Regional identity answer

It is possible to argue that regional identity is shown in this extract of Doc Martin through the use of Mise-en-scen, editing, sound and camera shots.

The extract opens with Doc Martin in a room with two other gentlemen. It is immediately noticable that Martin has a more higher up job than the other men Mise-en-scene is used to show this through the costumes. Martin is stood in a suit showing that he isn't from the area as he doesnt sound like the locals but also because he has a higher up job, he sounds as if he is from London as he sounds upper class but this also supports the clothing as he is wearing a suit which is common in upper class people. Also he is a Doctor so he must have money to be in the upperclass bracket from this. The other men who are identifiably local are wearing boiler suits which are commonly associated with manual labour jobs linking closely with the stereotype that cornish people old manual labour jobs. The lighting in this scene is dark and gloomy which uses one of Barthes narrative codes of symbolism that manual labour is a boring and tedious job.

Also in the opening scene it uses a low angle shot looking upwards to the characters. Martin is stood up higher than the other two this is to show that Doc Martin is higher up in the social ranking because he is from an area that is more commonly identified with rich, posh people (London) and the cornish people are below him as they are seen as backwards. However one of the workers uses literary references in this opening scene which contradicts the stereotype of cornish people being backwards. An action code is used when the sink bursts this is to shows us what they're doing and not 'keep the audience in the dark'. After this the pipe bursts this uses Barthes action code showing what the other two men are working on but also by showing the pipe burst, from this point on everything seems to start going wrong with the pipe bursting and a dog entering. This is the start point of Martin's anger that remains for the rest of the extract. The only people that seem to deal with the pipe bursting are Doc Martin and the younger worker who is the older workers son this can be seen as he constantly calls him 'boy', the only reason these two deal with the situation is possibly because they're the two most educated as Martin is a doctor but also because he is from London and is stereotyped as being cleaver where as the younger worker is seen as cleaver due to his literary references earlier on in the scene. 

In the second scene showing we are introduced using an establishing shot showing Martin walk through the village with the dog music is playing in the background even though it is soft jangly music it still makes the character seem as if he is angry due to the whole situation. When Martin is walking into the police station a police officer is stood hovering the floor, this has connotations that the village that Martin is in is an idyllic place as there must be no crime as he has time to hoover rather than 'catching criminals'. Also during this scene it seems as if Doc Martin starts to get more angered due to his increased volume of voice but also because there is an increased cutting rate during this interaction. Also Martin's dialogue with the police man is very abrupt and angered which shows that Martin is angered and annoyed but it does follow the stereotype of Londoners that they are snobby. 

The next scene we are introduced using an establishing shot which shows Martin alking down the road but has a woman in the foreground unloading the boot of a car. When the woman speaks it is immediately identifiable that she also is not from the area. This can be seen through her speech as she also sounds as if she is from London because she has an accent of being rich/posh. She asks him for a prescription but he denies her so she uses some of her ‘womanly charm’ to try and persuade him. A two shot is used to show that she is getting close flirting with him to try and get him to change his mind. However it is clear that Martin is still angered from the events earlier in theextractdue to him still being very abrupt and snapy with his responses.

Overall, it is clear that the stereotypes of each character and their regional identity are sustained throughout the extract with Doc Martin and the other woman being portrayed ans posh and the locals being shown as more backward or working class.

Regional identity

Scottish – often shown as being money obsessed, won’t pay for anything, drinks a lot of alcohol, loves the outdoors, wears kilts, eats haggis, quite aggressive and violent

Welsh –Often shown as living in the middle of the countryside, less intelligent, good at singing (Male voice choirs),with people making jokes about them “shagging sheep”

Irish – often shown as living in the countryside, working in rural areas such as farms, being very religious, being good at dancing and singing (love a good craic), very friendly but less intelligent

English – often shown as being racist (think St George cross on houses or cars), obsessed with beer and football living in London. Sometimes the stereotype goes in the opposite direction of showing English people as very rich, posh, happy, living in castles and being very “royal.”

London – There are two main stereotypes of Londoners. One is that they are often shown as being rich, posh, snobby, upper class, Hugh Grant types from central or west london. The other is that they often shown as being from north, east or south London, poor, common, lower class, criminalistic, violent “Kidulthood” style

Manchester / Newcastle / Liverpool – Often shown as being “chavs”, wearing fake designer labels, or tracksuits, drinking a lot, being aggressive, uneducated, criminals

Essex – often shown as being glamorous but cheap, footballer’s wives, lots of partying, being quite stupid

Yorkshire – Often shown as living in rural countryside, with rolling hills and cobbled streets, being quite old fashioned (despite Yorkshire being the biggest county and containing large cities such as: Leeds, York and Sheffield)

Cornwall / Somerset – Often shown as being “backwards”, living in rural areas, working on farms

South England – often shown as being the centre of culture, modern, classy, clever, sunny, richer, doing middle class jobs where one dresses smartly

North England – often shown as being poorer, bad weather, lower class, aggressive, less culture, less clever, doing working class jobs such as builders etc

Examples:

Irish:

London:





Yorkshire:




Cornwall:




England: