Representation of Old People

Firstly, old people are often put in the role of nan or grandad, in which they generally hold a certain few qualities. For example, the popular well-known Catherine Tate character playing the role of 'nan'. The sketch always involves her grandson coming over to see her against his own will. He does not enjoy these times but he has to chat to his nan because she is lonely. The character of 'nan' is very insistive such as inisting on turning up the fire heating against her grandsons will before exclaiming how roasting she is. She is also very talkative and often interupts her grandson with stories, objections or opinions. The character is a great overall representation of the stereotypical old person as she is of the hard of hearing, asking questions like, "Wassat?" She is very opinionated and especially critical of people such as the home help woman and she does not care who hears her or what people think with her excessive swearing and limitless complaints about the world. Furthermore, she is forgetful, forgetting the name of the TV show 'You've Been Framed' and also these qualities make her an excellent comedy character.

I will focus on some more detailed aspects of old people who are represented in TV with some further examples of characters.

One type is the hypochondriac obsessive who always turns up to the doctors even if they are not really ill, simply because they have nothing else to do in the day. These can often be the moany or "demented" types. The character, 'Abe Simpson' (Homer's Grandad) in The Simpsons is a good example of this in a clip with 'Doctor Nick' whom he visits. Abe is portrayed as insane and dillusional listing a number of health problems such as being "itchy" and he insists on treatment. The clip is very brief but in the few seconds that Abe talks we see this eternally worried and paranoid side clearly.

Another type is the troubled "mentally ill" type, with which many of the above qualities can stem from. Different old characters deal with this in different ways, such as 'Father Jack' from Father Ted who is almost always asleep in a drunken state except for in the following clip where he is "sober". Without his drink he is portrayed as mentally ill by being outspoken and shouting words with little sense such as "drink!" when he sees a bottle of alchohol. The character has no purpose other than to make these random comments for comedic effect, so old people are often portrayed as useless but extremely funny to the surrounding world.

A further representation of an old person is 'Uncle Albert' from Only Fools and Horses who never does anything right. He is asked by Del to look horrified when Rodney mentions he is going out with a girl, but Albert keeps making his ridiculously obvious screaming act at the wrong time. This shows old people as unhelpful and unpredictable at times when you rely on them either because they are barmy or forgetful. This continues the theme of old people as comedic.

Other types of old people in the past have been represented as traditional, old-fashioned and often offensive or racist in order to stick with these traditions. Others have not had any comedic qualities at all and have been shown as the old-fashioned portrayal of the caring and generous old person who spoils their grandchildren with gifts and is always there for advise and wisdom. Unfortunately, this nicer portrayal is rare in present TV.

So3 Eo7 - JJ

Episode Overview

JJ feels lost and confused. The upset within the gang has taken its toll on him, and his fine balancing act has come unstuck. When he visits his psychiatric clinic, he just gets given more drugs and he begins to get angry, hitting random objects and locking on. At home, his mother is worn out with it all, and away from the home, JJ can see his friends drifting apart. With Effy at such a low ebb, and the chance discovery of Cook, Freddie and Pandora’s secrets, causes the burden to be overwhelming. But an unlikely member of the gang - Emily proves to be the true friend at his time of need, giving him a night to remember. With a gradual boost of self esteem, JJ begins to stand up to the over-ego of Cook, and feeds him some strong doses of his "truth-telling" pills. Cook gets smashed at the party and his secret sexual relationship with Pandora is revealed to Thomas, as well as Effy's love for Freddy. Life becomes very confusing and interesting for the group of friends, with JJ guiltily responcible for making the mess worse.

Themes

The following are the main themes tackled by this episode of 'Skins', all which are relevant to the target audience of teenagers and young adults.

Love

JJ claims that he loves Effy in this episode, but this is clearly lust and desire as it is obvious Effy is out of JJ's league and they are totally different. It is dillusional love, often with which young people are faced with, making bigger deals out of "love" situations. It is young love but often not real love, and the sense of rejection is also present in JJ's pursuit of Effy. On the other hand, the episode reveals Effy's love for Freddy at the end, which is more "real" love as Effy is a character who has never fallen for anyone before. We can see this is a stronger emotion and Freddy is confused by the fact that he feels it back even though he has a girlfriend. Further relationship problems include Pandora cheating on Thomas for Cook's love and passionate sex, as well as Cook's love for Effy and emotional feelings about being scared of her falling in love with Freddy and not him. There are many love triangles and their love lives are very messed up. The problems they face are extremely relevant to young people's "love" problems.

