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taylorreecearnold-blog · 5 years

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Taylor Arnold PRP Rationale

15.4.19

Taylor Arnold

Rationale

Question - How can I use stereotypes of the middles classes to create a short comedic mockumentary style film

What I hope to achieve

I wish to create the supposedly perfect life of a private school girl to demonstrate just how present stereotypes of the middle classes are in today’s society. By drawing upon these, I am going to be using middle class stereotypes as a form of humour. I want my audience to be able to laugh at the absurdities of this young girls life whilst dealing with what would be perceived as ‘first world problems’.

Comedians

Initially, I began researching different comedians who are currently exploring this evolving category and capitalising from gaining laughs at the ridiculousness of ever increasing lavish Western Lifestyles. Some comedians like Chris Liley and Catherine Tate will play on and exaggerate these modern-day stereotypes by constructing larger than life personas. Whereas other comedians such as Jack Whitehall and Michael McIntyre will exploit their own social class by comically over emphasizing their interpretations of being middle class. These comedians write observational humour into their sketches, about ‘posh people problems’ that they know their audiences will identify with. I feel that this often-repeated modern typecasting of the middle classes, has grown and developed as the number of people who identify themselves as middle class has also grown. The extremes of this humour being based on the many first world problems.

Television

Further exploration of social classes, in particular my target group of the middles classes, and how they are depicted in the media provided further research. I have observed that comedians have an exaggerated approach to many middle-class characters, emphasising the often hidden competitive side of the personalities whilst leading flamboyant lifestyles. In addition to that, there are now, more than ever, many television programmes following the lives of what middle class lifestyles are about. An example of this is the reality television show 'Made in Chelsea' presenting high flying privileged young people parading a super perfect life but then exploring very serious relationship issues that affect the majority of people. This programme also attracts a lot of negative attention because these young people are shown in a negative light, as being spoilt rich kids, heavily editing out the mundane, which in itself creates more interest.

Social Media

Social Media Influencers living affluent lifestyles such as Charlie Brake (a star from the reality programme Love Island). Charlie has a huge social media following and he constantly depicts himself on holiday, 'living it up' in expensive hotels and restaurants. This idea of a fabulous lifestyle attracts young people, attracts the media because people wish to emulate this lifestyle to be happy. The more money being thrown about to fund their lifestyles, the higher the stakes, and so people naturally gravitate toward them because if things go wrong in their life it is a bigger world crashing down for the audience to witness.

The idea of social media influencers led me on to the idea of vlogging. Thousands of young people now on You Tube and Instagram have begun this trend. Vlogging is basically a video blog of your life, and people get to watch and go where you go via this. I felt that my main character “Felicity” would do this with her friends. So throughout the film I wanted to have a Felicity cam. This I feel will also highlight the idea of self-importance, always having a camera there and feeling like she is always performing and putting on a big show.

Press

The middle classes are often depicted in the newspapers as 'having it easy'. Newspapers have a significant influence on society and lots of people receive this negative perception of the middle class because of what they read. Recently I came across an article in The Sun newspaper about a private school girl who was caught drink driving. In the article, it spoke about the girl’s wealth and not actually the crime she committed. One might question if this act had been committed by an average working-class person, would it have made the tabloid papers. Reading through the comments of the article people trolled her about being spoilt, this is what seemed to be more offensive to the readers instead of the debate about her drink driving.

I wanted my character Felicity to relish in this idea of having it easy. If something like this ever happened to her it would be easily fixed by her parents. I wanted it to seem like she could never do anything wrong as she was in this bubble of protection by wealth so in reality, she never feared doing anything stupid.

I began to run with this idea in her brother Sebastian’s interview when he speaks about picking her up in her helicopter from Ibiza after a night out. If she believes she can get away with it, she’ll do it.

