How the representation of class is constructed in Shameless

Class:  people put into a social group based on having the same social, economic, or educational status.

Initial thoughts:
The programme seems to be based on living 'incorrectly' like taking drugs and drinking. The main character seems to be quite greasy and we assume he is an addict. There seems to be conflict within the family based on the children are disappointed with the father and are scared because they are losing their house. There is swearing within the clip showing that they are not bothered about what people think and could possibly have quite a bit of disrespect. We can tell they are on the lower end of society because they are moving into a caravan. I think this programme is about the constant struggle for a lower class family, therefore my analysis will be based on how lower class families stereo typically live and how the lower class stereo typically are portrayed.

Camera Shots: 

A medium long shot is used first, this is showing him from the knee's up, therefore illustrating what he is wearing. We see he has his coat hanging off his shoulder, a stain is down his top, and he has long hair, indicating he may not care about his appearance, which is stereo typically associated with the lower class.

A master shot is then used which displays what we can guess is the rest of the family. Within this shot we can see that there is a young girl with a baby, most definitely her baby as a result of a teen pregnancy which is known as an aspect of teen delinquency which is usually associated with lower class families as they are known as the underachievers.  (0:06)

A close up shot is used of the dads face which highlights his features. We see that his hair is long and greasy and that again he is not bothered about his appearance. From his dirty appearance we also assume that he was on a night out before that with the lower calls we would associate with drinking or drug taking, which could highlight the fact that he is most likely not a responsible father, which unfortunately is also stereo typically associated with lower class families.

An establishing shot is used when the caravan is being shown, which highlights what they were previously talking about, where they are next going to live. This establishes what the conversation is based on and tells the audience that answer to one of the characters previous questions. This is used for a form of context in how class is represented, as it is cheap and budget compared to a house, showing that the people within this clip are clearly lower class. (2:06)

Sound

Non diegetic music is used at the very beginning possibly for mood music, the music sounds like something you would use in a film when someone is lost, as we know this man is most likely home, we don't assume he is lost, but we assume he is confused, possibly of how he got home as the lower class are typically known as drunks.

Speech is used as a sound technically, informing us of what they are saying. From the speech in this clip we learn that yes the dad is a drunk and a drug taker, he hasn't been a specifically good father, and the plans for the family are to move. We then learn later on in the clip that the family is moving into a caravan, showing that they don't have a lot of money and therefore are a lower class family.

An example of synchronous sound is used within the clip as we hear the bay murmur as it is drinking from the bottle and we carry on to see the baby, which is a child of the young girl who can only be known as the mother to the bay, bringing me back to the previous point of teen delinquency and how it is often associated with lower class families.

We hear asynchronous sound around when we hear the dog barking which sounds from not inside the house so we know they don't own a dog. From this noise we also know that they don't live somewhere fancy secluded from everyone else, we assume that they most likely live on an estate just how the lower class do.

Mise-en-scene

In the room which we see throughout the beginning we witness their living state. There are alcoholic bottles everywhere, and the place is a mess, we can assume through this that there is likely to be no wife to the father to clean this up, making this a single parent family. The whole place is cluttered telling us that they don't care about their living state which is usually associated with the lower class as the upper class are stereo typically known for being tidy as they always have people round their house or they have a maid/butler that will do it for them.

We also see that the majority of people in the clip are in tracksuits which is associated with the lower class again not caring about their appearance. Teenagers that dress like this are stereo typically known as chavs and are teased for being of the lower class usually, the upper class would never be known for wearing tracksuits as it is not formal enough. However my point could be argued because they are inside on a morning, we know it is a morning as one of the boys are still in their boxers, the teen mum is in a dressing gown and the baby is receiving its morning feed.

Overall this is a clip full of very stereotypical views of how the lower class is represented, which is as messy, dirty, uncaring, delinquents, scraping by and lazy. I think this clip however conveyed how society views the lower class very well.

Stereotypes used in this clip: 

• Drug takers- This is succeeded as the girl laughs when saying about the E's her father has taken, making it a lighthearted subject which clearly doesn't overly matter.
• Unemployed- This is challenged as we do not see if any of them have a job or not, however we assume that they don't as they are all just sitting about, chilling.
• Drinkers- This is succeeded as all over their living arrangements, bottles and cans are placed everywhere and are empty on the majority, leading to the connotation that they have been drunk. 
• Bad attitude- This is succeeded as the teenagers are constantly swearing and arguing with their dad in this clip, which stereo-typically wouldn't be seen with the upper class, they would not challenge their elders. 
• Teen pregnancy- This is challenged as we see a teenager holding a baby, and make the connotation that the baby is hers, however the baby could be her brother, or she could be babysitting for a friend. However this is what we think has been encoded, and that is the way we decode it. 
• Council estate living arrangement- This is succeeded as we see that the house isn't in solitude and the house doesn't have a garden as such or any real room, it is just side by side with other houses. 
• Tv as the main source of entertainment- This is succeeded as towards the end of the clip you see the sky dish hanging outside their house, showing what their main priority is to spend their money on.