Downton Abbey- Class and Status exam

Downton Abbey- Class and Status exam

The first thing we see in the clip is a boy riding a bike along a long grand driveway which leads up to a big house. Later on in the scene we find out that he is a paper boy and riding a bike is a very working class stereotypical thing to do. When he hands the paper to one of the butlers he is greeted with 'your late!' showing that although they are both working class the butler has higher status than he does. The clothes he is wearing also gives clues to his class. The camera uses panning at a slightly higher angle so the camera is looking down on the boy sightly. The smooth panning gives the effect that the boy is use to riding there everyday and is part of his normal routine. 

The following scene is lady waking up in a huge room. There are pictures hanging on the wall showing that she is upper class. The colures in the room are very rich and ones that you would link to royalty. She looks out her window and looks down on the paper boy. This could show that she has higher status than he does. The camera shows what she sees,  feel that this also shows that she knows that she is higher status than he is. 

Another scene where I feel shows a difference in class and status is when they are all in the kitchen in contrast to the lord going down the stairs. In the kitchen there are very quick shots that shows how busy everyone is. There is a man sitting a the top on the of the table showing he has status over everyone else. They are all either wearing butler suits or maids outfits showing that they are working class. One of them is sitting down eating when the bell rings and says 'here they go again' showing who ever that work for has higher status than all of them and they they has no time to themselves. When the scene starts there is an establishing shot to show that the scene is taking place in a kitchen showing straight away that they are working class people. When the bell rings there is a close up of it, this could represent that everyones lives evolves around the bell as it is calling them to do work. The music in the background is very fast and could represent how busy everyone is. We also see someone ironing a paper which we later find out is for the lord showing just how much status he has. This shot is followed by another that is a total contrast to it. It shows the lord slowly and gracefully walking down a grand stair case followed by a labrador. The stair case has gold on it showing his class. In addition, the fact that he is being followed by a labrador is significant to his class as they are hunting dogs so it could make the reader think that he hunts which is a higher class thing to do. At the beginning there is a painting of a man hunting, this could show that he got his class from relatives. He is also wearing very smart clothes. The shots are longer than the ones in the kitchen as is shows how peaceful and clam it is. The last shot shows him on the las couple of steps to show where he is, is shows him to be in a very grand hall. There are paintings on the walls and there are very rich colours in the scene. The music in the scene calms down from the first scene as well to show the contrast between the two scenes. 

After the lord walks down the stair case he enters a large dining room. It has flowers in very rich colours and has silver plates laying on the side filed with food. There is a butler standing next to it and he remains standing throughout this scene. He calls him 'my lord' showing that he has less status than he does. The carpet is red which could also shows there class as it is a very rich colour. Two woman walk in and stand round the lord showing that he has more status then they do. When they start talking about the titanic sinking they talk about all the upper class people they know who where on the boat showing that they too are upper class as lower class wouldn't know the upper class that well. The women are wearing are wearing very rich looking clothes are a typical of that of upper class in that time that the TV programme is set. They sound very posh and their posture is always in line with the stereotypical views of people in that class. The editing is much slower and calmer to fit the feel of this scene, it is the opposite of the kitchen scene to show the differences between classes. The lord still has more power than the women as they call him papa.

The next scene shows him coming up the stairs and asking the maid if his wife it awake. They address each other in a very formal way. He is addressed as 'his lordship' and his wife is addressed as 'her ladyship' yet the maid is only addressed by her surname. It shows that he has more status than she has. The lord knocks yet doesn't wait for a reply to open the door, this shows that although he has respect for his wife he has more status as lord of the manner so he doesn't have to ask for peoples permission to enter any rooms where as the maid does. The maid brings breakfast to his wife in bed and takes more orders form her showing that his wife has more status and is higher class as she has her own personal maid. The bed her ladyship is laying in is very big and has rich coloured sheets and the room is covered in paintings. Again they talk about people they know on the titanic and who was saved.

To conclude I feel this clip shows class and status and the differences in the people due to this very well by using a range of editing, camera work, sound and miss-en-scene.