There is a stereotype around the middle classes or being super laid back about things as there are never any consequences to their actions. It brings me to talk about drugs with high society people it’s almost like they can do no wrong. There is an article in the independent with the headline ‘Top private school pupils more likely to end up with drug and alcohol addictions, new research reveals.’ The article talks about ‘girls being three times more likely to suffer from drug and alcohol related problems than their less privileged peers’

The development of Stereotypes

Stereotypes can develop through just knowing one person who is middle class. Whether or not it's a positive or negative experience opinions are formed. Society finds it easy to put everyone into one category. Not just opinions of the middle classes are formed but it happens to every single person in society. People make a judgement on you in the first seven seconds on meeting you. That’s why people are told that first impressions matter because people are extremely quick to judge.

You learn stereotypes from birth, your parents, teachers, will have opinions on people which are sometimes wrong, but that is what your taught to believe. A child’s mind is so perceptive to what they are taught by older people, that stereotypes are often used for the safety of the developing child. So naturally the child isn’t allowed to form their own opinion till much older when they begin to step out of the protection bubble. Though this is when it is too late as these stereotypes are already engrained into the mind because what they’re elders have experienced or what they were led to believe as children themselves. This is called a ‘taught experience.’

Even if you're from a middle-class background yourself you can believe you are that stereotype and play up to it or play it down. Some middle-class people will not even do it purposefully, but those taught specific behaviours as a child, it’s difficult to break out of your stereotype, because it may feel like breaking out of your own identity.

Where you've come from normally gives you, negative perceptions of people who don't come from the same background as you. The circles you mix within, will make you think all the same about others as you all have the same opinion of them because your uneducated on a world outside your circle or family and friends, all your biggest influencers.

Stereotypes are formed to make quick decisions of people. It allows people to settle with an opinion, people begin to judge individuals behaviour as a whole group. Thus, making us ignore the differences between people.

The Stereotype of a young middle-class person

Posh, Rude, Snob, Spoilt.

There are many common stereotypes of a middle-class person, skiing, drinking champagne, private school, shopping in Waitrose, fast cars all of which 'daddy pays for. In my mockumentary I want to include all these stereotypes and make a ‘super stuck up” and pretentious character who relishes in all the things she does. I want to take all these negative stereotypes of a middle person and make a caricature of this, to make this person so extravagant that it will be so shocking all you can do is laugh at the extremities.

Filming Techniques in Mockumentary’s

Recently I have been re-watching lots of different types of mockumentary’s and have found ways in how I want my mockumentary to be filmed. One mockumentary, I really enjoyed was The Office. The use of camera techniques quickly fool the audience into believing it’s completely truthful documentary. The use of shaky cam, and quick zoom ins to show character reactions and cutting away to short interviews with different characters is extremely clever. I would like to follow and develop this method of filming as a director.

So far in my script, I have added in directing notes, because I have a clear image in my mind of how I wish it to appear on screen. I want to make sure this mockumentary has a good pace to it. So, putting in the specifics of zooms and cuts in the edit is vital. This will allow the audience time to enjoy the film and give them time to process the information and laugh. I have an idea of using the black screen and explaining the story that way will give the audience time to absorb the situations the characters are in.

The Script

Now I have a rough script, I read it through with my contemporaries to see how it sounds and feels out loud and not in my head. I have discovered that I needed to be more clear in the detail of my direction in the script to create a more congruent text. I initially found I was having to explain myself a lot to whom I was reading with, instead of the instruction coming from the script. I am now working with more detail in the text so I can have a clear thought on how I want my piece to form and flow. This also helps the actors on a more in-depth level.

So when I began filming with my chosen actors I gave them the script and after doing a table read it just didn’t seem to work well, I had made strong judgments of the characters and not really explored their personalities much. So, what I decided was to scrap the idea of the script and just give my actors subjects to talk about then that gave them the chance to work impulsively. I found the actors playing so much more with what they were saying because they were really given the chance to push the stereotype, and their opinions of what a middle class person was, this made it even more humorous and believable.

