Coronation Street Essay

 In the 2010 sequence there is a series of long shots, and establishing shots. They are commonly used in the media industry to set the scene, showing places in Manchester (such as the waterfront and the shopping area) and the street. The shots used earlier on are of a better Manchester, an affluent Manchester.. However, when shots of Coronation Street start appearing, the affluence disappears and you can tell that it’s not a posh neighbourhood and synonymous with the show there are problems in the neighbourhood. The chimneys on the final shot, are shown in the sunset, however they are also very old chimneys, this shows that Coronation Street is plagued with council type houses steming from the 70's and 80's, it is more than likely that people have been living here for just as long.  The Rover's Return appears in a close up shot, showing that there is a local pub, and it must feature in the show quite predominantly.

The 1960’s sequence opens with a wide shot, it shows women outside of the pub, which in this period is an anomoly. This was a period of social inadequecy for females, and this shot of a group of women smoking outside the pub shows a social change from then to now. This sets the scene of a local area. The shot of the corner shop, also shows that its it quite a local area, the shot also incorporates housing, this view of the closeness of housing to shops is synonymous with the council estates of the 20th century. The rooftops wide shot, shows that the houses are quite packed in and small housing estates. The next shot, shows the cat. The cat became the symbol of Coronation Street and has appeared in all opening sequences, becoming firstly animated in the late 70's. It shows that Coronation Street is a family environment even with this economic downturn.