HOW IS THE REPRESENTATION OF CLASS AND STATUS CONSTRUCTED IN THIS CLIP FROM MERLIN?
By Ceára Thornton
Throughout this clip from Merlin there is a very obvious and stereotypical view on class and status. This seems to result in the higher class being more dominating and superior over the lower class.
From the very onset we see a long shot of Merlin in the castle. Due to this camera shot we see the surroundings he is in and can see that he straightaway looks nervous and at unease. This suggests to the audience that Merlin is out of his comfort zone here as he isn't used to this environment. This theme of Merlin being out of his comfort zone due to him being in a wealthier atmosphere is then carried on when there is a track of the room he enters. This suggests that Merlin finds this room very different to the one he is used to as it is decorated with a range of valuable items. This is added to by the non-digetic sounds and the low key lighting which gives an ominous feel to the scene, and really displays to the audience that Merlin is out of his comfort zone in this prosperous environment seeing as he is of lower class. Although, this feel changes when an eye line match is used to show how Merlin spots a spell book and a magical straw person. These items are made more poignant as there is depth of field used and shallow focus is used which draws the audience’s attention to the book and tells us that Merlin is interested in these things as they are seen to belong more in Merlin's lower class and common environment rather than this upper class castle room he finds himself in. Just as Merlin discovers these items more non-digetic music plays in the background and is coupled with parallel editing to show a woman who appears to have a connection to these items. It is obvious by the costumes shown that the woman is superior in terms of class as she is wearing a vibrant silk purple dress with a gold belt. The colours gold and purple are significant here as they’re usually the colours which represent royalty and wealth. Then if we look at Merlin’s clothes we see he is wearing light linen t-shirt and jacket, and a ragged scarf. Merlin’s t-shirt is red, which is quite poignant as red is associated with danger and as he is lower class he is stereotypically seen as more cheeky and up to no good. Ambient sound is used as we the audience and Merlin hear this woman in the purple dress open the door to enter the room. Pan and tilt camera movements are used here which shows Merlin panic and put the items back in their original places in frenzy due to hearing the door. From this we see that Merlin is inferior to the woman walking into the room and is frightened in case he is caught by someone because he is touching things that aren’t his, and things which belong to people who are superior and in charge of him.
Later in the extract we hear the ambient sound of the town such as the sound of goats, people talking and working which shows the loud, brass commonness of the area and it is a huge contrast to the castle where it is quiet and refined, like the people who inhabit them. Therefore, this fit the clichéd view that lower class people are rude and common, whilst the higher class are sophisticated and mannerly. This idea is reinforced by the mid shot used to show Merlin walking through the town. As he continues to walk a tracking movement is used and the mid shot turns into a wide shot. I believe this is used because it shows how Merlin is now comfortable and secure in his own environment in comparison to how he was in the castle, as well as showing off the filth and grime the lower class people live in. The high key lighting used draws up a contrast between the town and the castle room. To me this insinuates that the lower class people have nothing to hide and what you see is what you get with them, whilst the higher class have secrets and things they would prefer was hidden from others as it could taint the power they have over people.
It is here in the town the audience are first introduced to the character of Arthur. As soon as we see Arthur the audience are already made aware that he is not in his own environment. Key factors of this would be Arthur’s clothes, as he is well dressed and wearing chainmail armour, whilst everyone else around him in dressed in shabby clothes similar to Merlin’s. Straight away we see that Arthur fits the stereotypical visual look of a higher class person, as he is dressed to impress and therefore this means Merlin and those surrounding him fit the stereotypical view that lower class people do not have presentable clothes, which is why they wear such scruffy outfits. Also Arthur walks around town extremely confident even though it isn’t his atmosphere. We see that Arthur thinks of himself as being superior to others and the camera composition of the rule of thirds is used here as it shows Arthur exactly in the area where the audience’s eyes are drawn to, whilst if we contrast this to Merlin he is slightly out of the area, so even in terms of camera view, Merlin is seen as being inferior to Arthur due to his class. If we compare this to Merlin we can see that Arthur fits the cliché of a higher class person who is arrogant and full of themselves, thinking that everyone’s eyes are always on them, whilst Merlin kind of breaks the typical view of a lower class person as instead of being confident, loud and outspoken in the castle, he was shy and at unease. Although this side of Merlin doesn’t last as we see he then jumps into this role of the loud bashful commoner and insults Arthur, “look I told you, you were an ass, I just didn’t realise you were a royal one” and “wow since when have you been training to be a prat.” From this the audience can see that now Merlin is in his own environment he feels like he has some sort of power and fits the stereotypical cheeky lad behaviour lower class men are seen to have. This is reinforced by the slang words he uses such as “ass” and “prat”, which would be seen to be more recognised and used by lower class citizens. Arthur retaliates by choosing to fight using his many weapons. The props used such as the swords and maces show just how normal these items are to Arthur and how being “trained since birth” in how to use them is just an average thing for him, whilst Merlin struggles to know how to even hold one. This shows the difference in the classes as the lower class people as represented as spending their lives working, whilst the higher class are taught things like fighting and using weaponry as they didn’t have to worry about money and going to work. From this we see Arthur has an unfair advantage in the fight that is about to take place, just like he has had the advantage on life simply because of which family he was born into.
