Madeleine McCann VS Shannon Matthews 

Analyse the choice of pictures used in terms of framing, shot type and mise en scene. Compare their representations of the social class of the two families. (10 marks)

Kate McCann                                                                    Karen Matthews

            

 The picture of Kate McCann and one of her twins is a mid-shot which incorporates the mother trying to carefully take the twin down the slide.  The use of the hand gesture of her holding her hand tightly and having her arm around her waist connotes that she is being caring and loving towards her as she is doing the best she can to prevent her falling of the slide chaotically. Moreover, the girl is wearing the stereotypical colour of pink which conveys that the girl is quite feminine and that the mother likes her to look like a stereotypical little girl.  The fact that we can see an outline of the slide lets us know that she is in some sort of playing area, demonstrating that the child  and the mother is of a higher class as they are able to play which these particular types of equipment. In this image, their social classes in comparison to Karen Matthews is shown in a way that makes them appear to be very sociable thereby making them seem to have a higher social class as they are more engaged with society.

In contrast to this, Karen Matthews  is showcased to have a dull looking face this is due to:  her slightly closing her eyes, the bags underneath her eyes, the expressionless facial expression and her  putting her head down in way that makes her look vulnerable. All of this connotes that she is extremely exhausted and makes her seem to be pretty beaten down by society. In particularly, her looking down connotes that she tends to isolate herself from her surroundings and that she doesn’t have a dominant stand in terms of her social class.  In addition to this, she is also wearing a dark green jacket so instead of her symbolising renewal and safety perhaps the picture is purposely used to show that she's opposes those attributes or is lacking that. This shows, that she is of a lower social class and is disregarded by society.

Furthermore, the second picture shows her smiling and wearing clothes which consists of different colours which connotes that as a child  she was positive and lively but now, she is the complete opposite and is represented  as someone who shouldn’t be liked within society.

In conclusion, the social class of Kate McCann family seems more superior in contrast to Karen Matthews’s family.