A2 Media Studies coursework. Films: Slap, I Don't Care, Operator and The Arrival

1. Kieran Morris
ShortFilms Research:
Slap:
Genre: Drama
www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/06/11/slap/
The film begins by using an over-the-shoulder shotto show the
protagonistcharacter putting on make-up in the mirror,revealing
the character as transgender.The use of mise-en-scene and
make-up suggests this,representing the character as unique
and ‘different’ from social norms ofonly women wearing make-
up. Only non-diegetic sound is used during this shotto suggest
that the character is ‘in their own world’ when dressing as a
women,portraying them as vulnerable and isolated.This is
accentuated by the use of low-key lighting which again suggests
isolation,thus making the audience feel as ifthey are intruding
on the characters personal space. Itis later revealed through the
use of dialogue thatthe character is hiding his true-self,and
therefore represents him as weak and insecure.
The film then cuts to a shotof the protagonisttraining ata local
gym, therefore creating juxtaposition with the previous shot
whereby he was wearing make-up.The mise-en-scene
continues to portray his insecurities as itsuggests thatthe
character feels he has to play the role of a ‘normal’ man with
interests in violentsports,in order to hide his true-self.Jolted
camera movements and shot-reverse-shotofthe two boxers
suggestthatthere is rivalry between who can be the ‘bigger’
man in the training session,despite the protagonistcharacter
being transgender.This continues to suggestthe man lives a
secretive lifestyle and suggests to the audience thatthe
narrative in the film will be about the protagonist’s secretbeing
somehow discovered;therefore influencing the audience to
continue to watch the film.This scene links to the Claude Levi-
Strauss theory which suggests thatfilms usuallycontain binary
opposites.This is evidentin ‘Slap’ as the binary opposites of
strength and weakness are represented through the
juxtaposition ofcharacter and gender stereotypes.This has
been done to create an intriguing storyof a transgender
character who is struggling to be his true-selfbut also feel strong
when conforming to gender norms.
Another cut is then used to suggestthatthe protagonist
character is outside the gym with his girlfriend,who is portrayed
as naïve and unaware of knowing that her boyfriend is
transgender.The use of flirtatious dialogue and close proxemics
between the two characters suggests thatthey have a close
romantic relationship and makes the audience question whether
the relationship will lastthroughoutthe full film, therefore
intriguing the audience and persuading them to continue
watching.The use of low-key lighting and the setting being a
dark alleyway suggests to the audience that these characters
are from a working-class background,thus making the audience
empathise with the characters more due to the target audience’s
similarities in social class to the characters in the film.

2. Kieran Morris
The film then cuts to a montage sequence ofthe protagonist
trying on different female outfits from a mid-shotposition,
contrasting from the continuity in previous scenes.This
represents the lack of confidence he has in himselfand suggests
that he has a desire to be a woman.Despite this,juxtapos ition is
again created by the protagonistcharacter that uses boxing
movements in frontof the mirror;continuing to suggestinsecurity
and possible confusion in his gender-role in society.The
character also looks directlyat the audience through the camera
lens as if it was a mirror;suggesting to the audience thatthe
protagonistis turning to them for supportdue to only the
audience knowing thathe is transgender.This could also be
interpreted by the audience as a way for them to judge him and
his dress sense;making the audience feel unsettled and
judgemental and therefore creates empathyfor the character.
Later in the film, the protagonistcharacter runs outof his house
to help his homosexual friend who is being beaten by a person
wearing a ‘hoodie’ which is a stereotype of gangsters. The
diegetic sound ofscreams and the mise-en-scene ofviolence
suggestthatdespite Britain being a diverse,equal country, there
is still hatred and discrimination towards the LGBTcommunity,
thus representing working-class culture in Britain negatively. The
shot-reverse-shotbetween the attacker and the protagonist
highlights this,suggesting this will be the end of the protagonists
secret;making the audience feel more empathytowards him.
The film then cuts back to the protagonistin the gym, again
showing the juxtaposition in his lifestyle.The use of dialogue
between the protagonistand his girlfriend suggests he is
paranoid abouthis identity being revealed,as the girlfriend says
‘I heard about whathappened this morning’.There is then a long
pause which suggests thatthe protagonistbelieves his girlfriend
is referring to his sexual orientation rather than saving her friend
in the attack earlier in the film. By creating paranoia,the
audience continues to feel empathytowards the character but
also feel tense aboutthe narrative of the film and therefore may
wonder when the secretwill be revealed.
The protagonistcharacter is later revealed to have ‘come out’
due to a wide shotof a long street and the character being
dressed as the woman in public.The mise-en-scene ofthe
female clothes and the use of an upright,firm walk suggestthe
character has developed the confidence to be his true self.A
metal rock song is also used during the scene which makes the
audience feel uncomfortable and anxious ofwhathis family is
going to think of him.By using harsh non-diegetic sound;itis
suggested thatthe character feels empowered and more
confidentto be himself.This conforms to the theory of Judith
Butler (1990) which suggests thatgender isn’talways fixed and
people,including the protagonistcharacter,don’talways feel the
need to take on the roles of their biological sex.