Friendship

JJ has particular emotional need for friends and is scared about their 3-strong relationship (JJ, Freddy and Cook) being disturbed by the "Effy" situation. The episode tackles the issue of strong boyhood friendships that have started from a young age and how they can break up. It also shows how hard it is to break loyalties and turn your back on your friends even in love situations where friends will get in the way. There is a moral of how dependant some people are on their close friends, and the unrealised love friends can have for one another, such as Cook really caring for JJ when he realises just how upset JJ is about everything. This group friendship and loyalty is strong in this episode and has a strong impact on the target audience of teenagers who have their own friendship groups that they care for and depend upon.

Honesty

A huge part of this episode is taken up by lies and secrets e.g. Pandora cheating her boyfriend, Cook's secret from Effy that he is sleeping with Pandora, Effy's unsaid feeling of love for Freddy, JJ's unsaid feeling of love for Effy, Freddy and JJ talking behind Cook's back with Freddy trying to convice JJ to stay with him, Cook doing visa versa later on in the episode, Emily's secret about being a lesbian, Emily and JJ's secret night together... the list goes on and on. This is all comes out at the end in a huge truthful outburst by the drugged Cook, which shows how these lies and secrets have completely messed up the friendships and bonds of the group. However, this was surely the only way that the problems could be fixed in the end.

Autism

This is an unusual film to encounter for teenagers, which is a more "real" subject as it is a disease that exists in some young people. JJ battles autism with a large portion of tablets and drugs, and he visits a councillor for pysciatric help and pill doses. The issues he faces are stress caused by the problems stemming from the themes above, but as an autism born child, he is more affected by these issues and gets anrgy easily. He is issued with more pills but is sick of it and just wants to be cured. It is a mental and physical battle, one that many autism born children have to deal with in real life. It is an illness that seems to cause social dysfunction in JJ's brain and limit his friendships, love and social life - things that he struggles with in this episode. However, by learning how to stand up to people and tell the truth, he gradually changes for the better in this episode, showing it is possible for children with autism to be worth something in society and be like any other normal person.

So3 E06 - Naomi

Episode Overview

Naomi thinks she has the world worked out, and puts people in their appropriate boxes. There's her hippy mum; the adoration from Emily; Cook's insulting manner; and her politics teacher, Kieran's flattery. She thinks she has them all sussed, and that it's only her who can see the truth. However, the upcoming student elections leave her at a loss, and her insecurities get the better of her. The trust and confidence inspired by Emily encourages her to stand up to her arch rival, the antithesis of everything she stands for, as her and Cook go head to head, and the clash allows her to realise a few things about herself and the others, that she may not be who she thought she once was. She realises she wants Emily and she is slowly turning into a lesbian, as well as the nice side of Cook after discovering her loss at the school election. She also finds out about Kieran's relationship with her mother. Emily tries to encourage Naomi to stand up for what she is, which is the only thing Naomi cannot work out how to do.

Body Language

I am going to analyse a short clip from this episode, showing Freddy and Naomi stumbling across a large crowd watching Cook and JJ's election bid on the school roof. I will focus on body language.

Due to the video owner's request on Youtube, I am unable to embed this video straight to my blog but you can view click by following this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuCryfirOZc.

