Hotel Babylon Answer

1. Hotel Babylon - Ethnicity
Hotel Babylon – How is the representation of ethnicity constructed in the
extract?
At the beginning of the extract, we see the immigration officers approaching the hotel
reception in order to locate the immigrants. The police officers are white and are all very
well dressed, which shows their level of authority. At this point, the music is a high intensity
and the footstep sounds added help to add anxiety and panic of who is approaching. A
ticking sound could be showing that the time is decreasing for the immigrants and showing
that they need to hide and it also shows the power that the white officers have over
everyone. The camera angles used here involve a lot of close ups and zooming into close
ups, this again, shows the authority and perceived importance of the white officers. In terms
of editing, there are many shots and a motivational shot is used to build tension and create
an atmosphere. It is the white officers who motivate the editing, again suggesting the power
they hold. At this stage of the extract, the mise en scene shows a busy scene with many
people involved, this also creates an atmosphere of panic and emphasizes the importance
that the immigrants get away. The white hotel workers are helping in the process which
goes against the stereotype that white people do not like illegal immigrants.
During the next few scenes, some of the people have been warned that the immigration
officers are at the hotel and they have to pass the message to the immigrants so that they
can hide. The man who passes on the message is of a black ethnic background and he is very
well dressed, implying to the audience that he is important in the hotel and perhaps in
charge, this goes against the general stereotypes of black people who are normally shown in
low paid jobs with no authority. The need to tell everyone what is happening means that
very fast paced editing is used and a blur is created. The fast editing shows the desperation
of the hotel workers as it emphasises their determination to hide everyone. Authority is
then shown through the use of camera angles; the camera quickly pans downwards when
informing the lady in charge of the immigrants what is happening, this implies that perhaps
she is classed as less important than the other workers. The same music is used throughout
most of the extract but with varying paces and volumes, at this point it is very fast and
louder than in other parts to show the little amount of time available and therefore the rush
that is being created and suggests that the illegal immigrates are easily scared and pancied,
particularly by white people. In these scenes, the mise en scene changes a lot as shots are
taken from a variety of rooms and places inside the hotel. Therefore showing that there are
many emotions at once among different people and depending on their situation.
Next, we see the immigrants all being rushed into a small room to hide, the mise en scene
here is very plain and this could be used to show that they are seen to be less important by
the officers. Here, a sense of calm falls upon the room for a split second until the lady in
charge notices that one man is missing, the atmosphere then returns to panic and despair
hope that their friend is safe. The camera then slowly pans up the missing friend and the
slow paced shots show that he is in his own world and is completely oblivious to what is
going on. The camera then skips back to the immigrants in the room. The music is slower at
this point and this emphasizes the binary opposite of the British officers and the foreign
immigrants as the music is always much faster when the scene is focused on the officers.
But it is interesting to note the use of close up shots of one of the immigrates who used to

2. be a doctor where he came from and is now a cleaner. This goes against the stereotype that
immigrates are poorly educated. He clearly had power and statue where he came from but
now that he is in England he does not. We also see a close up shots of the Hotel boss when
she is shocked to learn that he was a doctor. This shows the stereotypical attitude of
English people to immigrates.
In the next scene we see a shot of the missing immigrant worker with the officers in an
opening lift behind him, he is still unaware of what is going on at this point. The officer
walks out onto a red carpet which shows his perceived importance. The shots are quicker
when the officer is walking after they have caught the immigrant to show his power over
the immigrant. In terms of the mise en scene, it is very basic in the hotel hallways and this
could link to the kind of lives the immigrants are living. Also, the colour red appears again on
the man’s boiler suit, as it has done subtly throughout the extract, and this infers danger
which links well to what is happening. The main boss acts very much at this point as if he
thinks of himself to be far superior to the immigrant and this is shown in the style of shots
used and then emphasized when the camera pans down, as he looks down, towards the
workers abandoned hoover as though he is metaphorically looking down on the man.
Emphasizing that at this point the significance of ethnicity, this is because the foreign
immigrants left in the room hiding feel terrified and almost as if their time is up, whilst the
British officers just feel more empowered.
In the next scene, we see the man who was caught being taken away by the officers, as he is
dragged through the main reception, we see other people look on and beg for them to let
him go, whilst realizing that they can’t do anything about it. The reception is very busy at
this point and has an exotic feel to it which shows the variety of races present in the hotel.
This is also shown as we can clearly see a range of people from different cultural
backgrounds, and a typical Italian waiter which shows diversity and equality, promoting the
fact that the hotel welcomes all races which goes against the norm. Many part of England
are not that accepting and welcome of ethnic minorities.
The following few scenes show the arrested man’s friends and colleagues in sorrow and
emptying his locker, the camera shot briefly shows us a poster of his national football team
which says to the audience that he is proud of his background and strives to maintain it
even though he is living in England. This reinforces the stereotype that ethnic minorities are
proud of where they come from and don’t want to be ‘Englishafied’. The music at this point
is very slow and sad, to perhaps show that the colleagues of the arrested man are reflecting
on the recent events and feeling deep sadness for their friend but also a sense of relief that
they are safe themselves. This could suggest that ethnic minorities are selfish.
In the final scenes of the extract, we see the camera panning round the canteen to show
and emphasize on the fact that the hotel is home to a wide range of nationalities. However,
everyone is sitting at separate tables with other people from their respective nationalities;
this follows the stereotype that ethnic groups stick together. The music at this point reflects
the overall sad mood running through the hotel.
Overall, ethnicity is presented in many ways throughout the extract; sometimes more
obviously than others, and it is made clear that the hotel is full of a very wide range of
ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. It both reinforces and challenges stereotyopes.