Eastenders regional accent analysis

Eastenders is a soap opera based around a community in East London. The stereotypes shown within the extract we watched are plentiful. We first see Cora and Max having an awkward first meet after Max cheated on Coras with Tanya. Cora is an older lady who we can assume has lived in London all of her life, she has a strong Cockney accent and can be seen to have a stern look on her face. This brings in the stereotype that people from London are quite tough. A mid shot is used during this conversation so you can see each characters body language, Cora has her arms folded across her chest to show anger towards Max.

The next scene is of Tanya throwing her ex husbands mail in the bin, the children are sat around the table eating breakfast and are seen to be slightly distressed about their mums actions. The stereotype of this is that most marriages end in divorce and become unfaithful, there is also the assumption that the children automatically stay with the mother rather than the dad.

A wide angle shot is then used to show Zainub, a muslim lady going into the cafe to talk to Carol. The dialogue used by each of these characters is very different; Carol has a standard english accent whereas Zainub has a pakistani accent. The character of Zainub may represent the cultural diversity that is well known in London. Carol assumes that Zainub is a council tenant, this could portray how many people in London would live on a council estate. Zainub was very put out by this comment as she see's herself as an upperclass business women within the community.

London is renowned for its fast paced, busy lifestyle, this is reflected in many scenes. In the first scene Tanya is rushing around in the kitchen whilst her children are sat at the table eating breakfast. In the scene with Jack and Sharon, Sharon tells her son that she can't come to his assembly because she needs to go to work. This shows how people in London are more career orientated, perhaps because they have better opportunities at their doorstep.

The houses seen within the short clip we watched were quite old buildings with modern exterior. We can interpret from this that the house have been there for a long time and that they have been passed down through generations.