This first shot shows Naomi riding a bike along a crowded path. Immediately we sense her independance and how she is not following the crowd, all of whom are walking - she has chosen to ride her bike. She slows down showing something has caught her attention and we are curious to know what this is. She stops next to Freddy with a look of disgust on her face and they are both staring up in the same direction, which suggests where the focus of the clip is. A motivated cut leads us to a shot of Cook and JJ on the roof. They both have their arms raised in the air and Cook punches the air shouting to encourage the crowd. We can tell all the attention is on Cook as he has both arms raised in the air, whilst JJ only has his nearest arm to Cook in the air as he gesticulates heavily towards Cook. He is possibly shyer and does not want the attention on him. However, both characters ooze confidence in the way they cheer and shout, with Cook in power holding the megaphone. Cook continues to dance and act to the crowd as he is an attention seeker, with his impulsive, cockey and vulgar humoured side coming out as he makes sexual actions on JJ's leg. JJ turns away in slight embaressment and surprise giving the audience a sense of reaction to Cook's actions - what he wants. We cut to Freddy's disaproving shake of the head, clearly indicating he is not on Cook's side. He maintains a blank expression as if he has lost something inside or just cannot believe Cook's ordasity and lack of dignity. We sense a broken relationship between the two characters or some sort of rivalry, which is not quite bordering hatred as the disaproving action is not strong enough. Naomi has raised eyebrows in a sarcastic manner showing her detest for Cook. She mentions JJ instead of Cook and Freddy pauses in thought. His face turns in startlement, which quickly turns into a sunken look and his eyes briefly close in sadness. There is a mixture of anger and sadness at his loss with JJ, showing he possibly cares more about this broken relationship than the one with Cook. It is a look of sudden realism that he has lost two friends, not just the one, and his heavy sighs here show he has been deeply effected by this. In the preceding conversation Freddy maintains a look of irritation, which does not change as if things have got so bad he does not care anymore what happens. Naomi mentions Effy and he does not react, more pausing in thought. He is lost for words but quickly turns around to speak when he has gathered his thoughts. We can tell he thinks hard about Effy, whom he possibly loves. His eyebrows shape downwards in the centre showing his anger, and he stares hard at Naomi showing how much he cares about the subject. His body more faces towards Naomi as he has found someone to confide in. Naomi carries a curious look shown by her squinted eyes, but she deeply cares for Freddy because she stares into his eyes. She can see a need Freddy has to let his emotions out so stands still to encourage Freddy's body movement and control in order to tell her what is wrong. She does not do the typical thing of showing affection by hugging or physical interacting with Freddy, but does the Naomi thing and assess the situation with thought and care, to try and work everything out. Freddy looks back up at Cook and JJ with a lost look and as he gears to walk away his head moves down sunken again in anger and frustration. He gives an uncertain look to Naomi as he does this, which is a confusing expression either showing anger at Naomi's curiosity or simple frustration at life, as if it is a knowing look and he knows Naomi knows what is going on. As he turns away Naomi briefly disengages eye contact, eyeing him quickly up and down to see his overall person - she is analysing him completely. As he walks away she stares thoughtfully after him but not in any sort of lustful or dreamy way. It is a knowing look and she looks worried about what will happen. She then looks up at Cook with uncertainty and we can tell she thinks he is the centre of Freddy's problems. She gathers her bike with force and strain in abrupt movements showing she is angry and slightly fazed, but she keeps her lips tightly together showing she is tough, strong and willing to fight Cook. It is a look of determination as she leaves and we cut back to Cook who has his back turned to the crowd in extreme arrogance, arms in the air. He is the man and he wants people to worship him, whilst JJ continues to gee up the crowd as Cook's little sheep and follower. His expression is simple glee as he does not know what else to do to interact with the crowd. They wave their arms to the beat of the crowd's chant, showing their control and power over the situation. It suggests they are winning the battle but Naomi's last look suggests she thinks otherwise. It makes an intriguing plotline and the audience is left with little choice but to continue watching to found out what Naomi does to confront Cook and help the confused Freddy.

Editing in Favour of a Character

Editing in favour of the boy:



Editing in favour of the girl:

So3 Eo5 - Freddy

Episode Overview

Freddie's big sister Karen has ambitions as she reaches the final of a TV talent show to find a new member of girl group 'Da Sexxbombz'. Freddie despises her lust for celebrity but is emotionally blackmailed into upholding the story Karen and their Dad, Leo, are spinning - involving Freddie's dead mum for the emotional vote of the show. On top of this, living in the shadow of the increasingly reckless Cook is becoming too much to bear. When Effy turns up at his shed, Freddie doesn’t know what to do with himself; there’s a always been a connection between them. Freddie feels torn between his family, his friends, and his heart, and the isolation is overwhelming. Freddie makes a decision to escape from his lonely retreat in his shed and from his skateboard, to support his family and in doing so lose Cook as a friend. He also lets Effy know that he loves her, but Cook aims to wreck everything in Freddy's life at the end of the episode including being with Effy directly in Freddy's face.

Narrative

This episode of Skins follows one character (as all the episodes do) focusing on Freddy and his personal story. The narrative structure is similar to the rest of the series, using parts of narrative theories but often twisting them for the overall Skins "messed up" style.

