Eastenders Analysis Regional Identity and Ethnicity Representations Essay -

Eastenders -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heA414lv6gc

Camera:

• Medium shot
• Medium three shot
• Close-up on phone

Editing:

• Jump/ straight cuts
• Cut in on the phone

Mise-en-scene:

• Matriarchal family figures: Cora, Zainab, Sharon and Carol
• Zainab states that the damage of property could be considered a hate crime against Muslims
• Zainab refers to the young people of London as 'hoodlums'
• Carol assumes that Zainab lives in a council house
• Zainab is regional manager of the area
• The application of an Asian family to own the local corner store (stereotype)

Sound:

• East London accents
• Pakistani accents

Other:

• Setting: East London
• Racial Groups: London, Pakistani
• Stereotypes: Council houses due to low income of the region

Essay -

How are regional identity and ethnicity presented in the media text 'Eastenders'?

The media text 'Eastenders' depicts multiple theories and social groups within the episode stated above.

To begin with, the establishing shot demonstrates the setting as East London, a significant culturally diverse population, which is also represented in the cast of the TV soap. Social, racial and regional groups are all displayed within the programme. For instance, mise-en-scene is important in indicating both regional and racial identity in the episode through the use of matriarchal family structures. Possibly the most significant matriarch is Zainab Masood. The character of Zainab Masood is from Pakistani heritage in which the cultural norm is for the females to be dictated by their male counterparts such as fathers, brothers and husbands. Zainab Masood is therefore flouting the ideologies of her ethnicity, despite her role as matriarch still being domestic, whilst conforming more to the regional identity of the powerful working businesswoman in modern London.

Furthermore, sound also plays a large role in exemplifying ethnicity and regional identity through the use of accent, dialect and socialect within dialogue in the text. Accent is the sound of pronunciation influenced by ethnicity and regional identity whilst sociolect is language used by social groups and finally dialect is language used by certain regions and subcultures. For example, accent introduces the ephemeral regional identity and ethnicity that is present due to the contrasting variety of accents including those of East London and Pakistani.

Also, the mise-en-scene in the development of plot helps to exaggerate ethnicity within the media production. The ethnic stereotype that Asian families run local shops is supported by the secondary plot of the Masood's applying for ownership of the 'Minute Mart'. Thus, this develops stereotypical ideal in the representation of ethnicities and regional identity within East London.

Additionally, another example of regional identity is the feature of production, mise-en-scene. A stereotype associated with the regional area of East London is the much stigmatised idea that residents all occupy council housing. An example of this from within the episode is when the character of Carol assumes that Zainab lives in a council house to which the response is far from satisfied. As a result, the ideas that council housing is a negative stereotype within London is supported by the episode through the use of character and dialogue.

Finally, regional identity is further represented through dialogue and character in the media production 'Eastenders'. The idea that the East London region is full of young people who all misbehave and belong to delinquent youth anti-society subcultures, relating to Cohen's theory on youth subculture representation within media being over presented, is shown through Zainab referring to the character of Lauren as a 'hoodlum' resulting from the party culture held by the character. This is a regional identity based stereotype about London which is supported due to the norms and values held by the producer which is then imparted to the receiver therefore enforcing hegemony.

To conclude, regional identity and ethnicity displayed in the episode of 'Eastenders' could easily be interpreted as biased and influenced by the ideals held by the producer rather than being a more representative example of the reality within an East London region and the depiction of specific ethnicities.

TV Drama Soap Analysis Eastenders –

Eastenders Analysis -

• 09 / 10 / 15

• Summation : Emotions are high in Albert Square when Ian demands answers from those closest    to him.

• Narrative : Recently in the show Ian Beale has been dealing with the aftermath of his daughters death and in the mean time his supposedly deceased mother, Kathy, has returned from the ‘dead’. 

There are aspects in Eastenders, as in any soap, that are an example of realistic society which conforms to the verisimilitude of most TV dramas. However, there are also elements of Eastenders that are not representative of wider society and are acts, which in themselves, are not accurate if the intention of the programme is to be naturalistic. 

