Regional Identity Essay

Regional Identity Essay

The establishing shot is of an outdated doctor's surgery, lacking many of the modern items one would expect to see, this cultural code immediately positions the audience to regard the countryside as ‘behind’ in terms of technology and other advancements- this is a common stereotype of the countryside. The use of the wide angle allows the audience to see the contrast between the suit wearing Doc marten (who represents the ‘city’) and the two boiler suit wearing tradesmen (who represents the countryside). Doc Marten is positioned higher in the frame, which connote power and authority, whilst one of the two workers appear lazy; he is seated, overweight and eating. The room appears uncared for, it is lit using natural soft key lighting and through the use of the mise en scene we can see that there are boxes piled up.

As the extract continues, the stereotype of working people in the countryside is challenged as the boy in the boiler suit stands up and becomes the most prominent character in the two shot. The stereotype is challenged as the diegetic sound of the conversation between larger man and the boy suggests that the boy’s intelligence is far above what is expected from a tradesman in the countryside. As the boy stands up he is perfect shot of the camera which indicates his power over the shot, as the shot changes, are opinion of him changes as we see that he is more intelligent than we expected. The boy is now standing equally to Doc Marten which would now infer that they are both equally intelligent. There is a contrast between the larger man and boy as the larger man is portrayed to have a simple minded, very uneducated and to be very set in his ways. This is a clear demonstration of the generation gap between the two and the way that the larger man has been brought up in a traditional countryside side setting where everything is more relaxed and is not seen to be as involved with the wider world, unlike the boy who had a clear understanding of books.

 

Further on in the extract the audience sees a wide angle shot that is held for a long period of time, of both the larger man and Doc Marten. Doc marten is standing further back in the shot and is seen to be above the larger man, positioning the audience to think that Doc Marten is more powerful. At the time when the pipe bursts the larger man remains seated as Doc Marten and the boy start to panic showing that the larger man is more relaxed and thinks that he has time to complete the job. The camera then focuses on Doc Marten where the audience sees a close up shot of him waving his hand at the two tradesmen. This automatically demonstrates that Doc Marten knows his power over the tradesmen as he wants them to sort the issue that has arisen. The camera returns to a wide angle shot where the audience sees the characters panicking whilst the larger man remains seated and does not try to assist the situation. This continues to support the stereotype of people who live in the countryside are more relaxed. The boy is seen to run off to answer the phone, a diegetic sound in the scene, which is making a rather annoying sound that further increases the stress of the characters resulting in Doc marten having to step in and help sort the broken pipe. This is when the stereotype of Doc Marten is challenged as we expect him not to do any manual labour as he is from the city. The camera angle quickly changes between characters, going from the boy to the lady, to the dog and then the larger man which would suggest that their priorities are very different and they think that they have all the time in the world to get a job done, reinforcing that they are relaxed and free-willed. The speed of the camera increases the tension and stress of the characters and finally settles on close up of Docs face which is full of anger and gives a stereotypical opinion of people from the city suggesting that they want to get things done quickly and are always in a rush.

 The start of the next scene in the extract beings with a tracking shot of Doc Marten walking through the streets are of the small village. The music that is fun and lively is the use of non-diegetic sound which gives the scene a humorous feel as the audience sees Doc Marten dragging the dog up the hill. The buildings are made of stone giving the village an old, quaint feel to it positioning the audience the think that it is not very modern and hasn’t been renovated for years. Doc is seen to be walking briskly compared to the other people in the village and startles a lady as he walks past her. This demonstrates that people living in the countryside are very slow and take their time when walking around the village. The scene continues with a tracking shot then cuts to Doc Marten in the police stations. Here the audience sees a policeman hoovering in his office demonstrating that in the countryside there isn’t a lot of crime and he doesn’t have anything to do. The shot changes from Doc Marten to the police officer to show dialogue between the two using an eye line match shot to infer that in the countryside a doctor and policeman are equal. The door remains in the shot to foreshadow that Doc Marten is going to leave. The non-diegetic music becomes sad and tense when Doc Marten leaves which positions the audience to know that Doc Marten is an important character.

A ‘oner’ is used at the start of scene three as Doc is walking down a small road. A tracking shot is used to follow Doc Marten as he walks down the road, coming closer to the camera. The lady in the scene is seen to be doing something in the boot of her car and is dressed better than other people in the village, in a velvet jacket and blouse, positioning the audience to think that the lady is upper class and wealthier than other villagers. This could also connote that she uses her car to go further than the village also demonstrating that she is not a set in her ways like most people in the countryside. The lady has a high-pitched posh voice which could also suggest that she has not always lived in the village. Continuing on in the scene there is a tracking shot to show the lady and Doc Marten walking. There is no music in this scene; there is wind and seagulls as diegetic sounds throughout the scene allowing us to picture what is happening out of the shot also inferring  that in the countryside there is little noise and it is very peaceful compared to in the city. Doc marten is wearing a watch however the lady does not appear to own one suggesting Doc Marten is the only one conscious of time due to previously living in the city compared to the lady who easily gets distracted talking to people further supporting the stereotype that people from the countryside are friendly.

The next shot is a long shot of Doc Marten walking past the school. The school is central to the shot which would connote that the school is important and could foreshadow that something was going to happen later on. The camera then changes to a medium shot of Doc Walking past the school giving us a sense of the direction he is looking. The camera switches to a shot reverse shot as the teacher and Doc show acknowledgment of each other. Both the teacher and Doc Marten are on the right side of the shot, positioning the audience into thinking that they are related in some way. The non diegetic semantic music becomes slower and more intense as Docs curiosity increases.

The final scene is of an old lady who is traditionally dressed in a dark green jacket and an old worn shirt. This outfit is stereotypical of famers who live in the countryside. The old lady is scene to be unloading vegetables from a cart. This further positions the audience the think that everyone in the countryside grows their own crops or works on a farm. The non-diegetic music becomes slower adding tension to the scene and leaving the audience unaware of what might happen in the scene. The scene continues with a medium shot of Doc Marten and the older lady. Doc is standing behind her in the shot which would show that the older lady is weaker than Doc Marten further supporting the stereotype of people from the city being stronger than those who live in the countryside. The extract ends with a medium shot of Doc Marten following the older lady into her house reversing the stereotype and giving the older lady power and authority over Doc Marten.