Todorov's theory: The idea of equilibrium-disruption-resolution-equlibrium is present in the episode. The episode starts in some kind of equilibrium for Freddy as he skates on his skateboard in his own calm state but we learn that is not really a calm equilibrium but more an equilibrium that already has problems. This is shown by interwining the shots of Freddy walking home from the skatepark with contrasting images of his sister in the talent show competition, which Freddy does not agree with and this causes an immediate disruption at home with Freddy seemingly the black sheep of his family and feeling alone and isolated as his dad "favours" his sister and argues with Freddy. There are many disruptions on this episode to form the overall narrative structure as they roll out of control:

• Effy turns up in Freddy's shed followed by JJ and Cook, causing awkwardness between Freddy and Cook. The tension causes Effy to refuse Cook sex so Cook tells her to leave the shed, creating more tension between Cook and Freddy.
• Freddy does not agree with using his dead mum as a 'sob story' in his sisters talent show and this causes him to argue with the production manager of the show when he is supposed to be interviewed in support of his sister.
• Freddy develops a shy, reserved side that is scared of going any further with Effy, and when he tries to rectify this Effy tells him she will not fall in love with him because she does not fall in love.
• Freddy finds out that Cook slept with his sister and this turns him against both of them. He hates Cook and shouts at his sister causing her to cry and disrupting her singing practise. This causes Freddy's dad to punch him in the face - thus creating Freddy's lowest point of the episode where he feels desperately alone.

At this point the disruptions seem to end momentarily as we go back to seemingly the same equlibrium as before, except it is full of more problems. Freddy reflects whilst at the skatepark. However, the difference here is that he drops his skateboard and walks off marking a turning point in the episode and we know things will get better as he seems to have left a part of him to try and make a change. From then on the episode begins to resolve some of Freddy's problems:

• He lets go of his reserved side and runs to the lake where he knows Effy is hanging out. He swims to the middle of the lake where Effy lies and kisses her, letting her know exactly how he feels. This is his part done and it is down to Effy about whether they get together.
• Freddy dresses up and joins his dad in the audience of his sister's talent show. He claps in support and is later found consolling his sister at her final loss by hugging her and kissing her cheek. His relationship with her is mended as is his relationship with his dad who thanks him for being there for his sister.

However, Skins is not so straight forward as the theory suggests. Not everything is ever resolved in an episode. We see certain developments and improvements in Freddy's character such as leaving his angst side and being more caring. However, in doing so he has chosen his family and personal life over his best friends, JJ and Cook, and this is the part of the story that is not resolved but made worse. We never reach another equilibrium as there are a series of disruptions in the final part of the episode:

• Cook admits he got people in the pub to vote against Freddy's sister, which ultimately had a bearing on the final result.
• Freddy headbutts Cook signalling the end of their friendship and Cook leaves angrily smashing the picture of Freddy's family including his dead mum.
• JJ leaves with Cook because he is scared of him, showing how Freddy is not part of this friendship anymore.
• Freddy goes to Effy's house to ask about her decision but this is made clear when he is turned away by Effy's mum and as he is walking away, looks up to see Cook topless with Effy in her bedroom. Cook closes the curtains and Freddy walks away with more problems.

This sets up a new problem-filled equilibrium for the next episode with Freddy having the support of his family but losing out on his friends and Effy in the process. This new equilibrium will be filled with more and more problems until some resolutions are made but some stories continue disrupted for the entire series.

Levi-Strauss' Theory: The episode uses binary opposites to cause the disruptions and these are mainly character based:

• Freddy and Cook (good vs evil, sensible vs non-sensible - we have to pick a side, as does JJ).
• Freddy and his sister (male vs female, brother vs sister - again we have to pick a side).
• Family vs friends (Freddy has to pick one on the night of his sisters final).
• Love vs lust (does Freddy really love Effy is Effy can never love him back).
• Father vs son (the differences between Freddy and his Dad in hard situations).

These cause the disruptions that have to be resolved so are vital to the narrative structure of the episode.

These are the only two narrative theories Skins follows properly. Overall, Skins uses the classic Todorov structure for the basis of its episodes but fills it with lots of problems, some of which are resolved in the episode, some which will be resolved later on in the series and some which are never resolved at all. Therefore only messed up equilibriums are ever reached - a kind of calm before the storm or a time of reflection. Disruptions are caused by binary opposites using Levi-Strauss' narrative theory and resolutions help develop the character of the episodes chosen character. Each episode follows one character to develop their story and personality but their disruptions maybe resolved in later episodes of other characters because of ongoing and underlying plots throughout the series, making the narrative structure complex and complicated. This suits the overall style of Skins, which focuses on teenagers with messed up problems and who live complex and complicated lives.

