Social Class in Soaps

In ‘Shameless’ a lot of medium close-ups are used on Frank and Monica. These shots allow the audience to see the character’s facial expressions and these expressions are mostly baffled. This emphasises the point that the working class are supposedly unintelligent and they are made to seem as a laughing stock as they exaggerate their confused faces.  Additionally, these shots linger on and this shows that the characters are thinking and it takes a long time for them to pick up on things. This adds to the point that the working class are unable to think properly and they need time to figure things out. In contrast when the doctor is speaking the shots quickly cut away from her. This connotes that she is a fast thinker and can easily come to a conclusion. This shows that the middle class are more intelligent as they were able to get an education and work in a well-respected job. The doctor however also has a medium close up shot however this is used to its advantage as the audience can see her facial expressions are very confident. This portrays that as well as the middle class being intelligent, they are confident and well presented. There are a lot of high angle shots when the working class people are speaking, so this connotes that they are often looked down upon. This powerful shot also emphasises the fact that the working class are not worth a lot and they don’t deserve to be treated as a normal person. It’s almost as if you are looking down on an animal like a dog for example because they are smaller and weaker than you. In contrast when the doctors are talking there is a low angle shot, so this shows that they have more authority and are considered a higher class because they are smarter and have a better job. This difference is shown very obviously just within the camera angles.

Most of the clip I watched had an overall fast pace. The shots mostly cut quickly so you can see all the different characters speaking. This is effective it keeps the audience interested and involved as they also feel as if they are they are there and witnessing their faces whilst speaking. However as I mentioned earlier some of the shots linger, this makes the pace of the show slow for those brief seconds however it has a big impact because as the characters are thinking the audience has a chance to take everything in and maybe even analyse the character more and form a judgement for example on what a typical working class person would look, sound like or even think like. Usually these judgements are stereotypical which is specific to what the producers are aiming to put across in the first place. Shameless also cuts scenes a lot and also doesn’t stay on one scene for too long and there are transitions to new settings and characters to show the other stories. These separate scenes usually result in the two different stories colliding. This is good because the stories come together and you could see either a contrast on the different classes or how the different social classes affect each other.

In Shameless, there is mostly diegetic sound. This could be due to the fact the producers want the audience to focus on the dialogue of the characters. However there are moments where non-diegetic sounds are used to add a comical feel. For example, there is a moment where Frank and Monica are supposedly set a challenge from their baby and there is Native American music in the background. This links to class because the audience automatically finds that funny and it’s almost as if they are laughing at these people directly and the working class in general. Also the way, in which the working class characters speak, they usually end on a higher note so it’s like they are asking questions every time. This links back to class because it’s making the characters seem as if they are unsure in what they are talking about when they are speaking, thus lowering their intelligence.

Shameless uses a wide variety of mis-en-scene. The first way in which this does this is by the way Frank is portrayed. His hair looks greasy and messy most of the time and this shows that he doesn’t look after himself. This falsely puts the idea that working class people are untidy and look like a mess either because they don’t care or they don’t have sufficient funds. His beard is also scruffy and this doesn’t look very pleasant. It connotes that all working class people mostly look like homeless people who don’t even look at themselves in the mirror. Most of the working class characters have bags underneath their eyes and this shows that they are tired. It reminds the audience that the working class have to work countless hours and they probably don’t get that much sleep.

Props are really important as Frank is usually seen holding a cigarette and a person who smokes is usually presented as laid back. This is quite a contrast to my point before on working class people being hard working people because this is a view that working class people are often laid back and lazy which is why they are stuck in the working class.

In the video clip the lighting for when the working class people were at home was quite dim and natural light was mostly used. This could show that a working class home isn’t very bright and happy and in fact it’s quite dark and gloomy. In contrast when everyone is at the hospital there is very bright lighting and everything is clear and in the light. This could show that in a hospital there are ‘bright’ people and it has a ‘heavenly’ feel. This relates to the people who work in the hospital as middle class people are how they are more pleasant people in general just because they have a better job.