This document defines social class and provides examples of how different social classes are portrayed in television through analyzing mise-en-scene, camerawork, sound, and editing. It examines characters from shows that represent the lower class (Kenny from Skins), working class (hotel workers from Hotel Babylon), lower middle class (Mick Carter from EastEnders), upper class (characters from Downton Abbey). It concludes with theories like dominant ideology and binary opposites that can help explain how social class is constructed and differentiated visually.

1. Social Class
Definition: social class is the measurement of how well of someone is in terms of
their job, education, family background and where they live.

2. Lower Class
Kenny – Big Issue Seller (SKINS)
Mise en Scene:
Costume; Doesn’t care about his
appearance; long greasy hair,
hasn’t shaved, wearing shabby
clothes. Props; Big Issue magazine
that people who are supposedly of
lower class sell although they
sometimes fake being poor to get
money for the magazine.
Camerawork:
Close up to emphasise the fact that
he’s of a lower class due to his lack
of care towards his appearance (or
lack of money to go to the
hairdressers/barbers or to afford
razors etc.). Later on there is a
wide shot to show the difference
between Kenny (the big issue
seller) and Tony who is of a higher
class to Kenny as his family are
from the higher working
class/middle class.
Sound: Digetic sound; he says how
he can’t have help from Tony to
sell the magazines as Tony looks
wealthy and therefore he wouldn’t
sell as many copies because they
may think that because he’s
speaking to someone of a higher
class that he isn’t of a lower class.
Editing: Cross cutting to show a
clear comparison between Kenny
who is of a lower class selling the
Big Issue to earn some money and
then to show Tony who comes
from a wealthier background of
parents who have decent jobs and
are in the high working class to
lower middle class.

3. Working Class
Hotel Babylon
Mise en Scene:
Costume; the hotel workers
seem to be well dressed as
they’re wearing professional
looking suits and the woman
on the left has her makeup
done nicely along with her hair.
The male on the right is clean
shaven and doesn’t have greasy
unstyled hair like Kenny (the
male from the lower class) did.
Camerawork: Shot reverse shot to
show a difference between the
middle class compared to them
who are of a working class status.
Sound: Digetic sound; they
sound a lot more educated and
well spoken than Kenny from
Skins, however they don’t
sound overly posh.
Editing: Clear cut to show that
they’re still the working class as
they’re being paid to get bossed
around by middle class people who
come into the hotel who have all
the luxuries.

4. Lower Middle Class
Mick Carter – Pub Landlord (EastEnders)
Mise en Scene:
Costume; well dressed, has a
smart coat and shirt to show
he’s of middle class as he’s a
pub landlord therefore earns a
fair amount of money. Cleanly
shaven, hair is well groomed
etc.
Camerawork: Long shot to
show he’s well dressed.
However it reveals that he
has his hands in his pockets
which shows he’s also laid
back and not part of the
higher middle class and
defiantly not anywhere
near the upper class.
Sound: Digetic sound; he
doesn’t sound posh however
he doesn’t sound like he
belongs in a lower class as he
doesn’t use an abundance of
profanities, however he
doesn’t use sophisticated
vocabulary.
Editing: Cut to show Mick as a pub
landlord to someone else in
EastEnders that is of a lower class
than him to make the juxtaposition
obvious.

5. Upper Class
Cast from Downton Abbey
Mise en Scene: Costumes; well
dressed, hair nicely curled and
styled. Bright coloured clothing
to connote happiness and
wealth. Props; cane which is a
stereotypical item that posh,
upper class people have.
Camerawork: Longshot to
show the cast with their
posh, expensive costumes
to show they’re well off and
rich. Reveals that they’re
standing up straight and
have good posture which is
an example of mise en
scene.
Sound: diegetic sound; posh
voice, sophisticated
vocabulary, well spoken,
clearly well educated etc. Non
diegetic sound; classical music
which is stereotypical as posh,
upper class people tend to
only listen to classical music as
opposed to lower class who
listen to rap music.
Editing: Delicate editing, not
choppy or handheld. It isn’t gritty
as apposed to other shows such as
SKINS that uses hand held camera
work and gritty shots to show the
working/lower class people of
Bristol.

6. Theories
• Dominant ideology is a theory that can be applied to
social class as the ‘upper class’ are believed to be
dominant whereas the lower and working class are
seen as the subordinate.
• Levi Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposites could be
applied to social class as there are two clear opposites;
the upper class and the lower class. These can be
clearly identified through looking at mise en scene. For
example the upper class would have brightly coloured
clothing, a clean shaven face and done up hair,
whereas the lower class would look greasy, not be well
groomed and wear dull coloured, baggy clothing.