So3 Eo4 - Pandora

Episode Overview

With the first and only boy Pandora’s ever loved having been deported, Pandora is desperate to have some fun and decides to throw a party. Pandora's sense of fun does not seem to match that of the other girls but unbeknown to Pandora, Katie drops some drugs into the "brownie" ingrediants, which take the party to another level. Effy knows, but hasn’t warned Pandora or her Mum Angela who munches happily on them. Effy can only look on while her best friend’s Mum’s behaviour gets increasingly bizarre.An angry Pandora feels her party is ruined but later grabs the fun where she can thanks to Cook. This she later regrets in the morning when Thomas arrives back in England to Pandora and Effy's surpise making Pandora realise how vunerable she had been.

Hair & Make Up

The episode is quite girly so I thought it was a good time to focus on hair and make up TV drama. Here are the five main female characters in the series as they hav fun at Pandora's pyjama party.

The four girls behind Pandora (Effy, Emily, Katy and Naomi) all wear hair that reflects their general character in the series. Effy's hair is often messy in a stylish, iconic way, showing her rebellious nature and it is often quite striking drawing the attention to her. She is also a brunette showing her strong confident side. The twins both have dyed red hair which reflect quite bright, bubbly and rebellious characters who like to party. The red is quite a dark red/pink which is quite a passionate girly colour. They wear this hair differently though, with Emily the quieter twin having a nice, neat and straight hairstyle (not standing out much), whereas Katy does more with her hair, often styling it or curling it as in this episode. Katy draws more attention to her whereas Emily is more in the background. Naomi has a more independant haircut which is quite neat and stylish but is also different to the generic girl as it is quite short and reserved (tied back). It shows she is her own person. We also learn not to stereotype her for being "blond" like we do with Pandora who is more typical of this hair colour. Pandora wears a different kind of hairstyle in this episode to the previous episodes where she had very girly pigtails sticking out on either side of her head. This always showed her fun and ridiculously strange side while also showing she was not conforming to what other girls did as she was socially secluded. However, here she wears her hair straight down and this could be becuase she is sad about Thomas having been deported. Her emotions come out more and so she lets go of the hair to a more natural look. It makes her seem more vulnerable and deeper as a person, for the episode where we learn alot about her.

There is a distinct lack of make-up use in the episode for these girls who usually cake themselves in it (especially Effy and Katy). It is a girls party so they all look more natural and are not really trying to impress anyone. However, Emily does wear make up in this episode and we know this ie because she is trying to impress Naomi, who she fancies. Emily wears quite girly make up using pinks and reds. Naomi wears no more or less than usual as she is never out to impress anyone. She carries on her independant style with fancy patterns and alternative make up colours such as green and purple. It is also highly noticable that Pandora changes with her make up style during the episode. She begins with high hopes of a girly party wearing lots of girly red make up and blue eyeliner but then ditches this later on in the episode when she gets anrgy and cries. She seems very vunerable here as the make up disappears through tears. It signifies how we see a deeper emotional side to her behind her initial crazy cover.

Narrative in TV Drama (looking at the beginning of 'Spooks')

Conventions of a Complete Narrative

• A couple wake up and go downstairs to breakfast. They do not realise they are being watched by terrorists.
• The couple hug and kiss, eating breakfast, whilst the terrorists listen in as they have bugged their house.
• The man goes to work and walks past the terrorists car - they talk about moving in on the house.
• The woman cleans up after breakfast. There is a knock on the door and she opens the door.
• We cut back to the man walking down the street and he notices the same car speed off. He eyes it suspiciously. We assume the woman has been kidnapped.

In this narrative I used good and bad characters as binary opposites, a general beginning, middle and end, a disruption to a normal equilibrium and a cliffhanger at the end. I also set up two situations to cut between to and left an elipsis as an enigma code - whether the woman had been kidnapped or not.

Most stories end happily to meet audience expectations and wants. This also protects the main characters in the plot who are vital to the series and appealing to the target audience. A happy ending can also be continued easily with another disruption in a new episode or part of the story.

The 'Spooks' episode we watched begins in a similar way. We know the first scene is a narrative beginning because we start with a normal equilibrium situation, which is being disrupted. The characters do not know this yet which unsettles the audience and makes them continue watching to find out what happens to the characters. Also the main episode characters are established.

The disruption is effective as it upsets the equilibrium, the simple narrative pattern. This makes us tense and watch on. It leaves us with enigma codes we want to solve.

We pick the good characters over the bad because the good characters are normal innocent people and we see their feelings for eachother. We do not want this to be lost.

Other binary opposites could be the Asian terrorists against the white British couple, or males against females in both the terrorist's car and the household (the couple).

Single drama/film: Margaret

A single drama is simple and follows Todorov's theory. It would start in an equlibirium state and contain some disruptions before resolving into a happy ending.

