This video analyzes the representation of disability in a scene from a film. It shows a disabled boy meeting a woman for the first time at her flat. There is awkwardness and tension depicted through silent shots, hesitant facial expressions, and stilted conversation. Stereotypes of disabled people being dependent and needing help are portrayed as the boy struggles without his father's assistance. The analysis highlights how the film uses camera angles, music, and a lack of dialogue to generate sympathy for the boy and show the discomfort people feel around disability.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auSAGvpM7W8
By Zara, James and Holly
Representation of Disability

2. The scene starts with a shot of a
woman with her back to the camera
opening a door. This already
creates a sense of mystery in the
scene.
The camera pans down to show a
medium shot of a disabled boy.
The camera angle is at his eye
level (Rule of thirds) to show that
he is the main focus in the scene.
This is because as an audience we
see him as ‘different’
The audience hears the woman
say ‘Hi, you must be Blake’ even
before her face is reviled. This
brings attention to what she is
saying and as an audience we can
hear emotion and nervousness in
her voice

3. Her facial expression shows an
audience that she is wearing a
‘fake smile’ to hide her nerves and
uncomfortableness.
When the disabled boy and his dad
enter the flat there is complete
silence. This emphasizes the
tension and awkwardness between
them all. It is obvious that there
would not be as much
awkwardness if the boy was not
disabled.
The establishing shot of the flat
reveals that the walls are red. This
gives the connotation of love and
romance.

4. The boy hints at his dad to help him
onto the bed. This helps to create the
typical stereotype that disabled people
are not independent.
The shot cuts to the woman about to
walk into the room but she then stops
and becomes hesitant. This is showing
that people feel uncomfortable around
disabled people and are not sure how
to act.

5. The dad kisses his son on the
forehead. This shows that he is over
protective of his son and sees him as
vulnerable because he is disabled.
The boy does not want to be seen
as dependent by the woman. When
the dad asks weather he needs help
undressing the boy refuses help.

6. The woman then offers the boy a
drink.
From this point the conversation
between the boy and the call
woman has a lot of pauses and
unfinished sentences for
example ‘just in case you…’ This
awkwardness affects the
audience and makes it clear that
this is not a normal situation for
either of them.
Once the dad has left the flat the
camera cuts to the woman
locking the door then realising
that she shouldn’t. This is most
likely because the boy is
disabled and she feels that
something injury related could
happen
A lot of sympathy is then
generated because there is a
close up of the woman helping the
boy to drink. This shows the boy’s
incapability to do a task that to an
able person may seem normal

7. The camera then cuts to the boy’s
dad sat in his van just outside of
the flat. He uses the radio to
distract himself from what is going
on.
The sound of the radio is the only
diegetic music used in the clip. It
then switches to non-diegetic
music which creates a sound
bridge from the shot of the dad in
the car to the boy and the woman
on the bed.
This shot shows the woman and
the boy laying on the bed. The
woman takes up the left and
centre third of the shot, therefore
dominating. This could show the
superiority she has over the boy.

8. When the woman Is helping the
boy take his top off there is a lack
of dialog in the scene. This could
emphasise the woman’s care
when helping the boy as she
doesn’t want to cause him any
pain.
The boy also doesn’t say anything
when this is happening. This could
highlight that he feels
embarrassed because he is
always dependant on the woman
to help him.