Representation

Representations 

How To Get Away with Murder

In this scene from How To Get Away With Murder we see the main woman, Annalise, a lawyer I the court room. She is defending a client whose crate was checked illegally. She has an agent in the witness stand and whilst asking him questions reveals she has found the employee who had first decided to way the container and then quit his job and ran away. She then questions him in the witness stand. He testifies that he was asked by a man to specifically weigh that container. Through numerous errors question she soon works out that the man was the prosecutor. She then defends her client and saves him.

Some of the groups that are represented in this scene are gender (male dominance vs female dominance), class and status (judge vs court room), and ethnicity (American, African American, and Hispanic).

Gender

Male                                              female

Class and Status

Judge                                        Court room

Ethnicity

African American 

White American                                         Hispanic 

The representation of gender is stereotypically male dominance, but in this's end there is a female dominance, from the main lady, not just over the main male character but over the whole court room. This film therefore challenges the usual representations of gender.The representation of class/status,

however, conforms to its stereotypical representation, the judge has control over the court room. In the end of the scene,nevertheless, the ladies begins to shout over the power of the judge. The representation of ethnicity is challenged and conformed to in this scene. Usually African Americans are shown stereotypically as thieves but I this scene one of the lawyers is African American and she also seems to have power over the White American lawyer. The Hispanic, in a way is shown stereotypically correct, he is on trial for an illegal doing. It also mentions that he was offered a green card, this shows that he was not yet an American citizen, this is also common with Hispanic migrants in America.

The representation of female dominance is shown through a few of the technical elements. For instance women are usually shown as being quieter than men, but in this scene the woman is shown yelling over the men. Throughout most of the scene the lady has a higher and closer facing camera angle than the other men (except for the judge), this shows that she is of more importance in this scene. She is also wearing a nice formal dress that gives her a business look and also a more sophisticated feel.

The representation of the judge having authority over the court room is also shown by the camera angle. Whenever we see the court room the camera looks down on the people in a wide shot, but when it shows the judge the camera faces up at him with a closer mid shot. This shows that the judge is of somewhat more importance. His outfit also shows he is a judge so we know he has authority over the court room.

Ethnicity is represented most noticeably by there accents, the Hispanic has a stereotypical spanish accent whilst the African American and the White American have stereotypical and recognisable American accents, and also their skin colour. The African American also has an upward camera angle giving her more power over the White American and the Hispanic.