Two-nighter: Trial & Retribution

This would also follow Todorov's theory consistent through a series, but would often end on cliffhangers rather than happy endings, leading into the next episode. The disruptions would continue throughout the series until resolved in the last episode. Many binary opposites would be used to cause the disruptions.

Soap: Eastenders

Soaps contain complex narratives made up of many simple narratives interwined, following Todorov and Levi-Strauss' simple narrative structures. These are fairly interchangeable in how many episodes each continues for as a soap takes an on-running format.

Serial: Bleak House

A serial is like a soap with many narratives going on which also follow Todorov and Levi-Strauss' theories. They are also interchangable and interwine but would be resolved at the end of a series, whereas a soap can be resolved at any time.

Anthology Series (self-contained episodes, each based on different characters): Skins

In Skins, each character is assigned an episode and each episode narrative takes a Todorov narrative structure with the conflicts caused by binary opposites. Each epsiode develops that characters stories and disruptions but they can be resolved at any time in any other episode in the series. Often, they are not resolved at all or are left hanging until the very last episode.

Long-form Series: Lost

This narrative generally follows a Todorov structure but resolvements are fairly rare, especially in Lost where as it gets close to a resolution another disruption is created. The different stories also often do not get resolved at the end of a series and continue into further series. They are hard to follow and hold very complex narratives that go extremely deep into the previous series.

Long-form Series with some narrative experimentation: 24

These simply use more complex narrative structures to the above by changing the rules. Often stories created are not resolved or are replaced by new disruptions which continue to twist the overall story. There is usually some sort of resolution at the end of an episode such as in 24 but these can often lead to newer disruptions or even start off the next episode with a disruption created by the previous resolution.

So3 Eo3 - Thomas

Episode Summary

Thomas arrives alone in the UK from the Congo. His family are due to join him in a few days, and he has to find somewhere for them to live. He finds an abandoned flat on an estate, but little does he know that local gangster Johnny White is his new landlord, and there’s no way Johnny’s going to let him live there for free. Thomas has to fend for himself, but a chance encounter at a bus stop, and a mutual love of donuts brings him together with Pandora and. Pandora and Thomas find a connection and she takes him to see her Aunt Elizabeth, who just might have the answer to money problem, with a rather unconventional money-making scheme - dealing weed. Thomas later challenged Johnny White to a face off involvin eating hot chillis, which Thomas wins resulting in him and his friends freedom from the grips of White.

Costume in Episode 3 - Thomas

This is Thomas at the beginning of the episode - a previously unseen and unknown character. Our first image of him is the one on the left (he is dancing). We note he is wearing alot of layers of clothing - the presence of two hats, gloves, trench coat and hoody jacket underneath suggest he is not used to the cold British climate. Nothing he wears is too bright - he wants to fit into his surroundings so wears neutral coulour such as blacks, blues and whites. The use of patterns on his hat and random hints of bright greens and purples on his jacket suggest there is a bright and exciting character inside dying to get out. There are hints of his native African background in the patterend hat and brown and green colouring. Lastly, it is interesting to note how his clothing has been assembled together in quite and odd fashion. The colours and style do not seem to match up as if he just put together some old clothes from a jumble sale, suggesting he does not have much money and may have come from a poorer area such as native Africa. To the British surroundings he could look like a bit of a tramp (see picture on the right), where he stands out to Effy and Pandora who are wearing decent clothing and lots of make up, suggesting wealth. Here however, Thomas has found a pair of jeans to try and fit in with British fashions.

This is later on the episode where Thomas is a bit more accustomed to British life. We can tell this by the picture on the left (he is in the middle) as he is wearing fairly normal looking jeans and a casual t-shirt. You would not think he had come from the Congo now as he looks more affluent. He is wearing a rapper-style cap, suggesting he has found the British style he likes - the gangster rapper look. However, he still does not wear bright colours (white and thin coloured stripes), showing he is still quite shy and does not want to stand out but be hidden in the crowd that he is in. There is a dramatic change when he is given a red t-shirt to wear when he goes on stage to rap (but to hide from Johnny White), seen in the right picture. The t-shirt is large on him giving him the baggy look that suit rappers, and it is bright red with some words and a logo that are trying to make a statement. Thomas is suddenly full of confidence and begins to rap. He fits in more with the people he is on stage with and is seen as more of an icon - his image and appearance is accepted now. He wears this top for the rest of the episode and is highly accepted by everyone around him.