Cranford - Representation of Social Class

Representation of social class - Cranford Extract

Upper class

Middle class

Working class

Under class

The clip starts of by showing a young boy running though woodlands with food, this shows the audience that this is periodically set in the 20th century as young children working was 'normal', this is also portrayed to be negative by the use of a dull and dingy lighting of the surrounding woodland. This quickly stereotypes him and his family as working class, the low-key lighting also shows his negative aspect on life as he has to get food to survive. Foley is added by the use of crows which is symbolic of death and bad luck, a long shot is used to show isolation of the young boy and the camera shows a close up of the food to show importance as it is in the middle of the shot.

The next scene is followed by the scene of the house/shack, this is a representation of insufficient funds to live in warmth which is emphasised by the foley of the squeezing door as the young boy walks in. The house is also dark which shows them to have no electricity which fore fills the stereotype of being poor which falls into the struggling working class stereotype. The boys facial expression shows happiness and excitement over the newspaper wrapped preowned boots, this is framed centre with very low key lighting. This shows lack of money to buy presents, decorations or even cake to celebrate a birthday like a comfortable average earning family would. This again fore fills the stereotype of being the working class. Following this is a shot reverse shot of the father and son to show a difference in age. The younger boy also has more screen time and prominence in the scene which could mean his father isn't always around, giving the younger boy more responsibility for his family and their welfare. This is also reinforced by this father who says "you're doing a mans job".

After the boy successfully reads the newspaper print, the father becomes angry and the shot reverse shot emphasises his anger towards his son. This demonstrates that working class people shouldn't be able to read or write like is frowned upon by people in the same social class. Checking the rabbit traps also is symbolic of the working class as they don't pay for food, they have to hunt their food.

This scene is followed by the boy entering the greenhouse, the music builds up at this point foreshadowing a future event. The darkness of the scene also resembles the next thing that will happen is bound to be negative. The close up of the grapes also shows the young boys admiration to eat food that an upper class person would eat, this also represents how money has a big link to power and social class. The more money you have the nicer items, food and clothes you can have.

The next day follows a man with fresh, new shoes symbolising wealth walks down the well maintained groomed path. The man is also wearing a suit which reinforces the stereotypical upper class man. This follows a shot reverse shot scene of the boy and the man, the boy is lower in the shot which represents how the working class is beneath the upper class. The man then takes the boy to his office, he walks with power and dominance as he is the most prominent in the shot. Foley of the horses also is symbolic of wealth as this was used for transport in this period of time.

Anger of the man is emphasised by his posture and stance, the young boy looks disconcerted challenging the stereotype of how the higher social classes have more power. The young boy licks the mans hand, this is symbolic of how working class people look up to and even worship the upper class. The boy then eats the bread with his hands showing he has no manners which exercises the working class stereotype of having no manners. The long shot shows both the man and the boy giving a clear contrast between clothing, this clearly shows which person is more powerful and is more wealthy. 

This scene is followed by an outdoor scene, this shows the well groomed gardens and the working men. This provides the sense of wealth of the family who live in this land. The owner of the Manor is at the top of the land watching over and is closed to the camera showing he is the more dominant character. The manor also reinforces the stereotype of upper class as the manor features marble, a huge house and butlers waiting hand and foot on the people who live there. The next shot shows the woman's white dress which looks expensive, also this seems to be a normal day and that looks to be her normal daily attire. The woman is alongside the man but the camera shows that she is the more dominant and powerful character. The foley of the hammers in the background reinforces the stereotype of working class men who also have to do labour intensive jobs to earn a living to provide for their families, the man is sympathetic to the young boy which challenges the stereotype of separation and how classes frown upon classes under them. 

To conclude I think that this clip does exercise and successfully demonstrates a clear separation of class by the use of clothing, wealth, location and what they eat. But this clip also shows the man challenging the stereotypical upper class man who should frown upon the young boy but has sympathy for him. This clip also shows how people are equal no matter what class you are stereotyped under.