Class

The mansion in the background of the 'Downton Abbey' connotes wealth and the upper class. The wall featured as the background in the 'Shameless' poster suggests that the party/social gathering is occurring in a small apartment or house, as the characters look squashed together.  The clothing worn by the characters in 'Shameless' is significantly more casual than the clothing worn by the characters in 'Downton Abbey'. The clothing presented on 'Downton Abbey' is very formal and sophisticated - all of the men are wearing tuxedos and many of the women are wearing elegant evening gowns. however, some of the women are servants (which also supports gender stereotypes) as evidenced by the plain dresses and aprons. The facial expressions portrayed by the 'Downton Abbey' characters are all very stern and almost sinister, which connotes snobbiness. Whereas the facial expressions in 'Shameless' are mainly cheerful to show that they are all enjoying themselves.

The dark colours in 'Downton Abbey' connote sophistication and elegant, whereas the bright pastel like yellow in 'Shameless' connotes cheerfulness and happiness. This shows that the characters are categorised into lower social classes because the colours and clothing used does not portray them as rich and snobby. Hair is also a relevant factor in representing class, because the messy hair shown on some of the characters in 'Shameless' connotes that they are messy characters.Whereas in 'Downton Abbey' everyones hair is styled neatly so as not to go out of place, which shows tidiness, which connotes professionalism.

The positioning of the characters is also important. In 'Downton Abbey' all of the characters are in an organised line, with the poorer people at the back to contrast with/highlight the wealthy people at the front. Whereas in 'Shameless' the positioning is all disorganised to add to the messiness presented in the poster. Many of the characters are looking away from the camera, which shows that they are not formal, professional characters. This contrasts with the characters in 'Downton Abbey' because they are all standing up straight and looking directly at the camera. This connotes power and control.



The camera angles used can also be a key factor in determining class.