Representation Essay

This clip is from the hospital drama Grey's Anatomy.

The sounds in this clip are the most driving factor that helps draw the most emotion from the viewers. The song is not only slow it also is comprised of mainly just a piano and no other instruments.  The words in the song draw the attention of the audience as it says"standing on the platform watching you go" these lyrics link to the spectators that lined the hallway as the lady was wheeled to the operation room. The following line speaks of pain, this hinting at the pain that the lady may go through, and that she may also be in a different kind of pain. The piano is known to be an emotionally strong instrument that is commonly used when the song wants to draw on the audience's vulnerability. At the start of the scene when there is a low droning sound that mimics that of a heartbeat. this also links to the hospital setting that this drama is set in. heartbeat symbolize life and this low droning sound gives the sense that lie has slowed down and that something big is about to happen, in this case, its the surgery on the woman.

The camera angles in this clip portray a sense of vulnerability. High angle mid shots show the doctors perspective as they are highly qualified and are there to help the patient and point of view shots of the patient are tilted up to give the sense that the patient is in a vulnerable position as she cannot do anything to help herself henceforth portraying disability. In the operation room, the two doctors are talking, when the main doctor speaks there is a high angle over the conversation suggesting to the audience that she is of high status within that hospital. the next shot is an eye-level shot medium shot showing the assistant nurse, this also emphasizes the head doctors superiority showing that the nurse is of a lower ranking.

Editing in this clip is fluid. The shot-reverse-shot used at the start of the clip,when the two male doctors have a conversation, helps the scene to flow, the neutral camera angle between the two doctors indicates that they are both around the same level of importance within the hospital. The slow pan from right to left coupled by the simple jump cuts gives a sense that the situation is calm this contrasts whats happening in the scene which shows that the doctors are in control showing their authority over the situation. The hallway scene shows the audience the inferiority of the patient as the are low angle shots paired with slow but choppy editing show that she might be scared and weak.

Mise-en-scene in this clip shows that the patient is disabled by the clothes she wears and the bed she is on. it is very obvious that this is a modern hospital as there are also people from different nationalities shown by the headgear worn by one of the lady doctors depicting that she is from a middle eastern country or one that practices middle eastern religions. at the last scene in the operation room the lead operator is shown by the way she talks to her helper. she has an authoritative tone and her helper speaks with respect shown by her apologies. The lady who supports the patient is shown to be more comforting as we get a close up of her face, which shows her worried expression, to see that she is concerned for the patient.