Then I began to explore my idea of vlogging in the film so the audience got the feeling of always being with the character, They could see how the character Felicity acted when being in control of the camera. I could be more bodacious and extravagant with her because I got this feeling that she was empowered and wishing to take control over the situations she was put in. Whereas when she wasn’t in control of the camera you could see the problems in her life, and what she was trying to hide.

What I want to achieve

I really hope I can achieve maximum humour in my project. I want to make my audience able to laugh at the ludicrousness of Felicity’s life. So when things ultimately go wrong in her life and she can’t control any of what the cameras sees. It makes her life even more of a joke.

Drama Online describes the playwrights who create this type of ‘In your face theatre’ ‘as being deliberately aggressive, confrontational, and provocative.’ This is something I wanted to incorporate into my film. I do want it to be confrontational and stir up people’s ideas of high society people. That’s why I’ve really pushed myself in my acting style to be super melodramatic.

As a director, I informed my actors that the characters believed that everything in their world was completely normal, that’s an idea I wanted to grasp. So, I directed my actors to talk nonchalantly about everything in their lives. From helicopters to party’s filled with cocaine and bad choices. Every wild, outrageous, extravagant thing or subject they spoke about had to have an effortlessness about it. So it would seem like they didn’t even think what they did is a big deal but to everyone else it is shocking.

 Differences between male and female

With the boy’s characters I took a lot of inspiration from the play Posh by Laura Wade I also watched the film the riot club. Studying the characters, their moods and attitudes it was clear they were completely pompous and outrageous.  

These boys seemed themselves the most important coming from a long line of wealth they oozed confidence self-importance and pretentious. The idea that they believed they were ‘gods gifts’ inspired my characters Hugo and Kingsley.  

I decided to make Hugo the alpha, so whatever he said went. And Kingsley’s to be a bit of a follower bowing down to Hugo’s ego.

With the girls I used the classic stereotype of the young girl, who is spoilt and high maintenance and waiting to find themselves a rich husband. From going to private school, myself, I conducted interviews with a few of the girls who I knew. I spoke to them about their hobbies, interests, where they see themselves when there older and their relationship experiences (if they had any). A few really stood out to me, they laughed and joked saying ‘oh I’m just waiting for my rich husband’ and another told me how her friend ‘Mills’ got her parents to swap her car as she didn’t like it. These girl’s perfectly fit into the stereotype and inspired the characters Felicity and Arabella.  

I can see looking back at the project it created an interesting dynamic in the group. Depicting the men as the strong male and the women as the weak female. In the media the roles of male and female in middle classes are represented very differently.

A common stereotype of women is the housewife. The woman who take their children to school in the Range Rover, goes to yoga and sees friends for brunch. For example, the Real Housewives of Cheshire is a tv series exploiting these women and the typical middle class lady stereotype.

A common stereotype of the man in the traditional ‘breadwinner’ who buys himself expensive cars funds the wife to keep her happy but also funds his mistress.

The white rich man is a target in the 21st century as now in social media there in uproar with what the typical white rich male has done to exploit the poor. The Bullington Society which had included leaders of our country is very controversial in the media and they are not showed to be good human beings.

Mockumentaries

 I think mockumentaries are becoming even more popular more than ever. Two of my favourite ones are The Office created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and Summer Height’s High created by Chris Liley an Australian comedian. Liley has a way of making the characters so real I believe the reason why people enjoy them so much is because people are able to connect with the person because they are so truthful and normal. With the private interviews it really lets the audience into their life. The comedy bleeds from the relatability or the absurdity of the characters and their lives.

And Ricky Gervais is the same. The work put into the script is just phenomenal. This is the standard I would like for my mockumentary it’s something I strived for. Something I was worried about was the fact that people would not be able to relate to my characters so what I incorporate to my piece was little day to day mishaps that happen in life. The arguments contradicting with the interview works because people will always show their best side so when their worst side is in the spotlight people will laugh because it seems like they just made up their super perfect life.