3. Kieran Morris
After entering the club, a wide-shotis then used to show the
girlfriends reaction to her boyfriend wearing female clothes.The
wide-shotsuggests the camera is ofthe eyes of the protagonist,
thus making the audience feel uncomfortable and scared for
what the girlfriend’s reaction maybe, therefore continuing to
create empathytowards him.Non-diegetic sound isn’tused and
suggests thatthe atmosphere feels awkward for the protagonist
due to this being his firstpublic outing dressed in female
clothing.The girlfriend then laughs ather boyfriend, which
suggests thatshe believes thathe is justdressing like women for
the party and not because it’s partof his identity, therefore
making the audience feel awkwardlyuncomfortable during the
scene.
A mid-shotis used to show the falloutbetween the protagonist
and his girlfriend,after she discovers thathe is transgender.The
use of diegetic sound which includes shouting and screaming
suggests thatthe girlfriend is angry for being lied to, making the
audience feel empathyfor both the protagonistfor his treatment
as a transgender and also the girlfriend for being lied to. This
represents people as partof the LGBT Communitynegatively as
liars butalso weak individuals who cannotexpose their identity
to people.Despite this,the film portrays a taboo issue in modern
day societywhere people are trying to become more open about
their sexuality. The girlfriend is also portrayed negatively, as her
character suggests thatBritain still isn’tan equal place despite
being seen as equal.The red lighting on the couple connotes
both love and evil, implying that the relationship is mostlikelyto
end as the protagonistis transgender.
Medium Close-Up shots are used atthe end of the film to show
the protagonists return to the boxing gym and his release of
anger on another man.The use of wide eyes and tense facial
expressions as well as the use of a male vestand boxing gloves
suggestthatthe character doesn’tfeel comfortable to be his
true-selfand instead believes thathe has to conform to male
norms in society,despite Britain becoming a more equal,diverse
country. The use of only non-diegetic sound ofa low tone
accentuates the sadness ofthe protagonistnotfacing his true-
selfand instead has to keep his identity secretto feel safer in
society. This represents the transgender communityas
vulnerable and possiblyunaccepted in western-world culture
despite continuous efforts for acceptance for all.This ends the
film on an upsetting note for the audience,making them feel
sorry for the protagonistfor not feeling comfortable as his true-
self.

4. Kieran Morris
I Don’t Care:
Genre: Drama
www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/03/21/i-dont-care/
The film opens with a wide shotof a pregnantwomen saton her
bed crying. The use of non-diegetic softsounds suggestthat
something upsetting to the baby could have possiblyhappened,
influencing the audience to find out what has happened to the
baby. The use of a wide shotsuggests thatthe mother feels
excluded from the outside world,and suggests thatthe audience
have been invited in to supportthe mother.This instantlycreates
a feeling of sympathy towards the mother who is represented as
fragile and delicate. The presence of no father also creates
empathyas the audience may begin to question whether the
woman is in a broken relationship. It is already evident in this
first scene thatTodorov’s Narrative Structure theory isn’tquite
followed through as ‘disruption’ alreadyoccurs atthe very start
and there is no evidence of ‘equilibrium’.This mayhave been
done to instantly intrigue the audience into thinking whatmay be
wrong with Ollie.
The film then cuts to a mid-shotin a shop wherebya child and
mother are looking for a gardener.The dialogue between the
two characters suggests thatthey have a strong relationship
despite the child having Down syndrome;representing the
disorder as not necessarilysomething negative,contrasting from
the stereotypes of disabilitybeing negative. The mise-en-scene
of a winter’s hatin what presumablyis a summer’s daycreates a
humorous tone to the scene,portraying disabilityas not always
negative but rather something unique aboutpeople.Despite this,
it could be argued that the use of a nervous tone of voice by the
pregnantwoman (Ollie) suggests she feels uncomfortable
around Jacques;therefore portraying other people negatively for
pre-judging people with disabilities.
Later in the shortfilm, a low-angle panoramic shotofblack and
white photographs is used to show the life of Jacques and her
siblings.This suggests that Ollie is fascinated by Jacques’s life
and hints that Ollie’s unborn-babycould potentiallyhave Down
syndrome. This represents Ollie as vulnerable and uncertain to
what her future holds;whilstrepresenting Jacques as having a
wonderful life despite the negative connotations ofdisability.The
use of non-diegetic sound ofa slow pace suggests that Ollie is
deep in her thoughts aboutwhat will happen to her future and
creates a feeling of empathytowards her.
Ollie and Jacques then meetfor the first time and Jacques is
seen to be wearing the winter’s hatpreviouslyreferenced in this
mid-shot.The use of this mise-en-scene creates humour within
the scene,although does also suggestthat Jacques has gother
own way. Whilstit could be argued that humour represents
disabilitypositively,the hat could also suggestthat Jacques is
possible spoiled byher mum due to her disability,thus
representing disabilitynegatively. However, the disabilityis likely
to create a feeling of sympathy for the audience who will begin to
build a connection with Jacques and her character.

