Current Forum: Session 5: Ideology and Class	Read 9 times 	
Date: 11-Feb-2001 22:29:32	
Author: FIELD, KATHRYN L. <klf7188@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>	
Subject: Trading Places 	
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       Trading Places is a film that portrays polar opposites: the very rich and the very poor, with the exception of perhaps the character of the butler, there is no in between. In the depiction of class in relation to power, we see that power comes with class, at least in the case of the Duke brothers throughout most of the film. In the end, however, the Dukes are cheated by Winthorp and Billy Ray and loose all their money and loose all their power within the company as well. 
       By betting the usual dollar, the two brothers conduct an experiment by using Winthorp and Billy Ray as their guinea pigs. Randolph Duke was convinced that a person’s environment molded them into who they were, no matter what their upbringing or background may be. Mortimor believed just the opposite, that a particular “breeding” was in a person’s blood, environment had nothing to do with the outcome. The experiment turned out just as Randolph suspected. Taken from the streets and placed into a privileged atmosphere, Billy Ray proves to be successful and well liked--despite his race. Once in his new conditions, his mentality shifts as well. For example, when he throws a party at his house and gets angry when his guests are 
disrespectful of his (expensive) things. Winthorp is the same way when he is taken from his affluent lifestyle and thrown out into the streets, penniless. 
       At the beginning of the film, we see that there are no women and no minorities in powerful positions or even depicted as independently wealthy. Only a couple of scenes portray the wives of rich, white men and Winthorp’s fiancé, Penelope, who lives off her family’s fortune. Even after Billy Ray has proved himself to the Dukes, Mortimor Duke proclaims, “I will not have a Negro running our company!” This statement solidifies the brothers’ ideology that only white males belong in corporate positions. Instead, women and minorities are portrayed in lower class positions. Ophelia for example, is a self-supportive white prostitute. Billy Ray is depicted initially as a conman. He’s black, lower class and is always in and out of jail. The one exception to the notion that only upper and lower classes are depicted in the film is seen in the butler. Employed 
by the Dukes, he probably fits somewhere in the middle class. The British male lives in a respectable home, but has very little freedom because he always seems to be on call by his “masters.” 
       Like Janeen, I also noticed the costuming in the film and how particular clothing portrayed a particular class. Similarly, the camera techniques throughout Trading Places imply how viewers 
should feel and think about the characters. When Billy Ray is a conman, there are many high angle camera shots. We, like the police for example, are looking down upon him as he’s on his 
knees. The camera depicts him as being a hapless, good-for-nothing being. On the other hand, the Duke brothers are shown quite differently with many low angle shots. As a viewer, we look up to them or are on the same level as the prestigious characters. In the opening scene of the film in which the brothers are getting ready to leave for the office, we see very little coverage of their servants. Instead, the camera is consistently focused on the Dukes. At the end of the film, 
however, we see two views of the brothers: the first is a low angle shot from the floor of the stock exchange arena looking up at them standing in the window and in the second, the camera
is looking down upon them as they are on the floor after realizing they have gone bankrupt. The viewer feels satisfied that the brothers get what they deserve. 
       Winthorp receives special treatment until he is thrown out on the street. At that point, he is depicted as a lowly bum behind high camera angles. One example of this is seen when he is drunk on the subway; we even see the other characters’ reactions of disgust. Even when Winthorp visits Penelope at the racquet club, she remains seated at the table with his (former) friends. The camera remains level when they (and us as viewers) are looking at him. They are not looking up to him from the table, but instead feel ashamed and embarrassed by his appearance at the club. 
       The film tries to portray a comical, “feel-good” attitude with the rich villains being put in their place. However, Billy Ray and Winthorp are successful in the end only because they cheated themselves! What message does this tell the viewers? Not a very serious one, but rather an amusing depiction of the classes.