As the fight begins non-digetic music starts to play. This music sounds like music you would hear in a battle, which makes us feel already that Arthur will inevitably win as he has been trained in battle since birth; therefore Merlin is inferior once more. There are strong beats that are played when cut-a-ways are used which shows Marlin get his mace stuck. This shows the audience the fear and panic Merlin feels and the inevitably that he is in trouble as he is physically inferior to Arthur even in his own surroundings. This is added to by the handheld camera, therefore adding to the panic Merlin feels and the rapid action taking place. The cut-a-ways not only show the panic and frenzy Merlin is in but it also gives the audience the opportunity to see Arthur in battle. From this we see Arthur is calm and collected which is why his scenes are less short and choppy in comparison to Merlin’s. When Arthur starts to swing his mace to hit Merlin his first throw is repeated three times from different angles. This insinuates that Arthur is significantly stronger and more in control than Merlin, who just barely jumps out of the way and a cut-a-way is shown to show the audience what Arthur hits. What Arthur hits is significant because it shows us that he doesn’t care because he has the money to pay for them, and the fact he hits gold coins, also shows the audience that Arthur sees money as something he can waste, while if that was Merlin or another lower class citizen there, they would gather up that money or at least try to avoid it as much as possible. What’s also significant about this is that no one shouts at Arthur for destroying the place, but we assume that if the roles were reversed and it was Merlin destroying the place, people would shout at him. I believe this is because Arthur is portrayed as their superior and the lower classes don’t want to get in his way, especially as he is armed with a mace. This demonstrating the stereotypical view that the lower class don’t usually speak out against their superiors because if you do, you will end up losing like Merlin is showing us. This is reinforced by the low key lighting in the scene as Arthur is shown as a menacing dark figure about to strike Merlin. Although this is then changed when an extreme close-up of Merlin’s eyes is shown, which is coupled with a visual effect as Merlin’s eye glows and an eye line match is used to show what Merlin has done. From here we see Merlin finally has power over Arthur as he is using his magical powers to defeat Arthur. This doesn’t fit the stereotypical view of the lower class being dominated by the higher class, which tells the audience that Merlin isn’t like the average lower class people he is associated with throughout and is different, which Arthur reinforces when he says, “there’s something about you Merlin.”
The extract finishes with Merlin and an old man in Merlin’s room. Here a shot/ reverse shot is used between the two characters to show they are of equal class and status, so neither of them are superior or inferior to the other. This is effective here because this old man is the only one to know that Merlin is able to use magic and so they are both completely equivalent to each other and there is no power struggle or one trying to outdo the other to make a point. Merlin says, “If I can’t use magic then what have I got? I’m just a no body!” This is very important here as just before we learn that magic is the only thing that sets him apart from the other lower class townspeople and is also the only other reason he almost won his fight against Arthur. So when he says, “If I can’t use magic I might as well die”, the audience literally believe this because without magic, Merlin was inferior to Arthur due to his class and status as Merlin wasn’t trained to fight, but due to magic making him more superior than the ordinary lower class people, he was able to stand a chance against Arthur and impose a power struggle. It is also this magic ability which could be why he fits the stereotypical cheeky loud lower class person because he knows he has magic to help him out of these situations.
Therefore throughout this extract the class and status representation of different characters fit the stereotypical view of higher and lower class people, but also broke the clichés due to camera movements, shots, compositions, mise en scene, editing and sound.
