Ethnic Representation in Life on Mars.

In the extract, the different ethnicities are presented largely through sound and dialogue. The way in which the Irish is played very much in contrast to the English character of Gene Hunt. The obvious thing that signifies that the man is Irish is his accent and his Irish name. His dialogue conveys his discontent with the treatment of the Irish in England. The extract refers quite a lot to the problem of the IRA in the 70s and 80s, when Patrick says 'All our kind is good for is shovelling shit and making bombs and I'm tired of shovelling shit', I think that this is an effective way of showing that the Irish are persecuted and aren't going to take it any more. We get the impression that the English are inhospitable to foreigners who have come here to become successful, signified by the shout of 'where you going with that?' by Gene Hunt at a young Asian man moving in to his new house, this appears to be a reference to the replacement of the Irish as those who are persecuted and driven to fighting back in the 80s to the topical issues of young Muslim men nowadays.

In the next section we are provided with more insight into the White British ethnicity, as shown in the method that they drive the car onto the pavement, knocking over the bin, they are brash and loud, knocking over the bin. In the second scene they are loud and in the pub. The pub also has a Black Caribbean barman who represents the 4th ethnicity in this extract, he seems to represent the next part of the chain in the lives of immigrants in the UK, he appears to be content with a probably badly paid job, and despite the fact he is working for the White British people in his pub, he is not treated in the same way as the Irish or Asian people in the other section of the extract, it, in a way, shows the progress through stages for immigrants in the UK.

As well as this, the main character acted by John Simm, presents us with a view from Modern day that teaches us that these views are outdated and incorrect. What the extract in the end does is show us that the views held by Gene Hunt are quite ignorant and in a way it tells us that these views are responsible for terrorism and discontent of Immigrant Communities