Representation: Homeland essay

 In this extract from 'Homeland' set in the middle-eastern city of Baghdad, a unique message concerning Gender and Ethnicity is portrayed through Various techniques in a way that is vivid and poignant.  The extract is most likely made by American producers, and therefore has an American perspective of Baghdad and it's occupants, as well as other areas of representation such as gender and social class. I imagine that the most common reading of this would be somewhere between Dominant and negotiated as some of the messages portrayed are slightly unrealistic or one sided.

In this extract women are represented as strong and capable, but severely underestimated. The camera shot are almost constantly focused on the Female protagonist and her surroundings. The camera uses a series of close ups and mid shots to capture the emotions of the women. She is clearly frustrated and flustered as she tries to save the prisoner. There is a recurring theme that everything is working against the women, particularly the male characters. One simple, but easily overlooked physical element is the traffic.  Various, wide shots and mid-shots from inside the car capture her getting delayed by heavy city traffic. Another example of the way the camera captures this is in the prison. As the guards pull the women away from the cell the camera shows her struggling to get away from them. In this case she is low to the ground, and so the camera is too, matching the audience with her eyes so that they can connect with her emotion and struggle. The point of this is to show that this women is not willing to give up, no matter what comes her way. This is a representation for all women and could be interpreted as an analogy for the struggle women face to be recognized and taken seriously in society.

The majority of this piece has been filmed with a hand held camera to reflect the chaos of the busy city, and the unpredictability of the situation at hand. This technique effectively builds suspense and adds a sense of intimacy so that the audience watching feels like they are really there in the moment. The camera captures the women's interactions with different characters in different ways. For her conversation with the CIA agent back in America, the shots of the man is primarily close up, panning to show him and the contrasting setting he is in. As the camera follows their dialogue over a phone call there is amplified sense of distance between them as the camera shows him to be far away. He does not listen to her plea for help and can therefore be labelled as another obstacle.  Her interaction with her possible friend or colleague is brief, and it is made clear that he does the bare minimum to help the women. The guard that is bribed to help her does not put in a lot of effort into helping her save the man and ultimately abandons her when the guards come. The interaction she has with the prisoner is captured in a series of over the shots and point of view shots whereby the audience sees them struggling to speak to each other through a hole. This emphasizes the fact that they struggle to see eye to eye and because they come from different cultures and countries it is hard for them to make a deal. In the end they connect on the matter of family which is a universal concept that people can understand the importance of just about anywhere.  The camera shows various shots of him telling her information and her getting dragged away these are mostly close ups shot with a shaky hand-held camera to support the climax.

The sound in this piece plays an important role in representing difference in class and ethnicity. The women shown is on the phone to a man in America and the camera cuts between the two places. The shots set in the busy are full of the sound of screeching breaks, car horns, shouting and middle eastern music. The man on the phone with her appears to be at a cocktail party or dinner in America. The sounds there are orchestral or classical music, people in sophistic conversation and clinking glasses. These two scene send a very strong message about the two people groups. The middle eastern city is portrayed as chaotic, polluted with noise and unorderly. The American party is shown to be sophisticated, civilized and pleasant.  This contrast shows the film makers opinions on their own country and how it differs from that of another country. The Fact that the American woman is the savior and hero of the story and everyone in the foreign city is either in her way or is in dire need of her indicates that the message being sent may be slightly biased as the people who made it are likely to be Americans themselves.  I imagine that most people would have a negotiated reading regarding this element of representation of ethnicity.

Once again the mes en scene sends a message regarding ethnicity. The establishing shots of the city of Baghdad show a over-crowded, polluted, chaotic and underdeveloped area. The military at the prison are all in uniform and carry heavy artillery everywhere they go. There also shots of them setting up the gallows for people to be hung and the barbed wire that surrounds the prison. This paints the Iraq authorities as violent and barbaric and the scene where the guard is bribed shows that there is corruption. The American authorities on the other hand are presented as cold and distant, the only one who tries to do anything about the situation at hand. American authorities  choose to separate  themselves from the situation even though they have the power to do something, which makes them seem selfish. The women is wearing a headdress which shows that she respects the culture she has entered and is frank and civil with everyone shows talks to which shows that she is unprejudiced.  There is a lot of low lighting which makes the mood seem serious and somber, as people's lives are at stake. 

The editing follows the 180 degree rule, and maintains continuity which helps achieve an overall sense of verisimilitude.  The cuts are fairly long at first during the woman's conversation with the man in America. The length allows the audience time to read their facial expressions and body language so they can understand the emotions and positions of the character. There is a sound bridge when the prisoner is introduced - there is an over the shoulder shot of him and in the background the woman says "He has been locked up for over a year..." and proceeds to explain his situation which gives the audience context. As the situation gets more urgent, the cuts get faster which makes the scene more intense. As the woman gets dragged away the editing cuts between her face, the prisoner yelling and reaching out his hand, and the guards. This eventually fades into black and the sound echoes on, leaving the audience what will happen to the woman and the prisoner who they had begun to sympathize for.

In conclusion this piece of film from "Homeland" sends a message than woman are strong and have to overcome more obstacles on average than men to achieve a goal, and that the city of Baghdad is not necessarily poor, but it is not exactly highly developed either, and that it is chaotic and controlled by violent military forces. Not everyone will agree with these messages and that is why most people (concerning Stuart Hall's representation theory) will have a negotiated reading.