Analyse how regional identity is presented in the clip
The clip starts with the camera panning across a table of food and drink, then it moves onto a frame filled with one characters head. It isn't until he starts talking that we realise that the food is stereotypical. The people in the clip are "Northern" and the food they eat is "hearty" northern food. Chips and beer, most likely bitter. We see individual shots of each character, effectively introducing them into the scene. We see that the bosses are sitting next to each other. The individual shots let us study their faces and it would seem that the bosses look wary and the workers angry. Stereotypical again of northern people. the camera then moves to a shot which shows all of them centered on the table. Giving us an insight into where they are eating. It would seem to be in a pub, implying that the north doesn't have restaurants.
This would seem to be the time to comment on the sound in clip. There is not soundtrack making the music coming from the "pub" and the clink of knives and forks diegetic and natural within the scene. This has been used because it is highly effective in creating social realism inside a scene. The knives and forks are also action codes that imply the action of eating is being undertaken.
However most of the clip focuses on the characters within and it is interesting to see how they are portrayed. The two workers are sat opposite their bosses, becoming an obvious example of binary opposites, evidence being, the workers drink beer whilst their bosses sip on wine. There is tension in the scene with clear mistrust between the two sides. Playing on the northern trade unions. The only time the group comes together is within one stereotypically sexist minute when they all watch the waitress stroll away, with the character we learn to be Roy, jesting with a rather "raunchy" comment, key in presenting beliefs about the north which aren't correct but stereotypically believed. The scene is edited to clearly express the mistrust between the worker Roy, a man who looks most out of place in his suit and the seemingly rambly grey old man, his boss. The tension between the two is made obvious by the how stubborn Roy is, his character being presented in this manor lets us understand the friction between the workers and the bosses, therefore increasing our understanding of the scene.
We learn of the wider northern social unrest when the camera is filled by a shot of an angry Roy confronting, his co-worker, about his son's education. Using the charming terms "poncy toffs academy" we are informed of how the workers are sitting below the bosses. The junior manager's son happens to go to the same school but the worker gets a free grant. Suggesting that without it, it would be impossible for his son to attend. Before this we are again reminded of the clear differences by each characters vocabulary. The older boss uses "son" while Roy uses "kid."
We are introduced to the stereotypical rife fear of homosexuality apparently present in northern society. This is demonstrated in a joke made by the unnamed worker at Collin, the junior managers expense. This issue is brought up once more at the end of the clip when we learn that Collin's boy Ben Trotter has been nicknamed, Bent Trotter. This is when a close up is used to film the almost panic stricken face of Collin.
Regional identity is presented in the clip through the use of stereotypes, this being the easiest way to present a society as stereotypical and infamous as the "North." Obviously these stereotypes are highly unfair but they increase regional awareness in the clip, and therefore making viewing easier.
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