Ethnicity

Harold and Kumar

Ethnicity is very good at making things very funny. This is because most of the time the producer makes them very stereotypical and funny. And this is the perfect setting for ethnicity because it is when everyone is most tense.

The scene starts with a Chinese man and middle eastern man who are going on a plane to Amsterdam and they talk about how they are new people and taking time off work. This is whilst people are listening in and thinking they are terrorists which would conform to most people representation of middle eastern characters.  Whereas the Chinese man subverts representations of being work orientated and asexual by taking a week off work and imagining a women of his dreams.

Deconstruction.










The comparison between the middle eastern characters, one is normal in a jumper and T-shirt like any normal person and the second one which is through an were he has a long beard and moustache with a turban laughing and making jokes about the plane going down. Thus suggesting that most middle eastern charters are terrorists and it could be that is the producers trying to be funny or limiting there abilities as they cannot expand on that characters even though they are the protagonists of the film.

Shot-reverse-Shot

1st Shot

4th Shot



2nd Shot

3rd Shot

The editing uses displays not only what most people think of middle eastern people on a plane but what old people think of them. Through fast paced editing it displays how ridiculous it is and why people need to relax.

Tells people that there common representation is nowhere near what they are normally like and throughout the plane scene this is mocked and he is targeted as a dangerous man instead of a normal person that goes on holiday for relaxation.

 Sound used is to tell people what they think most middle eastern are like and through comedy it is made to seem ridiculous and idiotic. I find this effective as creating stereotypes that are exaggerated makes people laugh and it is physically impossible to be like them. 


So in a way this scene challenges what most people think of this ethnic group and draws reflection on what is acceptable and what isn't.

The other ethnic group is also subverted to look sexual rather than asexual and awkward about it. The diegetic sound is romantic and parallel to the scene as it goes on to him thinking about his love life and who he likes. Subverting common representation of what we think of this ethnic group as well as expanding his character beyond one to use for comedy.

The development of this scene proves my point of this character being a mockery by people. By the fact the prop used to simulate a bong lights up and looks like a bomb, to the fact people don't listen to him afterwards as he explains he is trying to smoke drugs and not blow the plane up. But, due to "the general publics" point of view of this ethnic group they think he is telling them it is a bomb. The close up of him lighting the bong simulates his focus on what he is doing however, through this focus it also looks like he trying to plant or light a fuse fuelling the stereotype.

Typography

The typography used to make look like a dog tag this is commonly represented in the army or on rosters. It is son serif conforming to a non horror film. The title is very effective when used with a background if on it's own it may seem boring or too mainstream.