Representation Of Physical Ability and Disability

We have watched the extract below and, as a class, have discussed the ways in which it constructs representations of physical ability and disability.

I would now like you to produce a response to the question below.

This would have to be completed in approximately 45 minutes in the exam but you may take more time than this.

You may watch the extract as many times as you wish.

Completed essays must be emailed to me by 4pm on Wednesday 27th January.

Please complete the essay in Microsoft Word with a font size of 12.

My email address is philiphenton@kba.uk

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of physical ability / disability using the following:

• Use of the camera (framing, angle, movement, composition)
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

Exemplar Response 1

The opening scene of 'Coming Down the Mountain' constructs the representation of physical ability/disability using the four technical codes - Use of the camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

An arial shot of David and Ben's room enables the audience to establish first impressions regarding the stereotypes of disability/ability. A binary opposition conveys the large contrast between the brothers: on the left, Ben's space is cluttered with multiple props of bright colour in order to represent the stereotypical view of a disabled person, in this case a teenager suffering from down syndrome, being child-like. David, being Ben's direct antithesis, has a black and white interior; it symbolises David's emotions concerning his hatred to Ben. Monochrome colours signify feelings such as depression, which could indicate how a disabled person negatively impacts those of an abled body - another stereotypical view. 

The differentiation between characters is also presented through the use of non-diegetic sound. A voice over enables the audience to hear the inner thoughts of David, supporting the fact that he hates his brother ('Last summer, I decided to kill my brother'). There is a huge juxtaposition between audio because the sound track, instead of being quite dark like the voice over, is childish. This is to represent Ben in a stereotypical view regarding his disability. Whist the voice over is occurring, the camera arcs around a close-up of David with his face being in the centre of the frame; it forces the audience to focus on his facial expression, an element of mise-en-scene. David's expression is clearly angry. When this shot is combined with the next close-up of Ben sleeping, it is obvious (due to the eye-line match within editing) that David is angry at Ben. Furthermore, the shot of Ben sleeping is from a slightly high angle to make him seem weaker and unable to do things for himself, which reinforces the stereotypical view of people with down syndrome being completely dependent on others and not being physically/mentally strong. A negative view based on disability is reflected by the montage editing sequence: by showing footage of a linear narrative related to evolution it becomes evident that David see's Ben as not being what a human should be and is just a 'big potatoe with eye tentacles'. This emphasies the stereotype of able bodied people believing that the disabled are abnormal and are deemed as less of a human.

The second scene starts with a score with the lyrics 'I wish that I was older' in order to present how David is eager to grow up and leave due to his disabled brother ruining his life. Alternatively, it could highlight Ben's stereotypical child-like nature because although he is literally able to grow older, his mental capacity will always be that of a child because of his disability. An extreme close-up reveals Ben's facial expressions (mise-en-scene) to show the audience a stereotypical viewing of someone with down syndrome, resulting in Ben looking stupid and confused as he stares blankly at the piece of food on his fork. 

The representation of disabled people being stupid is also suggested by diegetic sound - when David states 'you may as well talk to the dog'; it states that Ben is lower than an animal which makes he seem worthless. Concerning the composition of the scene, Ben is central of the framing with everyone else walking around him. By keeping him stationary, it accentuates the binary opposition between the disabled and abled because he is unable to, with ease, walk around and do things for himself. Additionally, it shows how Ben is the centre of attention, resulting in the audience feeling empathetic for David because he is left out. Another example of this is the mothers interactions with Ben. Before the mum leaves the house, she kisses Ben on the head and cuddles him whereas David, being the able bodied son, doesn’t get any sign of affection. We see this from a point of view shot of David, which reveals how he is angry and jealous of his brother. This highlights that due to Ben's disability, he is treated differently and gets special attention (stereotype). As well as this she speaks to him in a high-pitched, slow paced voice - the kind of tone you would use with a young child, therefore putting forwards the stereotype of disabled people being child-like. 

The framing of the two brothers walking to school emphasises David's embarrassment of Ben so much to the point that he doesn’t want to walk next to him. It is like he Is trying to get away from Ben. This represents disabled people being embarrassing. As well as this, the crabbing, long shot allows the audience to, again, see the contrast of ability/disability - the actors walk in a way that presents their physical potential. David takes confident strides whereas Ben plods along. This supports the stereotype of disabled people being weaker and less developed than the ideology of a "normal" person (a term David uses during the voice over to convey how Ben is not normal). 

