This document provides instructions for analyzing a clip from the TV show Hotel Babylon regarding the representation of ethnicity. It includes definitions of ethnicity, examples of ethnic group categories, and tasks to identify ethnicities in the clip and analyze key scenes. The analysis focuses on three scenes: 1) immigration officers arriving, 2) warning a woman of their arrival, and 3) an immigrant passing out while hiding. The conclusion is that the clip represents various immigrant ethnicities hiding in fear from white immigration officers.

1. Task 1
Look up some definitions of ethnicity and then write a definition in your own words:
Online definitions
“the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural
tradition.”
“Ethnicity means Cultural values or norms that distinguish the members of a given
community from another. An ethnic group is one whose members share a distinct
awareness of a common cultural identity.”
My definition
somebody’s cultural identity.
Find examples of at least six different ethnic group categories:
-White
-Asian or Asian British
-Mixed Multiple
-Black British
-African American

2. Task 2 – Representation of Ethnicity in Hotel Babylon
1. Watch the Hotel Babylon clip (on your teacher’s journal)
2. Write down any ethnicities that you can identify in this
clip:
-White
-Black
-Spanish
-African

3. Slide 1: Title slide including a summary of what you think this clip is about in one sentence
Hotel Babylon –
I think that this clip is about the immigration trying to catch some illegal immigrants.

4. Slide 2-6: Choose at least 3 key scenes/parts of the clip to analyse in more detail (work through them in the order they
appear in the clip). Choose parts in the clip that you think are important in constructing ideas about the characters or the
situation.
This scene shows the introduction of the immigration services. I think that this is an
important scene because it shows them coming to try and find the immigrants. The mise
en scene in this particular part shows the man showing his identification on his card to
show that he is there for the right reason, and to show his authority to allow him to look
around the building. The camera shot is an over the shoulder shot, which shows that
they are having a conversation. Also, the man that is showing his ID, is positioned in the
middle between two other men, which are assumedly his college’s/they work for
him, because him placed where he is (in the middle, yet stepped forward) shows his
power, and his status between them all; almost as if he is their boss.
This scene shows the two men who work at the current location, going to warn a woman
that the immigration officers have arrived and this then gives her a chance to go and
hide/warn everyone. I think that this is an important scene because it shows that the visit
was unexpected, and there is a sense of fear. The mise en scene in this part shows the
two men darting down hallways to go and find the woman, and also passing to
immigrants on his way down, which shows that the immigration officers know that there
are people there. The camera shots are very quick, yet they follow the two characters
clearly.
This scene shows one of the immigrants passing out whilst they are all hiding in a room, it shows
the people around her catching her, which shows a sense of care and that they all look out for each
other. The mise en scene is set up to be believable, that they are all actually hiding from the
immigration officers, as there is quite a lot of them as well, and they are all panicking. Within this
scene is shows one of the men in the room trying to help the woman who passed out, by trying to
get sugar back into her blood stream, which again, shows that they all car for each other, and
they’re looking out for each other.

5. Conclusion about the representation of ethnicity in this clip
In conclusion, the representation of ethnicity in this clip shows that the immigrants aren’t all
just one race, there are various different ethnicities within the group, and the ethnicity of the
immigration officers are white. The immigrants are also shows to have a lower status to the
rest of the characters as they are shows to be fearful of them, and running away.