5. Kieran Morris
This wide-shotofJacques in a conversation with Ollie begins to
show a developmentin their personal friendship through the use
of dialogue which creates humour.Humour is evidentthrough
the diegetic sound when Jacques makes references to a well-
known pop star: ‘Justin Bieber thinks I’m pretty.’ This quote
suggests thatdespite having Down syndrome, Jacques still has
dreams like anyother teenage girl and therefore represents her
and disabilityas ‘normal’ and notsomething thatnecessarily
influences her thoughts and opinions on the wider world.This
portrays disabilitypositively, contrasting from opinions created
by the media which suggestthatdisabilityis a major factor in
many people’s lives.A shot-reverse-shotis then used to show
Ollie’s reaction to Jacques comment,thus creating humour in the
scene.
A close-up shotof Ollie and her partner suggests thattheir
romantic relationship has been affected by the news that their
unborn baby could potentially have Down syndrome.This is
highlighted through the use of characters movementwhich
suggestthatwhilst Ollie is trying to fix the situation by getting
close to her partner, he decides to rapidly move away from her
to cope with the situation in his own way. This shows thathe in
unsupportive of his partner and could potentiallyrepresentmen
negatively. The use of a medium close-up shotmakes the
audience feel uncomfortable watching the scene as ifthey are
possiblyintruding on a personal matter.The use of only natural
lighting in the scene could possiblysuggestthatthe couple feel
trapped in their home,maybe being a metaphor to suggestthey
feel trapped in horrible thoughts of disability;something which
Ollie is trying to fix by developing a relationship with Jacques.
Non-diegetic sound is also used to enhance the effect on the
scene on the audience;implying thatthis is a sad situation for
the couple to deal with and therefore puts a strain on their
relationship.
The relationship between Ollie and Jacques evidentlydevelops
in a scene later in the film whereby Jacques believes she is
dying but in fact has her firstmenstrual cycle period.The use on
diegetic sound of Jacques screaming and then saying ‘I’m dying’
suggests she is vulnerable to common knowledge thatmany
teenage girls would have of puberty and personal development.
The use of a medium close-up and the two girls hugging
suggests that Ollie and Jacques have developed a strong
relationship;portraying Ollie as possiblya new motherly figure in
Jacques’s life.This represents women positivelyas kind and
caring people.However, it could be suggested thatthis conforms
to traditional views of women being motherlyand men out at
work.
After comforting Jacques,Ollie starts looking atphysical parts of
Jacques which are symptoms of Down syndrome; before a
fading effect is used to switch back and forth between pages in a
book of symptoms and close-up shots of same bodyparton
Jacques.The use of this montage sequence suggests that Ollie
understands the physical effects of the disabilityand is having
flashbacks to when she was looking atthe same book atthe
beginning ofthe film.The flashbacks create a sense ofrealism in
the film,suggesting that Ollie is thinking aboutwhather unborn
baby may look like if they have Down syndrome.This scene also
highlights the strength in the relationship between the two
characters and makes the audience feel empathytowards
Jacques for being disabled;portraying her as vulnerable and
almostunaware ofher own physical differences to other people.

6. Kieran Morris
The use of shot-reverse-shotbetween Ollie and Jacques shows
the further developmentin their friendship despite Ollie’s worries
of possiblyhaving a disabled son. Jacques gives Ollie some
stones she designed,which suggests that Jacques has taken a
liking to Ollie. The use of dialogue between Ollie and Mandy
suggests that Mandy doesn’tcare aboutJacques disabilitybut
will always love her for who she is;thus representing disability
positively as something which doesn’taffecttheir everyday lives.
This suggests thatOllie has been enlightened byher time spent
with Jacques and will therefore not fear for her baby’s future.
This creates a feeling of happiness and joyfor the audience who
would have mostlikelyenjoyed watching the relationship
between Ollie and Jacques develop overtime.
The use of an aerial shotof children playing in the garden and
adults relaxing together is used to establish a happyending to
the film.The mise-en-scene ofthe tennis game and trampoline
suggestthatadults shouldn’tspend time worrying about
disabilityand kids will have fun no matter what happens to them.
This ends the shortfilm on a positive note to imply that disability
isn’ta major factor in disabled people’s lives,butrather
acceptance is an importantfactor. This is enhanced by the use
of uplifting,non-diegetic sound and a voiceover of Ollie who
says:‘I do care that you do your bestand enjoy life’. This
statementhas been used to end the film as it is uplifting yet
emotional,and mayhave been used with the intention of making
the audience cry. The film then fades outslowlyinto the closing
credits,used to suggestthe audience is leaving the friends on a
positive note. Overall, whilstthe film doesn’tfollow Todorov’s
narrative structure theory; ‘equilibrium’ is partiallyevident at the
end of the film. In this instance,Ollie and the family seem to be
happy with their lives despite Ollie at risk of having a child with
Down syndrome and Jacques alreadybeing diagnosed.This has
been done to show ‘enlightenment’ and provide the audience
with a positive portrayal of disability,contrasting from other
media sources which mayportray disabilitynegatively.

