Common portrayals of people with disabilities in the media

Part of stereotyping is the attitude that all members of a particular group are the same, or else fall into a very small number of types. This is particularly true in the few cases where persons with a disability appear in media. disabled “individuals are viewed as the objects of pity and depicted as having the same attributes and characteristics no matter what the disability may be.” “disabled people, when they feature at all, continue to be all too often portrayed as either remarkable and heroic, or dependent victims.” Not only are people with disabilities stereotyped, the full range of disabilities is not reflected in media portrayals. Lynne Roper of Stirling Media Research Institute, in her article “Disability in Media,” notes that “wheelchairs tend to predominate… since they are an iconic sign of disability. Most actors playing disabled characters are, however, not disabled. The wheelchair allows the character to be obviously disabled, whilst still looking ‘normal’, and does not therefore present any major challenges for audience identification.”

http://media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/persons_with_disabilities/disabilities_portrayals.cfm


Disability is often represented in one of the following stereotypical ways; as a victim, as a hero, or as a 'normal' person.

Media Revision Quiz: Part 1

Age Representation: BBC Bugs- Girl Power

This extract has been constructed to represent age in different ways. At first, the younger girl is stereotypically represented as being immature however as the extract continues, the camera, mise-en-scene, editing and sound all have an effect on representing age in a different way.

For example, the camera shows the young girl speaking to the older woman, with the girl sitting on the floor, lower than the adult. However the camera films the scene at a slight angle, looking up towards the adult as apposed to looking down on the young girl.

The use of mise-en-scene in this extract contributes a lot to the representation of age. For example, the girl is wearing a hooded jumper with her hair tied back out of her face in comparison with the older woman who is wearing a suit and a lot of make up. This use of mise-en-scene has the effect of showing the difference in age between the two characters. The older woman is represented as being professional and sophisticated and the teenager is represented as scruffy.
  
In the extract there are no sound effects used but the speech represents age in a specific way. For example, the teenagers speaks in a more informal way saying things such as, 'Gimme that back', 'Come on' and 'Wouldn't you like to know.' The teenager also says, 'Don't tell me you didn't try this sort of stuff when you were young'. Which represents age in a way as if younger people have a tendency to act reckless. The older woman also implies that teenagers aren't as intelligent as adults when she says. 'How did a teenager get in through the security systems' implying that the teenager would not be able to break into a sophisticated system. After she has spoken with the young girl she then states, 'She's a genius!' this speech turns the stereotype of the teenager around and portrays the younger person as intelligent.

Camera Movements: Worksheet

• many different functions; direct viewers attention, reveal off screen space, provide narrative information, or create expressive effects.
• camera most frequently moves when an object moves within the frame, initiating reframing, or following a shot.
• Reframing; (keep the action in the frame)  slight pans or tilts designed to maintain the balance of a composition during a figure movement. A camera operator will reframe when a sitting person stands up, so as to keep the person in the frame and allow for appropriate headroom. Reframing helps fix the viewer's eye on the most important figures within the frame and is so common it is often unnoticed. 
• Camera accompanies the movement of an object during a following shots. A track, crane or hand held shot can lead a moving figure into space, pursue a figure from behind, or float above, below or alongside. Intricate following shots may be motivated by the movements of more than one figure.

Representation Research: Gender

The representation of gender through the media is often stereotypical. For example men are often represented to be typically strong, masculine, tough and powerful. As opposed to how women are typically represented as more emotional, beautiful, feminine and fragile. In a TV Drama for example, it is more likely that a female will be represented as more vulnerable and emotional compared to the strong more likely to be aggressive male, more than often less expressive and emotional than females. Men are also stereotypically represented to be the 'breadwinners' in a family. They often have more manual jobs, but can also be represented to have more business affiliated jobs that are high paid. Women are often represented to have more stable relationships for example, in a TV Drama or a television advert, women are often shown to have a group of close female friends.

Revision Vocab

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

• Shots: 

establishing shot - a shot establishing the scene at the beginning 

master shot - keeps everything in view has a double function similar to a long or wide shot and an establishing shot. 

close-up - a certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame

mid-shot - Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

long shot - typically shows the entire object or human figure. 

wide shot - the subject takes up the full frame at least as much as possible. 

two-shot - a shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

aerial shot - a shot to view large landscapes.

point of view shot - shows a view from the subjects point of view.

over the shoulder shot - looking from behind a person at the subject.

overhead shot – a type of camera shot in which the camera is positioned above the character, action or object being filmed.
reaction shot – a shot that shows the reaction of a character either to another character or an event within the sequence.

Camera Angle – the position of the camera in relation to the subject of a shot. The camera might be at a high angle, a low angle or at eye level with what is being filmed.
High Angle – A camera angle that looks down upon a subject or object. Often used to make the subject or object appear small or vulnerable.
Low Angle – A camera angle that looks up at a subject or object. Often used to make the subject/object appear powerful/dominant.
Canted framing (or oblique) – camera angle that makes what is shot appear to be skewed or tilted.

