearing Fatigues to represent themselves as Muslim Military guards who are preparing a gallow for the prisoner in the cells

The American women is also wearing a hijab to blend in with the locals and not look out of the ordinary, as she may be breaking the law to get Information about the U.S. All the cars around are very old and look very run down which can give the sense to the audience that this is a third world country and there aren't a lot of valuables in the town. 

When the camera changes to the American man, you can see that he is in a very formal event as there are wine glasses and people wearing suits and dresses, this can give the representation that the people in that room are from the upper class and have got power and a lot of status, however on the other side of the phone you can see people who do not have suits or dresses but either robes or dirty clothes that may be out of fashion.

The lighting in most of the extract is a yellow hue that brings the effect of Baghdad being dusty and uncleansed with no clean air.

Editing:
In the Extract there is an effect of Shot reverse shot to show the audience that the American women is talking to another, whether it be over call with the American man or face-to-face with the prisoner, this gives a sense of communication to the audience as they can understand that the American women is trying to get intel to protect her country from terrorists.

There is a 180 Degree rule when the American women and another citizen are talking face-to-face to see if a soldier can take her into the cells.

In the scene with the car and the American women is getting out of the car to walk, Match-on-action is used there to show the effect of how much she is in a rush to get to the prison, and its shows a quick and nice transition rather than the clip going on for ages.

Sound:
At the beginning of the extract you can hear diegetic sounds of citizens talking, and behind all of that you can slightly hear a diegetic sound of a speaker or intercom playing music. Then there is a J-Cut of the American women speaking on the phone to maybe a receptionist or a personal assistant, while turning a corner and then hearing tires screech along the ground.

While the American man and the American women are on call, when there is a J-Cut of the American man talking but the camera is still on the American women in the car, there is a diegetic sound of the phone cracking a little as there is probably not great service in Baghdad, but then as soon as the shot changes to the American man the sound is crystal clear.

The man that the American women meets up with says "I don't know if we can trust him", this shows to the audience that she may be double-crossed and have the soldiers get called on her. As soon as she gets into the prison and sees the prisoner she apologizes for not being able to change anything so then the prisoner replies back with "so then I have nothing to say to you", this implies that the prisoner shouldn't tell the American women the information about the U.S attack as she has not helped him. The American women starts to negotiate with prisoner and says "I will personally guarantee their safety".

There is a sound of the prison doors that open and a diegetic sound of guards talking as they see the American women. Then the prisoner runs up to the cell door and whispers in the American women's ear about the attack.