Class and Status Essay Update

Class And Status

In the clip of the film Spartacus, one distinct area that constructed many different representations of class and status was the sound. The sound first comes into play with the sombre drums at the beginning of the clip, as the guard leads the gladiators to fight. This shows the guard as a higher status than the gladiators, as the tone of the music suggests he is completely in control of them, and they are prisoners to him. The next point I noticed was the use of diagetic sound when the two gladiators are fighting outside the cage. The fact that we can hear the rich men and women talking about normal, daily things suggests that they are of a much higher class than the two men fighting for their lives below them. The diagetic sound of the swords clashing when the two gladiators left over in the cage are looking at each other also tells us the low status of the gladiators, as the sound of the swords clashing makes them anxious and worried, whilst the rich men and women almost delight in this sound. Another point about the sound is that it always seems to reflect the gladiators feelings and thoughts. Throughout the clip no gladiator actually says any dialogue, so the use of non-diegetic sound to express their feelings shows us that they are a lower class, as they cannot speak freely and are captives under the higher classes. The final point I have about the sound is the contrast between the fast, drum-heavy music during the fight between the black and white male and the calm talking of orderly matters that the rich say. The rich, during the fight say things like "i still think the trident will win" and the fact that they are commenting over what is a fight to the death between human beings indicates their higher class and status, as they can pretty much do whatever they like.

Another distinct area that constructed class and status representations was the camera shots used throughout the clip. The first thing I noticed was the use of the camera shots behind the jail cell and net. These are used to show the class of the gladiators, as these subtle images portray to us that they are trapped, either behind bars or in a net. The next indicators I spotted were the shots during the fight scene. When the black male is about to kill the white male a low angle shot is used to portray his dominance over the white male, who is shown with a high angled shot to make him seem inferior. The use of these shots make the white male seem of a slightly lower status than the black male, who goes on to prove himself as a hero later on in the clip which further enforces this. Another interesting use of shots was the shots from the rich men+women's perspective. They are shown to be looking down on the fighting gladiators, which portrays them as inferior and of  a lower class, also when a shot of the rich is taken it seems to be a low angle shot, again reinforcing the representation of them being a much higher class than both the guards and the gladiators. 

The third area that constructed these representations of class and structure was the mise-on-scene used throughout. The first time mise-on-scene constructs these views is in the first few seconds, where we are immediately shown a stark contrast between a small guard, but with weapons and armour, and a group of physically bigger gladiators, who have little armour or weapons and are dressed in brown rags. The use of the colour brown in both the gladiator's and the guards clothing immediately suggests a lower class and status, and the fact that a smaller guard is bossing around a group of physically stronger prisoners suggests that the guards are of a higher class than the gladiators. Another thing I noticed was the extravagant colours that the rich wore. All the rich men + women seemed to be dressed in bright and pretty colours, with what seemed to be silklike material and stylish robes, which immediately suggests a much higher class than that of the dull, brown colours that the guards and gladiators wear. The next thing I noticed was the use of the trident and net as weapons for one of the gladiators. The trident and net are traditionally used by fishermen, so this use of mise-on-scene portrays the gladiator as a lower class as he is using a traditionally working class job's tools to fight with. The final thing I noticed about the mise-on-scene of the scene is the use of phallic symbolism in the fight between the two men and afterwards with the stabbing by the rich man. The black male has the biggest weapon, suggesting he is the most manly, whilst the man who stabs him only has a tiny knife, subverting the class and status roles of the two men.

The final area that constructed the representations of class and structure was the use of editing in the clip. The first use of editing to make these representations was during the fight scene, where the use of fast cuts between shots built tension during the fight, portraying the two men fighting of a lower class as they are being forced to fight someone elses battle. The next use of editing was at the start, with the use of slow cuts between shots reflecting the sombre tone of the start of the clip and demonstrating the guards complete control over the prisoners, displaying them as a higher class and status than the lowly gladiators. Another use of editing was the use of cross-cutting to create a contrast between the fighters and the rich in the fight scene. The feeling of both events being simultaneous shows us a stark contrast between the gladiators, fighting to their death and the rich, who simply are doing this for a bit of entertainment and seem to simply not care. This portrays them as a higher class as they can command and control other people.