Now going back to this idea of in your face theatre, it’s very congruent with how the media represent the middle classes (controversial, aggressive and purposeful) and how they use this to exploit their stereotypes. With my mockumentary you get to see all of this. But what I’ve done is shown the audience when things don’t go right, and things aren’t so perfect in their little bubble of a world that they can’t keep it together and don’t have the social skills to do so. Amusing and highlighting that not even the middles classes can escape from the daily struggles of being a teen in modern day Britain.

Inconclusion I hope with my film I have made something new and unique to laugh at. Here I am only pointing out that stereotypes exist, and I feel they probably will exist forever. If there are negative ones, you can ‘take the micky’ to provide light relief in the situation.

Taylor Arnold

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taylorreecearnold-blog · 6 years

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Movement Imagination Blog

I have always struggled with movement unfortunately, finding the natural impulse to move is difficult. I never know if I am doing it right or feeling the right things. Sometimes I feel nothing which I've been told is okay but I don't feel active which I get frustrated with. I have tried to work on my internal thoughts as an actor and let that move. Thats why I have such a strong belief that you've got to connect movement to thought, because if you were just to move without having an impulse I think that it just feels, and looks false to people. Like Chekov says ‘But the actor who must consider his body as an instrument for expressing creative ideas on stage must strive for the attainment of complete harmony between the two, body and psychology.’

Recently when I was in creatively class, I found I started my movements small from the ends of my body. My head, hands and feet. It hard to find a move suddenly from say, my chest or knee. I know I need to work on this more. Thats why laban and elements are really important to me because I think they make you move from anywhere. I definitely have struggled with laban and elements though and I only feel now I'm beginning to embodied them. Imagining colours has really helped the movement spread though my body, so for example I would associate punch, and fire with the colour red, I like to imagine colours painting my body inside and out. That makes me use the whole of my body.

I feel my approach to developing character through movement has really come on over second year. In first year it was all about my technical ability to be able to do a movement correctly and keep energy driving through it whilst being free. Now I feel more confident technically I can move without being bogged down and being technically correct.

I've been working on the ability to have different external and internal, elements, laban efforts and levels of tension. How do I be at tension level 4 and feel at level 0. Still being believable. I imagine characters when I am trying to do this I think what sorts of people are going through two different states. I normally imagine people who are sad in there life, but they have to carry on. For example a business woman who hates her job.

I have discovered only recently that I'm more of an external actor, I work of what other people give me and let that affect how I am in a space. I found Jacques Lecoq off balance exercise was really fun and easy to access. I believe this will really help me become a strong actor, being able to connect physically with someone in the space will help me to connect emotionally and mentally.

I've really loved exploring rhythm, falling into rhythm, being in rhythm, stepping out of rhythm this can, I feel, creates drama. I find imagining you don't know the people in the space and that these people are just strangers walking out in the street is epic. The movement becomes so much more pure and truthful. In my movement class we did theatre directors Tadashi Suzukis stomp together. I like doing this because it makes me feel apart of something bigger, and all your doing stomping your foot in rhythm.

We've worked a lot with locations and situations. Firstly being set up with a location and imagining situations within the location. Sometimes I felt I was imposing and planning a situation, this is something I do a bit but I want to try stop and just let a situation come naturally. I feel its because you imagine a good idea and begin to work with that instead of letting something develop naturally. I do think I achieved a natural impulse to do something when we decided we were in a play ground and I saw my class mate walk into the space with his jacket over his head and I, without thinking I ran in and stole his jacket. This felt really human. We also had to imagine times in different locations, that was hard to imagine and portray truth because say we were doing an improv in an airport for 10 minutes and we, in the improv had been in the airport 4 hours. I had to use my memory to think back on how I was feeling emotionally, not just imagination.

I really do like using my imagination though because it makes me feel more real in my movements and not so silly. I connect so much more with characters. I have liked exploring characters and situations this term now we have the technical ability to move. Like Jacques Lecoq said 'By walking a long time in an environment, landscapes begin to influence on your mood, as (landscapes) change, your feelings do.' This tells me if you are able to imagine different places in one space. You can go on a full emotional journey, which of course is super important for an actor.

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