Disability in Diary of a Call Girl Essay

1. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
Discussthe waysin whichthe extractconstructsthe representationinof disabilityin‘Diaryof Call
Girl’usingcamera shots,angles,movementandcomposition,editing,soundandmise-en-scene
In thisextractof ‘Diary of a Call Girl’the way disabilityandhow peopleperceiveitare representedin
several differentways. Anexample of thisishow the use of camera anglesandmise-en-scene is
usedwithinthe extract torepresentthe stereotypesof the characterwitha disability.Throughout
the extractthe use of a highangle isusedtolookdownon Blake whoisconfinedtohiswheel-chair.
Thismakeshimseemchildlike weakercomparedtothe othercharactersinthe scene whoare above
him.The use of thiscamera angle helpstoshow Paul Hunt’s ’10 stereotypes’thatthe mediause to
portray disabledpeople.The use of ahighangle meansthat the camera islookingdownonBlake
and makesthe audience feelpitiabletowardsthe character.The firstthingthe audience notice
abouthim inthe extract is hisdisability,the ideaof the ‘supercripple’suggeststhathisdisability
defineshimbecauseitsstraightawayhow he isrecognised. Thisissupportedwiththe use of props
withinthe scene.Assoonaswe meetthe character of Blake,he isseenin a wheel-chair,the use of
propshere makesitclear to the audience thatthe character isphysicallydisabledandcreatesan
atmosphere withinthe scene.Byhavingawheel-chairinthe scene,the audience feel more
sympathetictowardsthe characterof Blake because we can see immediatelythathe haslimited
independenceandfreedomtothe othercharacterswithinthe scene.Therefore,thishelpsthe
audience tosee thatdisabilitywithinthe extractisrepresentedtomake the audience feel sorryfor
the character because he isconfidedtohiswheel-chairandisnotable to involve himself inevery
day activitieslike otherpeople.Anexample of thisishavingsex,whichagainrepresentshimasa
stereotypical disabledpersonbecause theyare seenasnon-sexualandbeingunable toparticipatein
dailylife.The use of cameramovementhelpsustosee thisas the duringthe extract,the camera
pans downtoclearlyshowus thathis dadhas to helphimmove aroundinhischair, andhe islimited
to whathe can do. The use of propsand camera movementworktogethertorepresentdisabilityas
it showstothe audience thathe findsithardto do thingsforhimself.Thisisbackedupbythe use of
camera angleswhichismade tomake his physical positionandhisdisabilityveryevidenttothe
viewers.The camerapansdownto emphasise the facthe isdisabled,asthe cameraonlyhas to pan
downto fithimin the shot.
Anotherpartof the extractwhichrepresentsBlake asbeingastereotypicaldisabledpersoniswhen
he firstarrivesat Hannah’sflat,at the beginningof the scene alongshot isusedshowingfrom
behindof Hannahso we are onlyable tosee herat first,however,we know she istalkingto
someone.Fromhercostume,we are able tosee whattype of clothingshe iswearingwhichisseen
to be a nightgown.Thisgivesthe audience aclearideaalready,whatisgoingtohappen.Because
the audience have alreadypreconceivedthe ideaaboutwhatisgoingtohappeninthe scene,it
createsa big impacton the audience whenthe disabledcharacterisrevealedatthe door. Whenshe
opensthe door,Blake isframedinthe centre of the shot,focusingall of the audience’sattentionon
him.Thisscene therefore,highlightshisdisabilityinthe scene.Inthe nextpartof the extract,a mid-
shotis usedto showthe audience herfacial expressionsclearly.Thismakesitcleartothe audience
that she iswearinga ‘fake smile’tohide hernerveswhenshe seesthe disabledcharacter.This
showsto the audience howsome people feel arounddisabledpeople andrepresentsthatthe topic
of disabilitycanstill be quite ataboosubject.
Anotherexampleof this,iswhenBlake andhisdadenterherflatin complete silence.This
emphasisesthe awkwardnessandtensionthathasbeencreatedbetweenthe three characters.Itis

2. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
veryevidentthatif the boywasn’tdisabledthenthere wouldn’tbe asmuchtensionbetweenthe
characters andit isunlikelythatthe dadwouldevenbe there accompanyinghim.Assoonasthe call
girl leavesthe room,the dadis tryingto distracthimself fromthe situationthathe isinby walking
overto the windowandpretendingtocheckhisvanthat isparkedoutside.The factthat he is with
hisson there,showshowprotectivehe isoverhisson,andmaybe much more overprotective due
to hisdisability.Itisclearto the audience thatBlake isveryreliantonhisdad to domore things,as
mostteenagerswouldn’tallowtheirparentstoknow thattheywere goingto see a prostitute.The
fact that he has to pay a prostitute inordertohave sex representsthe ideathatbecause of his
disabilityitlimitshissexual life andthe independence and‘normal’life thathe has.However,italso
veryevidentthatBlake doesnotwantto seemdependedonhisdadinfrontof the call girl because,
he asks hisdad to change hisclothessoit doesn’tlooklike theyare wearingthe same T-Shirt.Thisis
furtherbackedupwhenhisdad asksif he needshelpgettingundressedandhe declines,showinghe
doesn’twantto be seenasso dependent,eventhoughhe’snotable toundresshimself.However,
eventhoughhe wantsto be seenas independentwithinthe extract,there are severaloccasions
whenhe isreliantonhisdad to do thingsforhim.Anexample of thisiswhenhe askshisdad to get
an envelopeoutof hisbag forhim,and whenhe needshisdadto lifthimoutof hiswheel-chairand
ontothe bed. Thisagain,helpstorepresenttothe audience the stereotypeof disabledpeople not
beingable tobe independentandrelyingonotherpeople todothingsforthem.
Anotherkeyaspectof the extractis whenthe dadleavesthe flatandBlake and the call girl are left
alone.There are a lot of longpausesandunfinishedsentences,fromthiswe canfeel the
awkwardnessasthe audience and makesitveryclearthat it’snota ‘normal’situationfromeitherof
them.Thisagainrepresentsthe factthat disabledpeopleare stereotypicallyseenasnon-sexual and
live adifferentkindof lifetopeople thataren’tdisabled,whichasanaudience makesusfeel
sympathetictowardsthe characterof Blake.Afterthe dadleavesherflat,he goesandsitsin hiscar
waitingforhisson,he triesto distracthimself ashe knowswhat’sgoingon.Inorder to do this,he
playsthe radio.The radiowithinthisscene,isthe onlydiegeticmusicusedinthe clip.Itsoonafter,
switchestonon-diegeticmusicwhichcreatesadifferentatmosphere fromthe dadinhiscar to the
call girl and Blake inbed.Thismakesthe shot of themin bedseemmore revealingfrom the use of
musicchangingfromdiegeticsoundtonon-diegeticsoundsinbetweenthe differentscenes.Italso
encouragesthe audience tofeel sorryforboththe dadand the disabledcharacteras itshowsnot
onlyhowa disabilitycanaffectthatperson,butalsohow it affectsthe people aroundthem.This
representsonof Paul Hunt’s10 stereotypesof disabledpeople beinga‘burden’onothers.Even
thoughit isn’tsaidinthe extract,we can tell fromthe awkwardnessthatthe dadfeelsandthe music
that isplayedinthe extractwhilsthe islisteningtothe radio,that hisson’sdisabilitydoeslimitwhat
he is able todo in life ashe has to lookafterhim. Also,the factthat the musicis the onlynon-
diegeticsoundinthe whole extract,itrepresentsto audience the keypartandbringsmore attention
to thispart of the extract.The use of non-diegeticslow musicduringthe bedscene,thatshowsa
shotof the two characterscontrasts and contradictsthe connotationsof whattheywere aboutto
do.It also highlightsthe factthatwhatthe two characters are about to doisn’tseenas ‘normal’.
The use of locationwithinthe extractalsorepresentstothe audience abitmore aboutthe character
of the call girl.Anexample of thisisthe lockson herdoor,and the boltthat goesacross, thishelpsto
emphasize the audience the secrecyof herjobandthe controversysurroundingit.Anotherexample
of thisisherwallsthat are paintedred.Usually,we associate the colourredwithlove andromance.

3. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
Thiscould effectthe waythe audience judge heraboutherjobas the colourof herwallssymbolise
the ideaof love andromance.
In conclusion,Ithinkthatthe disabilityof the boyisrepresentedinanumberof differentwaysto
showthe impact thatit has on the differentcharacterstogive the audience abetterunderstanding
abouthow disabledcharactersare portrayed. The use of camera angles,beinghighwhenlookingat
the disabledcharacterandbeingseenasa low angle whentalkingtoeitherthe dador the call girl
representsthe disabledcharacterasinferior.The use of longshotsandmise-en-scene alsohelpsto
representtothe audience the view of the flatandwhatthe characters are planningondoing.This
allowsthe audience tomake theirownjudgementonwhattheythinkisgoingtohappen.Ithinkthat
inthisextract of ‘Diaryof a Call Girl’the disabledcharacterof Blake has beenportrayedto be seen
as pitiable andbeingunabletoparticipate innormal life andrepresentsthe ideaof astereotypical
disabledperson.Fromthisrepresentation,the audience have gainedsympathytowardsthe
character of Blake,and the fact that he isn’table tolive anindependent life.