Michelle Grace

Representation of Ethnicity
The extract presents there to be a complex power dynamic between the British
and Iraqi characters. In the first instance, it can be argued that the Iraqi
character possesses both dominance and threat, as is immediately established
through a birds-eye shot wherein he (the captor) is shown to be pacing the room
in which his captives are bound to chairs. The notion of threat is further
emphasised by the addition of a subtle non-diegetic heartbeat sound effect,
alongside synchronous diegetic audio in which the captor tells her to read it
[with reference to a letter] or I will cut out his throat. A number of close up shots
continue to reaffirm this dominance by using mise en scene to display the
characters strong, hard gaze, posing clear threat to the British characters and,
as a result, portraying them to be the victims. Though the actions of the Iraqi
captor are justified on the basis that thousands of my countrymen were tortured
and killed by the British soldiers, the audience empathy remains alongside the
captives, both of whom are displayed in a state of physical powerlessness. As a
result, the Iraqi actions of retaliation and self-defence are demonised to the
audience, thus reproducing the hegemonic (Gramsci) ideology which maintains
white British power through the villainization of their opponents. Through the
implication that the Iraqi characters pose a threat, an audience are able to
overlook the fact that it was the British who led to hospital wards filled with
burned children and instead grow to believe the hyperreal (Baudrillard) idea that
it is the captives who require defending hence justifying retaliation against the
Iraqi, ignoring the fact that the situation itself is born from retaliation against
British terrorism. This can be related to Foucaults theory of archaeology with
regard to representation, wherein it is stated that past representations of social
groups, places or events contribute to the manner in which the media presently
portrays them. In this instance, the repeated portrayal of Iraqi threat as well as
the association of terrorism with ethnic minorities only (i.e the media refrain
from naming white British attackers to be terrorists); means that a passive
audience are more likely to internalise the preferred reading (Hall) of the power
dynamic within this extract that the Iraqi man has asserted violent, unjust
dominance on two British spies (whom the audience are hoping will escape).
On the other hand, it can be argued that the British characters continue to
possess aspects of more implicit, intellectual power. This is primarily displayed
when the British spy informs her captor that weve already cracked your attack
cell, causing him to grow both anxious and agitated. Such feelings are
emphasised through the use of editing, wherein quickening cuts mirror the
characters rapidity of movement (this being an element of mise en scene), and
cutaway shots imply that he is looking to his fellow captor for support. This,
alongside an increase in the instability of camera movement, presents a sense of
disarray caused by the British spy, in spite of her being physically powerless.
Though this establishes a binary opposition (Levi Strauss) between the British
and Iraqi characters (in the sense of both superiority and physical opposition),
there are also aspects of binary opposition between the two captives one of
whom is white, and the other being black. The white woman speaks on behalf of
the black man, and remains calm (in both physicality and speech) during the
entirety of the extract. This contrasts the actions of the black man, who is shown,
through the use of mise en scene, to have darting eyes, and to speak only to
affirm that he would cut their throats if he could. As a result, intellectual
superiority is represented as being not only a trait belonging to the British, but
Michelle Grace

more specifically to white British characters. This is reinforced upon the womans
proclamation (through diegetic dialogue) that they can negotiate safe passage
for the Iraqi characters, in return for their freedom. Her ability to make such an
offer resides within her power as a British spy she has access to said safe
areas. These ideas can be linked to theories of moral panic in combination with
hyperreality (Bauldrillard). By presenting British soldiers with the ability to
crack their opponents attack, they are presented as the key to the previously
mentioned moral panic surrounding Iraqi threat and violence. As a result, a
hyperreal construction is formed, wherein the audience grow to consider the
British soldiers and/or spies as the solution to this presented threat, treating one
social group with increased preference and admiration on this basis hence the
use of stereotypes, as stated by Dyer, is able to legitimise inequality within wider
society.
In conclusion, I think that the representation of ethnicity in this extract can be
subjective on the basis of an active or passive audience. Where an active
audience may pick up on the fact that it was the British who initially tortured
and killed the Iraqi (hence understanding the moral complexity of the situation);
a passive audience may be prone to empathise with those who are powerless in
this instance, and thus consider the Iraqi captor to pose and unjust threat.
Though the scene does not display an innate binary opposition in which one
social group is good and the other bad, the extract is able to subtly reinforce
dominant ideologies surrounding the representation of each ethnic group.