Representation of Class - Spooks

I will be looking at the clip below from 0:00 to 4:28

Discuss the ways in which representations of class and status are constructed in the extract through the 4 micro-elements.

Right from the beginning we see the leader of 'The British Way', Sampson, practicing his upcoming speech in the  bathroom mirror. We see a close up of his face through an the over the shoulder shot, looking very stern and serious. The dim lighting in the scene cats shadows around his face and creates a dark thee to the scene. From this setting we already get a sense that Sampson is playing the villain. He slightly grits his teeth while emphasising the word 'anger'. This shows that he is obviously passionate and infuriated about what he is about to talk about, and that it is not laughing matter.

The soundtrack played in the background is very eary and dark. It creates tension throughout the dialogue, and sets a dangerous and evil setting for the following events. During Sampson's practice, we cut to 'The good guy', Harry, in the back of a vehicle being driven around by presumably his chauffeur. He frantically calls around his team ordering them to get down to the scene. This shows that he is clear a very powerful man, and that he has an entire team of specialists at his fingertips. The classy vehicle he is being driven around him accentuates his importance and significance in the clip.

We also cut to a scene of a white woman marking a large cross on an apartments door, followed by a group of thugs, who drag the black woman out of her accommodation along with many of her possessions. This shows us that not only are the regime of people selectively evicting unwanted neighbours ruthless, but they also have some kind of established plan of action, as the lady marks who is the next to be targeted. The camera tilts upward to reveal the onlooking children, watching the events seeming relatively unfazed and relaxed, suggesting this is definitely not the first time this has happened, rather one of many. The diegetic sound of a baby and other residents of the apartment screaming in terror, as they watch the masked men destroy their possessions as a sign of there dislike of them being there.

The camera follows Harry, walking purposefully into the board room, where his fellow colleagues are situated. We notice there workforce is intact ethnically diverse, proving that they are strongly against racial discrimination. Harry looks down to his workforce, asserting his authoritative powers over them, again making apparent his high status within the scene. Soon after there is a cut to female spy, wearing a hidden camera in order to film the controversial event. We see a view through her hidden device as she waits for the arrival of Sampson.

As William Sampson walks up to the stage, we get a view of his shaking the general publics hands, associating with them as he is the one man who is representing the entire nation. His increasingly aggressive and extreme speech on the peoples feelings toward ethnic minorities is reinforced with shaky footage of residents wearing balaclavas targeting people with other ethnic backgrounds other than white. The then goes on to justify his own anger toward these people, touching on a very harsh stereotype of other races intent of terrorism in the UK. This gives us a deep understanding into how this middle class man has been brought up, and his lack of ethnic integration during his life time.

His entire speech is viewed from a low angle shot, proving Sampson is a respected figure in the room, and that he is a clear representative for everyone attending the speech, also shown by the audiences agreement throughout. It is also noteworthy to recognise the progressively loud tone of voice used by William Sampson, telling us his underlying hatred toward the ethnic diversity in the area, almost bragging bout being called islamophobic.