7. Kieran Morris
Operator:
Genre: Drama
www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/04/01/operator/
The film starts by using close-up panoramic shots ofmultiple
operators atan emergencyservices call centre, portraying the
strain the emergencyservices are currently put under.Diegetic
sound in the form of dialogue is used between operators and the
general public,demonstrating how busycall centres can become
and represents the workers as hard-working and caring.The
public’s tone ofvoice including Gemma’s,suggests thatthey feel
weak and vulnerable and are in desperate need of help from the
emergencyservices.
The narrative of the film is only indicated to the audience through
sound and dialogue;thus the audience will onlybe able to
understand the events in a similar wayto the operator. This has
been done to entice the audience to use their imagination and
think aboutwhat they would do if they were in the operator’s
position;creating a feeling of empathy for the audience.
Cold and dark blue lighting is used throughoutthe piece,
suggesting thatthe situations manypeople are involved in may
be sad or heart-breaking.The dark colours mayalso connote
death, something which the emergencyservices mayhave to
deal with on a regular basis. The lack of eye contact and the
mise-en-scene ofcomputer screens also suggestthatthe
operator is trying to conducttheir job rather than be too empathic
towards the general public. This is likely to make the audience
feel uncomfortable,as ifthey are intruding in on the
conversation.
Towards the end of the film,it is clear that Gemma and her son
have been saved from the fire. At this point the sound abruptly
cuts, indicating thatthe call has ended.This editing technique
has been used to remind the audience thatGemma doesn’t
have a personal connection with the call operator and that the
operator is justconducting her job. Despite this,the facial
expressions ofthe call operator suggestthat she did feel
attached to Gemma and has suddenlylostthe relationship with
her. A second call then comes in and a medium-shotis used
rather than close-ups which have been used throughoutthe rest
of the film. This suggests thatthe audience now don’thave any
connection to the new caller that needs help,in comparison to
Gemma who would have established a relationship with the
audience who would feel empathytowards her and her son.

8. Kieran Morris
The Arrival:
Genre: Drama
www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/06/10/the-arrival/
The film begins by showing a woman named Anna sitting in a
café viewed from a wide-shotfrom whatseems to be outside a
window.This is suggested through the use of a mistyscreen
which looks as if there is condensation.This gives the audience
the feeling of exclusion as they may feel like ‘outsiders’ ofthe
narrative at the beginning ofthe film and don’tfeel they have any
personal connection to Anna. Muffled ambientsound is used
throughout the film to create a realistic scene and helps the
audience identifythat the character is in a public space.
The waiter in the café is then seen to open the window,which
creates a welcoming effectfor the audience;thus allowing them
audience into the café and metaphoricallyinto the woman’s life
and narrative. Throughoutthe film,the camera graduallymoves
forward and the aspectratio of the footage decreases,giving the
audience a sense ofcloseness to the character and allows the
audience to almostbecome immersed into the woman’s lifestyle.
This is enhanced by the use of diegetic sound in the form of a
monologue,in which Anna discusses her thoughts on having a
baby. This dialogue suggests Anna is anxious ofwhat the baby’s
father may think of a possible abortion, representing her as
possiblyparanoid or concerned and therefore makes the
audience sympathise with Anna.
Low-key lighting is used throughoutthe piece in order to portray
the woman as someone thathas isolated herselffrom the
general public. This creates a cold feeling to the film,suggesting
to the audience that the narrative may be dark or upsetting.
Later in the film, a lighting effect is used to create a feeling of
darkness and further isolation byflashing yellow lights through
the windows like a bus is driving past; as well as a fading effect
so it seems the woman is alone in her thoughts with nobody
else.This connotes a sense ofprivacy, suggesting thatthe
woman doesn’twantmanypeople to know abouther personal
life; yet she has invited the audience in to listen and be
respectful of her thoughts.