A normal stereotypical British black man to us would be a thug who does drugs and wears baggy clothing. We would think they were argumentative, against the law and ‘gobby; which are all very negative words. Although in the short clip I watched of ‘Spooks’ shows quite the opposite of a British Black man, this character is called Danny.
Danny is a young man who is about in his 20’s who is well-spoken, intelligent, selfless and brave. In the clip these things are all shown clearly to the watcher. The terrorist is the villain in this clip - and Danny being the hero, he is more, I think, the typical stereotype of a British black man. The terrorist is very violent to towards both Danny and the women who are tied up; he is also holding a gun towards them. This shows that the terrorist is the aggressive and brutal one, unlike Danny, as he is being more like a ‘typical’ white person. This I think shows a good difference and a message to people, that not all people are what we think of them to be.
The music adds to the depressing, dismal feel because it emphasises the atmosphere. The music is also haunting and disturbing; there are elements of Arabic music reaching though, which could be linked to the terrorist and that he is from an Arabic country. Yet the sound is twisted to a more threatening sound which is quite chilling. There is also a screeching sound of a whale that creeps though which could show that there is danger, as it is what whales do when they fear something. In the background there is a constant drumming sound that gets louder, this is to create tension throughout the clip and keep the viewer on edge.
The camera work throughout this section is looking from a downwards angle, upwards. This is used regularly when we are shown the terrorist which could emphasises the fact that he is the ‘bad guy’ or villain and so he is looking down on us; as he is threatening to us. There is also a lot of close up to the characters faces to show their reactions and facial expressions, for example the tears on Danny’s face. Yet the camera only frequently shows onto the terrorists face, although it is very shaded; this could resemble his darkness and coldness. There is also a quick shot of the terrorists but the shadows of the window are forming faint bars across the image, which could imply he is the criminal or could be something to do with a prison.
