Representation of class and status in Cranford

The mise-en-scene in this clip reveals a contrast between rich and poor people. We can see this from early on in the clip, Harry and his family are all wearing dark scruffy clothes, this shows that the family are of a lesser class as their clothes are scruffy and also their house looks more like a shed. It has no lighting and decoration on the wall; this shows that the family has very little money. We also see that the present that Harry is given are a pair of old boots, before this his wasn’t wearing shoes, again showing that they have little money and they are of a lower class as he wears no shoes. In contrast to Harry and his family we see Mr. Carter who is a richer man. We can see this from the clothes he wears, he is wearing expensive boots which shows that he is of a higher class than harry and his family as he can afford expensive boots while they can only just afford a pair of old boots. Mr. Carter also wears smarter clothes showing he has a high status, he also walks around with a cane; this suggests that he is a high class person. Mr. Carter’s also has a nice office showing that he has a lot of money, in the office there is a lot of objects with writing on, this indicates that he is an educated man, and from before when Harry’s dad said that ‘learning isn’t for everyone’, Harry and his family are not, this again shows that Mr. Carter is of a higher class and status than Harry and his family.  The lady of the manor is another person who is a contrast to Harry; she is dressed in an extravagant, expensive looking dress, this shows that she is of higher class as she is well presented while Harry is dressed in scruffy dark clothes.

The sound in the clip also shows a contrast between the rich and the poor. When we first see Harry there is some music, which is non-diegetic sound, the music is quite heavy and kind of depressing, this relates to the life in which Harry lives. Also the squeaking door shows that his family are quite poor as it seems as it is an old run down house. The way in which his dad speaks also indicates that the family are of a lower class, he says ‘appy birthday arry’, he doesn’t use the correct pronunciation showing that he is a lower class. When Harry is in the greenhouse it is different to what we have heard before, it is more of a higher pitch tone, this could indicate to us that the owners of the green house have a higher status as it is a higher pitch than when we see Harry’s family. The audience are then introduced to the heavy sound of footsteps; this suggests that the person is of higher status than Harry. When Harry is in Mr. Carter’s office, Mr. Carter talks down to him in a quite patronising way, this indicates that he has a higher status than Harry. Then when Harry becomes giddy Mr. Carter stops talking and there is some emotional music, which indicates that Mr. Carter feels sorry for Harry. Another contrast to Harry and his family is the lady of the manor and the women in the carriages; these are well spoken and use correct pronunciation, this along with the sound of the horses indicates that these people are quite wealthy and of a better class than Harry and his family.

In this clip the camera shows the audience the differences between the classes of people. We first see Harry and the camera follows him, this shows the audience that he going to be an important character in the clip. The camera also shows that Harry has less status than most people in the clip; it shows this by the low angle shots looking up at everybody, apart from his mum where the shot looks down onto her, this indicates that he does more than her to help out. The wealth of the family is shown when the camera focuses on the boots, which Harry got for a present, it does this to show that Harry is grateful for the boots. When he is in the greenhouse the camera again focuses on the grapes, this indicates that he wants them but he restrains himself which shows that he is accustomed to accept disappointment. The camera then focuses on a character’s boots; this is juxtaposition with Harry’s boots as Mr. Carters are more expensive and newer. Another way that the camera shows that Mr. Carter is a higher class is the two shot of them together, from this shot we can see that there is a clear difference in the clothing between the two of them. The camera also uses a high angle shot to show that Mr. Carter has more status than Harry. The juxtaposition of Harry’s house and the manor is shown through master shots, when we see the lady of the manor she is on the steps making her higher up this shows that she has more status than all of the labourers below her.

Continuity editing is used throughout the clip to create a sense of realism for the audience. Point of view shots and eye line matches are used in this clip to show the different statuses between the characters. A lot of the shots are from of Harry or what he is looking at; this shows the class and status that he has compared to everyone else in the clip. This relates to the cutting between the shack, greenhouse and the manor activities as it shows how the class of the characters are closely connected to the locations where they live or work. Shot reverse shot is also used in the conversation between him and his father, it is used to show the audience his father’s harsh reaction about Harry wanting to learn, it also shows how happy Harry is to receive the old boots for a present. This illustrates the class that Harry is as he is happy to receive some old battered boots as a present.