Task 1

The Apprentice - Series 6, Episode 4



The non-diegetic music creates a tense atmosphere appropriate for the firing that is about to happen, making it more intense. The scene resembles an actual 'firing', almost like the villain of the narrative is about to get shot down, and the music makes it even more dramatic because of the structuralism.

When the contestants are being spoken to, there are a lot of close up shots of their faces and slow zooms. The close ups show the contestants as vulnerable, making Lord Sugar seem superior. The zoom also reinforces this representation as the audience see the contestants from Lord Sugar's perspective and the zoom makes us feel like we are closing in on them, intensifying the drama. However, when the camera is on Lord Sugar, it never goes closer than a medium shot other than when the camera is on the side of him, not looking directly at his face. This makes the audience feel how intimidating he is as it is like we can't get too close or it is dangerous, and if we want to get close, we have to be voyeuristic and go from the side where we can't be seen.

When the contestant is fired, she is followed out of the room. This makes the audience feel like they can see everything, as even when she is at her lowest point, the camera is still on her. She does not leave gracefully, reinforcing her roles as the Proppian villain so the audience feel like she deserved to get 'fired', making us agree with Lord Sugar's decision. This is quite hegemonic as we are made to agree with the man who is at the top of the hierarchy - the elite of the The Apprentice world. This ideology is often represented in BBC programmes as the elite have control over PSB's. This reinforces the Marxist view that the views of the elite are being forced upon us as Lord Sugar would not be represented in this way, and we will never be in the position where we disagree with him.