This clip highlights the difference and the
split between the disabled and the people with ability; in this clip they
convey this through the two characters David, who is the normal teenager, and
Ben, the disabled one. They are brothers who are roughly the same age as each
other and through out the clip there is a clear difference between Ben and
David.
Firstly the use of the camera helped
display the differences between the two brothers from the very start of the
clip through the use of a bird’s eye view. The view captured the difference
between Ben and David as the disabled brother, Ben has a very colorful, child
like room which automatically suggests to the reader that he is not the average
teenager. Then on the other side David has a rather plain, dull room with black
and grey, which could highlight his emotions as in the dialogue he is speaking
about a depressing subject. The next close up shot of Ben indicates to the
viewer that Ben is disabled as the audience can see his facial features which
makes it clear that Ben has down syndrome, this makes the viewer feel a sense
of sympathy towards Ben already before they even know his personality. In the
following scene in the kitchen the mum says ‘bye’ to Ben and gives him a kiss
on his head, the camera then does a reverse shot to David who is looking at his
mum who is showing Ben affection; this indicated to the audience that the child
with no disability is ‘under-loved’ and care is not shown towards him unlike
the child with a disability. In the following scene there is an extreme long
shot of Ben and David at the bus stop, again this implies a tremendous
difference in the way the two brothers act. Whist David is sitting at the bus
stop patiently and silently, Ben is playing around with toys and is being very fidgety;
this displays to the viewer that Ben’s mental age is un developed, this again
shows the difference between the people with disability and the ‘normal’
person. The over the shoulder shot of David drawing a horse indicates that he
is not concentrating in class, however when the reverse shot of the teacher questioning
him on what they are discussing in class he can answer the question, this
indicated to the audience that David is an intelligent boy; this also
highlights his ability and tries to get the viewer to compare him to Ben and
how he wouldn’t have been able to have done just what David did. Finally the
medium shot of Ben on the bus indicates to the audience that he is worried as
he keeps looking round and acting very cautious.
The sound in this extract helps portray the
emotions and differences between the two characters. Firstly the dialogue in
the opening scene explains to the viewer that David is not enjoying his life
and how he has to look after his brother, he even let the viewer know that he
tried to kill him once; this creates a sense of connection between David and
the audience as he lets them know his ‘secrets’. When the house appears and the
non-diegetic music enters the scene however it only highlights one of the
characters emotions, this is Bens as he is happy whilst eating breakfast. On
the other hand the music contrasts with David’s mood, as he is miserable and
unenthusiastic about his life. This is unusual as the audience start to feel a
sympathy for not only Ben, however for David as well as his character is
conveyed as brother who is always looking after his disabled brother; this is
shown by David having to look after his brother whilst he goes toilet.
Generally programs cause the audience to feel sympathy for the people with disabilities.
Later on in the clip when David starts narrating again he keeps refereeing to
Ben as ‘they’, this represents not only David’s opinion but also the whole of
society’s opinion on disabled people as something else; they almost apply to
them as not human. Finally, when Ben is on the bus the non-diegetic music is
slow and depressing, this reflects Ben’s mood and emotions, which implies that
even though it looks like he doesn’t get along with his brother he misses him.
It portrays to the reader that even disabled people have emotions and care for
people.
The use of mise en scene helped foreshadow
something bad is going to happen which again naturally causes the audience to
feel sorry for Ben. When David is talking to his friend and is about to leave
Ben on his own an explosion happens in the reflection of a window, this
foreshadows something bad is going to happen to Ben as he is making his own way
home. It makes it clear to the viewer that people with disabilities cannot do
what the average person/teenager can do. They help emphasis the fact that the
disabled can’t live a normal life through David, as David is going out with his
friends on the weekend. The sky is also grey and dull in the scene when Ben
finds out he is going home alone, all of these foreshadow something bad is
going to happen to Ben.
Finally the use of editing helps portray
the difference between the disabled and the ‘normal’ people. In the first scene
it displays animal and creatures that highlights that David looks at Ben as non-human
and more like an animal; supposedly so does society n a whole, this again
causes the audience to feel sympathetic for Ben. The sharp cuttings of David
talking to his friend also indicates that David can have an actual conversation
with someone, in comparison to Ben who can’t have a conversation with many people,
which leads to him having no friends; this again makes the audience emotional
and feel sorry for Ben. When Ben is on the bus and there are people arguing and
fighting, this highlights Ben’s disability, as he is worried that he could get someone
picking on him or starting an argument. Finally the slow motion shot of Ben on
the bus at the end displays to the audience that he is thinking about things
and even though he has a disability he should be treated normally.
