REPRESENTATION

IN PEARL
PRODUCTIONS;
THE ANGRY CHEF
ESSAY PLAN
General Structure;
 Introduction

 Point

 Reply

 Point

 Reply

 Point

 Reply

 Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
 State the name of the Short film and what it is about;
 The Angry Chef. -The story starts with Bob, a man in his late 20’s, eating a meal in a top-
notch restaurant. When he is finishes and gets out his wallet to pay but discovers it is
completely empty and so has to wash up dishes to pay off his bill. Once Bob is in the
kitchen he is exposed to the ferocious Head Chef and things start to go pear-shaped…
 The main influences for the short.
 The Lumiere Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.
 Short examples of where and how they influence.
 “Slapstick” comedy style.
 Exaggerated walking and gestures.
 Use of classical composed music throughout the film-enhancing the comedy
expressions.
 Written speech quotes.
DISCUSSION ONE. THE BATTLE OF THE
SEXES
 Ratio of women to men is 1:5
 The woman in our film is represented as weak, under skilled
for her job and emotionally unstable.
 Men are shown as more in control of their emotions, higher
positions of power and as the ratio is higher for them it is
inferred that they are the main earners of the family.
 This representation conforms to the idea that we live in a
patriarchal world.
 However, there is still a woman in the work place who, unlike
the male workers, stands up for her rights and chooses to
leave. This conflicts with the main patriarchal theme that runs
throughout the film.
DISCUSSION TWO: IDEOLOGIES AND
HEGEMONY
 Motion Picture Code
 The studios owned all films and there was no possibility for films to rebel against hegemonic values.
 The audience got what they were given.

 Reflective of 1940’s not today’s working environments

 Health and safety – dirty kitchen, soap on the floor, no fire alarms.
 Washing dishes – old style way of punishment. Today they would phone the police or phone a friend to pay.
 No cards in the wallet – little technology.

 Male dominance over women

 Age
 Younger boy is clumsy. The younger you are the more inadequate you are at your job. Unable to keep a job.
 Being younger and eating alone infers that he does not have enough money to afford a meal for more than just
himself - to be a “gentleman” about it.

 Race
 Majority of the ethnic minority in England is working class.
 Hegemonic value - Modern day kitchen workers are all foreign.
DISCUSSION 3: CONFORMING TO
STEREOTYPES
 The characters fit prototypes - a simplistic view of people
that is an easy way to explain things to the audience and
saves using dialogue/text.
 Pastiche of black and white shorts;
 1920’s classic Villain, twirly moustache.
 In the age of black and white films stereotypes were frequently used to give the audience a quicker
understanding of the story.
 Man eating alone.

 Fat Italian Chef;

 Simpson’s Luigi

 Angry Chef;
 Hells kitchen, Gordon fires people which happens in our short in a similar way

 Reflective view of the 1940’s.

 Constructionist view?
CONCLUSION
 Sum up all three discussions and how effective they are.
 If/how they appeal to today’s audience

 Your thoughts
 D1 = Conforms to conventions of the 1920’s but to ensure the audience could relate
and enjoy the film it still incorporates aspects of modern day society.
 D2 = Very representative of the 1920’s so it does not appeal to many of today’s
audiences.
 D3 = Effective as it tells the audience about the character straight away and
everyone can relate to the characters.