Representation of Class and Status in Tv Dramas- Shameless

Shameless is a British TV drama written by the award winner Paul Abbotts. It features the Gallagher’s family who live on the Chatsworth Estate and are stereotyped as a dysfunctional family as their lives  are packed with sex, drugs, violence and love affairs which all refer to the title ‘Shameless’, Also taboo language, arson, nudity, sexual references, sexual scenes, violence, drunkenness, and poverty in both genders of the working class people is represented throughout the TV drama.  This refers back to the title as all the characters have a shameless approach to all these things and they also have no humiliation or disgrace when taking part in what is considered by the public as shameful.

 Costume
The clothing of the characters are often revealing and cheap which represents them as working class as they make no effort to look smart which also refers to the title as some people consider them to have a shameful dress sense. The promiscuous clothing of the female characters represents them as a lower status as they are sexualised, objectified and treated as inferior by the way they dress.  Men are represented as antisocial but the picture above represents men as higher status because of his posture and his shamelessness. The working class women in Shameless are shown as sexual objects with a lack of self respect

Mise-en-Scene
The Mise en scene of Shameless is dirty and cheap. Scruffy props such as trolleys are used which create a working class environment  and represent the family as low status. The shabbily painted fences in the mise-en-scene also show the working class as well as the urban location and the lack of greenery. The older man has higher status in the wide shot below as it looks as if the shot has been crafted around him and he is the main focus even though there are lots of events going on around him. 

There is little true representation in Shameless as people who act in this manor are a small minority compared to the bigger majority shown in Shameless. The producers have stereotypes the working class and have given them a bad label in society as well as in the media. Shameless often over exaggerates this as to have a humourable affect as it laughs at the idea of their behaviour as well as having some serious issues.