Some examples of naturalistic elements in Eastenders are; use of appropriate and real settings, accents and dialect / use of colloquial language, representation of families and relationships, auditory effects and the representation of social groups (specifically varied sexualities). The buildings used in Eastenders are all real and suitable for the location in which the show is set in. Furthermore, the East London accents are present in the voices of actors as is the use of dialect in the scripts; the characters use a variety of colloquial slang / abbreviations such as “bruv”, “wots ‘appened” and “luv”. Additionally, the depiction of family life and relationships could be said to portray the life of many off-screen people within society. Characters experience family life issues as well as relationship problems which many audience members can relate to due to the implementation of naturalistic stylisation. Finally, the last realistic element of the episode of Eastenders that I studied was the representation of multiple sexualities through the use of hetero and homo sexual characters and story lines.

On the other hand, there are also many non-naturalistic aspects of Eastenders. For example, the storylines of specific episodes are extremely unrealistic with the character of Kathy Beale returning from the ‘dead’ after a life insurance scandal. Also, the idea that all characters, as neighbours, know each other and their personal business is not realistic for a London Borough. Furthermore, the timeline for the show is non-naturalistic meaning that characters, specifically ones played by child actors, often change and therefore character continuity is compromised for the storylines. Additionally, there is an disproportionate ethnic representation  specifically for the region that the programme is set and filmed in. Finally, and possibly the most non-naturalistic, is the exaggerated storylines comprised of murders, scandals and being returned form the dead.

Therefore, Eastenders, as most soaps, is neither fully realistic or non-naturalistic conforming to verisimilitude fully. This is because Eastenders is the medium of TV and the genre of a soap and thus has to appeal to an audience meaning that it must entertain as its primary purpose. 

Tv Drama Comparison -

'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street' Comparison -

Both 'Coronation Street ,(Corrie), and 'Eastenders' are the medium of TV and are both soap operas. Eastenders is set in London in the south of England whilst Coronation Street is set in the north of England somewhere near Manchester. Therefore the regional identity represented in both programmes varies largely.

Both soaps primary purpose is to entertain; however in specific scenes / episodes of both programmes there are often secondary purposes that can be decoded by an audience. For example the scene from Eastenders that I studied had a secondary purpose to educate an audience about racial discrimination and prejudices within society. Both television shows feature stereotypes but these vary largely in the two programmes studied. Eastenders depicts age related and racial stereotypes whilst Coronation Street displays dialect stereotypes, unemployment and teenage or single parent stereotypes. Examples of this can be found in the representation of the Jamaican born character 'Patrick' in Eastenders; this character often makes references to rum and uses dialect associated with his home country such as stereotypical expression such as "yeah maan". An example of stereotypes found in Coronation Street include the accent of "taanight"and the dialect used when a character says "brew" for tea.

Furthermore, Eastenders and Coronation street both employ a realist and conventional style that focuses on actors and actresses portraying roles of common people. Many media forms tend to focus on the lives of the rich and famous but soaps do not usually adhere to this convention. The realist style allows audiences to become emotionally attached to the characters as they feel they share many similarities as the common people.

Finally, the tone of both soap operas are serious with comical elements that tend to be informal. The implementation of these themes also allows the audience to relate to the characters but also achieve a sense of happiness and relaxation as the occurrences in the lives of characters are not their own. As such, the producers of soap operas are able to create a hyper-reality which an audience can delve into and leave when they wish.

In conclusion, both TV dramas share many similarities but also have differences that means different target audiences are attracted to the programmes apart from a few soap opera fans who may be a fan of both.

Analysis of TV Drama Eastenders -

Eastenders Analysis - 

Categories:

• Medium - Television Drama
• Primary Purpose of Programme - To entertain
• Primary Purpose of Scene - To inform
• Tone - Informal, Comic, Personal, Serious
• Style - Conventional, realist
• Nationality - Jamaican, British, East London
• Themes - Racism

Stereotypes:

• Age - Negative towards teenagers (surprised when teenager shows interest in historical subject)
• Race/ Ethnicity - Jamaican stereotypes

Language:

• Verbal - Joking tone
• Non-verbal - Body language suggests a feeling of being trapped within an unjust society, reminiscent of the feelings of being trapped by racial discrimination

Overview of Narrative: 

• The scene is taken from the TV Drama 'Eastenders' which fits into the genre of a Soap. The Jamaican character 'Patrick' reminisces about his past when he first arrived in Britain and was greeted by 'KBW' an abbreviation for 'Keep Britain White'.