representation essay 2

In this american crime drama there is a contrast in eastern and western cultures, portraying the Eastern culture in a negative light. We are shown that the West is civilized, sophisticated, and clean whilst the East is portrayed as being corrupt, poor, and filthy. Women within each culture are also contrasted showing that women in Western cultures are dominant commanding and driven opposed to Eastern women who are oppressed and concealed.

The eastern culture is represented as being poor and dirty. this is shown through the dirty clothing that the children on the streets are wearing. the streets are also packed with people and cars. so many people walk onto the streets casually, showing that they are uncultured. the cars are so many that the main character has to get out of her car and walk to her destination. this directly contrast with how america is portrayed as the people in the background of the phone call are all wearing suites ties and dresses showing that they are clean and well mannered the room was organised and people were calm this contrasting the busy streets of Baghdad. this follows the general stereo types of Muslims that they tend to be villainous out of the 1% percent of the Arab people that act in film and they are generally depicted as the antagonist Muslims culture is being shown as almost animal-istic as we are shown the scene with the gallows. this shows that they are dangerous as the gallows symbolize death and rather than just imprisoning the culprit they result to killing him which shows that they are ruthless this is also portrayed in the way the guards treat the main character she has to yell at the guard in their own language to get him to back off.However, the man in prison is shown to be more affectionate towards his family and is willing to do anything to make sure that they are safe this again contrasts the stereotype of the Arabic people. Low camera angles are used to portray the Arabic people as being less than the westerners when we are shown the people on the street we are looking down on themthis opposed how the US are portrayed as being equal with us as we see them at eye level. The camera shots of Baghdad are crowded and confined showing that people there are restricted in their options this also links to how the person in prison has no options but to trust the lady

women in eastern culture are represented as portrayed as oppressed and restricted. this shown by the way that they dress in the head gear that covers most of their head. women in eastern culture are subordinate to men and so they are shown to be less important and weaker. however women in eastern culture women have been gaining more and more traction in terms of independence and freedom of speech this is shown by the fact that nowadays feminism is a very popular belief and this is shown in the clip by the way that the main characters interaction with her chief. she is very determined and wont allow anything to stop she "doesn't care" that its impossible. this directly contrasts the depiction of eastern women and shows that western women are better than the eastern women Western women are shown to be resilient as we that the main character doesn’t take no for answer and so she takes her own path and bribes her way in. this Is completely different to how women in Baghdad are portrayed. They are shown to be reserved and quiet keeping to themselves. In a short moment we see a lady wearing head gear symbolizing her concealment as being shy and oppressed, near some boys. The boys are being rowdy and loud but she just lets them keep going and she seems standoff-ish. Nearing the end of the clip many jump cuts are used to show how rough the guards are being to the main character lady this shows how uncivilized they are and how much they degrade and disrespect women.

The sound on the streets is loud and bustling showing that the eastern culture is untamed and all over the place, this contrasts with how the western society is viewed as the sound in the phone scenes is very calm and elegant pointing towards their civilization and development. The sounding of the Muslim call to prayer is an indicator that this part of the country is religious. Religion can be closely linked with restrictions and rules this is portrayed as a bad thing and showing that the west doesn’t have such things would mean that the west is better than the east.
The camera movement during the scenes in Baghdad are fast pans and quick jolting tilts these types of shots give the feeling of unstable this reflecting to the unstable state of the country as many are in poverty. This can also link to the corruption we see in that the guard to the prison is easily bribed to let the main character into the jail to speak with the criminal. However, in the phone scene when the lady speaks to her boss/co-worker the camera shots are gently moving tracking shots that slowing zoom out to show the audience the room. During this scene the contrast is further emphasized through quick jump cuts between each setting, at one moment it’s a calm room with gentle lovely music the next it’s the busy hectic streets of Baghdad. This subconsciously puts the Americans above those in Baghdad because they are wearing rough clothes while the Americans wear suit and ties.

The echo that lingers at the end of the clip of the man shouting about “saving his family” this is put alone because it is an exclusion to the norm as we are shown a man who is more compassionate than what we have already been shown this shows that they are still human and have emotions like the rest of us. The echo helps the words to linger in the audience’s brain making them feel sympathy towards the guy who is about to be killed and his family may also be killed. Streets of Baghdad are the typical portrayal of middle eastern countries as desert wastelands with not much to offer other than dirt and dust.