Ruen Brothers

Similar to Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon, Killers

Martin and Graces Musical Information

Martin Stewart Mock Response

At the start of the clip we are presented with the character of Merlin, he is obviously poor as we can immediately see from his costume he is dressed in browns and other un-exciting colours, his clothes appear to be tatty as well, immediately ruling him out of the upper or middle class categories. When Merlin is in the room the music starts to pick up and climaxes as he rushes to hide what he had been doing as a woman enters, this shows that he should not be where he is showing him to be working class as all areas of the castle he is placed in are not available to him or people of his class. We are shown with an over the shoulder shot from Merlins perspective a brief conversation between him and the lady who enters, she speaks "What are you doing in hear" in a commanding questioning voice showing that she has obvious power over Merlin and is of a higher class than he. Her dress is also a much more vibrant purple colour and is expensive putting her into the upper class Social group.

When Merlin leaves the castle and enters the street the tense music that has been present throughout the entire opening of the scene ceases and the sounds of worklife outside pick up. At this point Merlin stands tall and stops moving with uncertainty, this shows that he is in his element in the working class areas rather than the upper class grounds which are the castle. He is however disrupted by a blonde male named Arthur, Arthur is dressed in armour immediately showing that he has power over Merlin because although Merlin does not seem at all frightened by him the armour makes arthur much less vulnerable than Merlin himself. the two men that stand behind arthur represent the connections and power he holds as an upper class citizen whilst as a working class boy merlin relies on his wit to stay safe and protected. Arthur is clearly upper class as he has a strong sense of his own importance and abilities which is obvious throughout his ffight scene with Merlin. as Merlin falls Arthur breaks everything in his path as if it does not matter to him whatever damages he causes to those around him. Throughout the fight scene low angles are used on Arthur to portray his power over Merlin as high angles are used on Merlin himself to show his weakness compared to Arthur.As Merlin begins to use magic the camera angles change bringing Merlin and Arthur up to the same level. Merlin is shown as the dominant figure during this part of the fight as he has more screen time and more prominance over Arthur. When the fight scene ends Arthur chooses to allow Merlin to stay free showing his power as an upper class stereotype, during this short discussion the camera is steady in comparison to the fight scene showing the contrast between the manical violence and the calmness of the upper class. the music in this scene however is very tense as we view merlins face which shows the upper class character of Arthur still holds the power over him.

The final character we are untroduced to is an old man who starts shouting at Merlin for using magic in the fight agasinst ASrthur telling Merlin that it is not safe and that it must be learnt. This character is dressed in clothes equally as dull and ragged as Merlins showing that he is from the same working class as Merlin. this is why during their discussion the old man although telling Merlin that he has done wrong does not seem to have any power ovber him as the two of them are on the same level of class. this is very different to when Arthur had previously been speaking wit Merlin as it had been obvious after the fight tat merlin had to respect Arthur and his wishes. The old mans clothes are somehwate more ragged than Merlins and during their conversation which consistently uses shot reverse shot merlin is given muchmore dialogue, and much more screentime showing his rominance giving the idea that he may be able to go up a class as he is alreasy more important than this man much older than himself.

The upper class stereotype is reinforced as Arthur obviously has power over Merlin from when we meet him to when he exits the clip, he is obnoxious and does as he pleases because he knows that he is of greater importance than all of those around hi as he is royalty. the character of Merlin however somewhat challenges the stereotype of working class as Merlin is evidently clever and although he has to take orders from upper classes and wear ragged clothes he is often throughout the clip in positions of greater power than those who should be easily above him in terms of social class. Merlin seems confident in his blatant disregard for the orders of Prince Arthur which is the main factor in why he challenges the stereotypes of a working class character.

Descriptive words for Social Classes

Middle class – average, normal, educated, happy

Working class - lazy, undereducated, dumb, loveable

Upper class  - rich, well educated, powerful, posh

Underclass – careless, uncontrollable, uneducated, violent

Class Stereotype Mock - By Grace Cuthbertson

After watching the Merlin clip, I identified Merlin as an underclass stereotype. The mis-en-scene makes this most obvious to the audience. His clothing are neutral colours, showing a clear class. The camera pans across and follows him in the first shot; this shows the importance of him in the clip. The pan is smooth and relaxed showing he isn’t out of control; this is against the typical stereotype as the underclass are seen to cause trouble. The stereotype is then made clearer when he enters the room. The sound is quite empty and airy, this could be a sign of the characters personality and the fact that he is going to be up to no good. The next character to be shown is the women, she is wearing a elegant purple dress – this colour symbolises royalty, mystery and magic. The fact that she speaks first shows her importance too. The contrast between two characters makes it clear she is upper class. She almost looks down on him. A shot reverse shot is used to show their conversation. Low angles are used on her to show her power and dominance whilst high angles show Merlin as a weaker character because of his class. Merlin has more prominence, this tells the audience his character is important and the narrative is told from his point of view. As the female enters the room, the non-digetic sound gets more intense and the piano used builds up tension, this also shows that he might fear her.

When he leaves and enters the town centre, church bells are ringing, this could show Merlin is from a religious environment. The other boy verbally attacks him. This is a typical stereotype for upper class, he is shown as quite full of himself and in control. The armour he wears could resemble the fact that he is unbeatable and untouchable because of his class. The fact that he is accompanied with two other people could also show that he is incapable of individuality or independence where he has been given everything needed since birth. The weapons he is holding can be seen as a falic object. Compared to Merlin who isn’t carrying anything, Arthur is seen as the stronger masculine stereotype. This shows that money can be a huge impact on masculinity along with class. Another shot reverse shot is used to show conversation between two characters. The proximity between them allows the audience to see their hatred for each other. When they begin to fight, the music is quite adventurous and heroic, it builds up tension and excitement. The use of high and low angles changes when Merlin uses magic to gain power. Close ups are used to show emotion on the characters faces. It also uses on to show that Merlin is using magic. At this point another character is introduced, Merlin fears him as he looks disappointed in him for using his magic. The camera is hand held for the fight, showing it as uncontrollable and quick cuts are used to make it more dramatic. When he falls over, a high angles is used to show his as being looked down upon by upper class. Foley sounds are used during the fights, like the use of the rope pinging and the whip sounds. After the fight, the camera goes back to being on a tripod showing a more relaxed situation.

The last stereotypes visible were working class. This is all the other characters in the clip, who watch them fight. Their costumes are also mutual colors and are very poor and old. It shows working class as a group, this could convey the stereotype without individuality and instead as all the same. The sound of them talking about work shows them as very unhappy with their lifestyles.

I think overall, the upper class stereotype is shows as most dominant and powerful, whereas underclass is shown as the weaker class, who are looked down on. I think the stereotype of upper class is reinforces because they are seen as quite full of them self and important as well as powerful. I thing the stereotype of underclass is challenged to the extent that Merlin doesn’t fear King Arthur and is quite confident towards him. It is also reinforces the extent that he wears old clothes and is seen as a weaker character.

Social Class Stereotypes Colllages

Underclass

Working Class

Middle Class

Upper Class

Harry Brown Presentation Homework