We then see a series of flashback expressing how Ben, stereotypically, acts as a young child: he is seen playing with toys and never sitting still. Whilst they are seen at the beach and David is getting a kite down from a tree for his brother, this message is again reinforced by the use of camera angles. The audience views Ben from a high angle which makes him appear small, feeble and inadequate. Combined with the prop of an ice cream he is eating, it represents Ben as a helpless child. Moreover, the low angle pointing at David expresses how he is in charge of his brother which results in the audience feeling sorry for him because Ben, due to his disability, has been represented as a burden. 

Back at the bus stop, David, Ben and a stranger are sitting down. The composition shows how Ben is closer to his brother than the stranger in order to convey how he feels safe with David and how he looks after him - this representation of disabled people displays how they stereotypically always need someone to care for them. The non-diegetic voice over ratifies this as David states 'they need someone with them, at all times'.

Taking all of this into conclusion, it is conspicuous that 'Coming Down the Mountain' represent disability in a negative aspect. Ben, the brother with down syndrome, is consistently represented as a stereotypical disabled person - weak, helpless, child-like and dependent on others. On the other hand, abled bodied people are depicted as having to put up with the disabled.

Exemplar Response 2

At the very beginning of the extract we fade into an aerial shot with the non-diegetic sound of a voice over from David explaining how he wanted to kill his brother. In this shot we see a bedroom of two people in their bed. We see that the room is split in two sides, on side being Ben’s side consisting of very colourful covers, pillows, and fun posters. On the other hand Dave’s part of the room is very dull and dark and shows that he has a slightly depressive characteristic. By this first scene we can see that Ben is being represented stereotypically as childlike by the use of Mise-en-scene in terms of props, showing all the plush toys and bright colours on Ben’s side of the room.

We then cut to a montage of evolution show species evolving and David says “…change the recipe and we’ll be really big potatoes with eye tentacles” as he later says “sometimes they do change the recipe and you get a brother who is really a potato with eye tentacles” whilst an extreme close up of Ben is shown after cutting to the dining room, representing someone with a disability and physically abnormal and useless. In between the two lines of dialogue a non-diegetic soundtrack is played with the lyrics “wouldn’t it be nice if we were older” reinforcing the stereotypical judgement of the disabled being childish and will never grow up.

David later says that you “may as well talk to the dog” showing a close up shot of David’s angry facial expression, this piece of dialogue shows David comparing someone who is disabled to an animal as he does not do much, and can be a hassle as we later see when Ben has taken all the Weetabix. Mrs Phillips then says “Ben? That was a little bit selfish” with a very nurturing, soft and caring tone as if she was talking to toddler. When Mrs Philips leaves she kisses Ben of the head and says bye love but does not say anything to David. This imposes the stereotypical representation of a disabled person as needing more attention and care as they are helpless and vulnerable to danger easily.

We later then cut to Ben wearing a helmet being taught how to ride a bike by walking with it beside him first, representing the disabled as being non-athletic and slow. Whilst this is taking place we see a mid-shot of David in the windows with a toy sniper, and when he shoots Ben he has a joyful expression on his face as that’s all he wants in life. Another cut to several flashbacks of events that the Phillips family have been to with the non-diegetic voice over of David ranting about how Ben getting to choose to the same place every holiday because he is disadvantaged by his disability, again helping the stereotype of needing to pay more attention to.

Towards the end of the extract David gets invited to go to party and is asked to walk to the party with his friend even though he has the responsibility of taking Ben home. Whilst David and his friend are contemplating whether or not to allow Ben to get home by himself we are shown a mid-shot of Ben looking worried and unsettled by the fact he may have to go home by self. Davie quickly decided to give Ben the money to get transport home and walks to the party with his friend. As David leaves we a are left with another mid-shot of Ben looking very scared and worried as sombre and saddening non diegetic music slowly cue’s in.


We finally cut the last scene of the extract where Ben is taking the bus by himself when as the sad music continues to play. When we see Ben on the bus he shows no sign of a happy emotion and doesn’t say a word as he tightly grips onto the seat in front of him, representing someone that has a disability as needing guidance and aid. That last thing we are shown is an extreme close up of Ben’s depressing facial expression with the voice over of David saying he needed to get some space.