Essay

1. “People Just Do Nothing” is a BBC television sitcom set in West London. The
format of the show follows a mockumentary style and focuses on the lives of
Grindah and Beats, both of whom run Kurupt FM; a pirate radio station.
In terms of language, the characters speak in slang. They shorten words and use
other words which some people may not understand. This is important because
it shows their social status, they are very much working class and at the bottom
of the social ladder. This further supports why the show involves lots of drug use
and crime, because these characters don’t know any better.
The setting is also of major importance, it shows a run down council estate in
London. Usually, when the characters are in their homes the camera will have a
clear shot of the surrounding areas from the balcony. This is used to give the
show an unpleasant feel, the characters don’t live in a very nice place and the use
of an almost grey colour throughout the show also creates a dreary atmosphere.
The flat itself is very small and cramped, this makes a very claustrophobic feel, it
makes you feel like you are part of the drama unfolding and overall creates very
tense scenes due to the camera focusing on one character for a long period of
time.
Supporting characters in the episode included the Priest. He appeared in the
church, which was shown to be very well lit, perhaps to show holiness or, more
realistically, to show upper class. The Priest was looking down upon the other
characters throughout the episode and the camera focused close on his face to
show the level of un-comfort he was feeling. His performance was very negative
in the sense that he was disgusted by the lower class of his cast.
The costumes are very basic, mainly track suites. This shows that the characters
don’t have much money, they are happy with what they’ve got and they are not
moved by what others of higher class think of them. In this sense the show
makes you believe that the characters are in their own little world, they haven’t
experienced the real world and are very much satisfied with what they’ve got.
The other characters wore clothing, which, I noticed had a lot of white in it. I
think this was to show that these characters think they are better than the main
cast, white tends to show superiority and power, and this is defiantly used
successfully on the supporting cast.
The make-up, especially on the female cast, is very heavy. This shows that
perhaps the female characters are very insecure about themselves, Michelle’s
performance is very uneasy, especially when around her boyfriend. The camera
also focuses deeply on her when this uneasiness is present, which makes the
audience feel quite uncomfortable about the scene. This is used to show that
Michelle doesn’t think much of herself, she seems to only listen to her boyfriend;
in short her world revolves around him.
In terms of Grindah, I noticed that a lot of his scenes involve a full body shot of
him. This shows that he is the leader of his group - he requires full attention. His

2. body language is very bold, he is portrayed as a man who puts others in their
place, he believes he is the best of the best, and this is almost confirmed by the
way the camera focuses on him, especially in low angle shots.
Overall, the sitcom represents the lower social class of society. The points made
above all show how the sitcom has done this. The sitcom also shows that within
this lower class there are certain ‘ranks’, Grindah being the at the top of this. It
also suggests that Michelle is at the bottom of this ranking, implying that the
characters have very old fashioned beliefs about the roles of women.