Eastenders - Representations of social class

Eastenders -

Throughout the extract representations of genders are illustrated through various elements such as editing and sound. In the Eastenders extract, they all speak with a strong cockney accent suggesting they are working class from their use of short sentences. Also from the way they are dressed very casually and up to date with the latest trends and fashion. The way they are all out in the square suggest everyone knows each other and are tight knit community. Also the age is very interesting as they all seem fairly young adults or teenagers, mothers with children, young fathers and then the old people who have been in the area for ages which i think is quite common in areas where working class people live. 

The next factor which displays representations is through mis en scene, expressions play a key role because as soon the clip starts we the fear in both the girl and the boys face in the garage when the other girl walks in, a low angle is used to capture her expression of fear leading to us to feel sympathetic towards her because she had just witnessed something she probably hoped she wouldn’t ever have to.  Its set in a very natural environment however it focuses attention on the male character and the friend which is probably a common situation in every day to day life so i feel a lot females as well as males will be able to relate to that particular scene and the emotion the girl who walked in was feeling.  Then we introduced to another couple where we continually see male characters illustrate dominance, in this case the male characters seem very aggressive to his girlfriend/fiancé in the way he speaks to her and his body language which is a lot like what we would expect in day to day life. During these conversations, the camera is facing the male character to show he is the dominant one in the relationship.  The locations we see in the clip, determines the representations of social class such as the laundrette where the locals gather and commute, outside their houses gathering around the square, the garage, the cafe and the pub where the locals come together. All the locations emphasis on the social class especially with the launderette with them not having one in their homes and the pub, it seemed the locals all worked a 9-5 and will gather up to gossip whilst having a few drinks definiately emphasizes on the life style of the working class.Once again suggesting how close the people around the area are with each other and confined in each other for advice and help. We also hear a lot diagetic sound of the wind, other talking, car engines so it gives a sense of reality which is what most tv dramas tend to use. 

Finally i would the representations of social class is displayed through camera work. For example at the start we see a lot close up between the three characters to emphasis on their expressions so the audience could get involved with the character and show some sort of significance of the three characters in the situation. We see a few over the shoulder shots, especially the conversation between the girl and the boy in the cafe where he is asking her for help. Another over the shoulder shot is in the laundrette between the couple where its slightly at a higher angle when facing the male character to show he is dominant in the relationship. Panning is also used to show the environments whilst capturing expressions of certain characters significant to the story line.