In Hotel Babylon ethnicity in shown in juxtaposing ways with both
stereotypical and atypical approaches being offered.
The opening shot shows a black male dressed in a suit in a luxurious
building. The suit he is wearing along with the location connotes that he is in
a good job, which is atypical of the way young black males are portrayed in the
media. His body language is also very relaxed and happy that again opposes the
stereotypical view. The following shot shows him bumping into another black
male who he appears to be friends with. The new male is dressed in colorful
“board” shorts as he has just been in the pool but they suggest a lifestyle of
relaxing and partying, which is reinforced by when he refers to having a party
with “Ganja” and “Girls”. His accent is also a lot more colloquial compared to
his compatriot’s accent, which is very much in Standard English. This could
connote that the character in the board shorts embraces his ethnic background
and is proud of his lifestyle. This could suggest that the character in the
suit is trying to change his life to become successful and
This could suggest that the male in the suit is trying to move away
from the stereotypical lifestyle that he may of once had, however the use of
other the shoulder shots that shown when the characters are talking suggest
that they are may still be similar even If e is trying to reform his life.
Other ethnicities shown in Hotel Babylon include an elderly oriental
businessman who hires prostitutes in the form of two eastern European women who
also work as maids, within the hotel. The elderly gentleman is portrayed in a
stereotypical way of being quite sleazy paying for sex. The way this is
suggested is through the use of close and long shots. Close ups of his eyes and
brow show a perverted view and is reinforced by a long shot of him sitting in
his dressing gown.
The European maids are at first shown in a stereotypical way by being
in poorly paid positions at the hotel, shown by the clothing they wear and the
trolley they push. It is also shown they are willing to receive payment for sex
the music that the man selects to play in the background
for the women is also quite sleazy. The filmmakers make the sound the only
audio within the clip which helps show the body language of the characters
within the scene.
When one of the women finally talks, refusing to participate and walks
out. The sudden cut from then music feels very tense and awkward for the
characters. What the director creates in this scene is a scenario of which you
would expect the stereotypical approach to take place but this is then flipped
showing that the stereotype isn’t always correct.
Another European character is then introduced in the form of a chef.
His movement and body language suggest that he is a very flamboyant and
outgoing character shown by giving a kiss to his manager when they go into the
kitchens. Further stereotypical approaches are shown by when the managers
discuss the fact that he had slept with a colleague’s wife and the worried
expressions on their face suggest that he could cause trouble.
British citizens are also presented within the clip with the introduction
of two people who appear in middle management walking down a corridor. The
suits they are dressed in suggest good jobs however the way the camera is
positioned, following them down a corridor could connote that it is a dead end
job and they will be stuck there. The way they talk is in a hushed voice, which
also portrays the British stereotype of being not being confrontational.
A further oriental woman is also shown within the clip. She appears to
have good job and be happy, dressed in a suit. However by carrying toilet roll
and moaning about having to do so would suggest that the job is repetitive and
dull.