•  Movement: 

pan - A pan is a horizontal camera movement in which the camera moves left and right about a central axis. This is a swiveling movement, i.e. mounted in a fixed location on a tripod or shoulder, rather than a dolly-like movement in which the entire mounting system moves.

tilt - A tilt is a vertical camera movement in which the camera points up or down from a stationary location. For example, if you mount a camera on your shoulder and nod it up and down, you are tilting the camera.

track - The term tracking shot is widely considered to be synonymous with dolly shot; that is, a shot in which the camera is mounted on a cart which travels along tracks.

dolly - A dolly is a cart which travels along tracks. The camera is mounted on the dolly and records the shot as it moves. Dolly shots have a number of applications and can provide very dramatic footage.In many circles a dolly shot is also known as a tracking shot or trucking shot. However some professionals prefer the more rigid terminology which defines dolly as in-and-out movement (i.e. closer/further away from the subject), while tracking means side-to-side movement.Most dollies have a lever to allow for vertical movement as well (known as a pedestal move). In some cases a crane is mounted on the dolly for additional height and flexibility. A shot which moves vertically while simultaneously tracking is called a compound shot.

crane – A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward. steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

Steadicam - A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.

• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Editing – the stage in the film-making process in which sound and images are organised into an overall narrative.
Continuity Editing – the most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Also nick named invisible editing referring to how the technique does not draw attention to the editing process.
Jump Cut – An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuos shot in which the action is noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect.
Credits – the information at the beginning and end of a film, which gives details of cast and crew etc.
Cross Cutting – the editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence or event) with another – usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually suggests Parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing
Cutaways – A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. Object, or person (sometimes not part of the principle scene or main action), followed by a cutback to the original shot.
Freeze Frame – the effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in on one event or element.
Eye-line Match – a type of edit which cuts from one character to what that character has been looking at.
Flashback – a scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the film’s narrative.
Graphic Match – an edit effect in which two different objects of the same shape are dissolved from one into the other.
Juxtaposition – the placement of two (often opposed) images on either side of an edit to create an effect.
Linear Narrative – a style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.
Montage Editing – the juxtaposition of seemingly unconnected images in order to create meaning.
Parallel Editing – a type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection between the two sets of events.
Visual Effects - visual effects are usually used to alter previously-filmed elements by adding, removing or enhancing objects within the scene.
Match on Action - A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (For example a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character’s hand turning a door handle)

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

Diegetic Sound – sound that can be heard by the characters within a scene/ sound part of the imaginary world.
Non-diegetic Sound – sound that the characters cannot hear and is not part of the imaginary world of the story. This includes a musical soundtrack or a voiceover (however this excludes a narration by a character within the story – referred to as an internal monologue and is diegetic).
Score – The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.
Sound Effects – sounds that are added to a film during the post-production stage.

• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

Mise en scene – a French term, which literally means ‘put into the frame’. When analysing a sequence the term refers to everything you see in the frame:
props, eg in a police drama this could mean a gun or a badge, also can mean iconography 
costume, the colour and style of the actor/subject can have important connotations and denotations about their character, role within narrative, etc.
lighting, the harshness or softness of light has differing effects on representing the mood of a scene.
colour - The colours used in popular brandings are significant in determing their identifiability, ie 'the golden arches' but also says a lot about a person or company's ideology.
Makeup - we're not just talking about a bit of slap here, this can refer to masks, prosthetics and special effects.
Other important terms used in analysis of TV/Film:
Artificial Light – A source of light created by lighting equipment, rather than from natural sources.
Convention – a frequently used element which becomes standard.
Disequilibrium – the period of instability and insecurity in a film’s narrative.
Enigma – the question or mystery that is posed within a film’s narrative.
Equilibrium – a state of peace and calm, which often exists at the beginning of a film’s narrative.
Framing – the selection of elements such as characters, setting and iconography that appear within a shot.
Genre – a system of film identification, in which films that have the same elements are grouped together.
Iconography – the objects within a film that are used to evoke particular meanings
Intertextuality – reference within a film to another film, media product, work of literature or piece of artwork.
Mise en scene – a French term, which literally means ‘put into the frame’. When analysing a sequence the term refers to everything you see in the frame (props, costume, lighting, colour, makeup etc.)
Narrative – a story that is created in a constructed format (eg. A programme) that describes a series of fictional or non-fictional events.

• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

• Lighting; colour design.

Areas of representation

• Gender

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Sexuality

• Class and status

• Physical ability/disability

• Regional identity

TV Extract Analysis: 'Waterloo Road'

How is age represented in this extract?

The clip from 'Waterloo Road' represents age in different ways. Firstly, the teenagers in the clip are all seated in chairs throughout the scene whereas the teachers and adults are shown standing. Also even though another adult is shown seated in the extract - she is leaning against a desk so her eye level is still higher than the younger characters. This positioning represents the age and authority. The two older students are clearly represented as being older compared to the third because of the clothes they wear. For example one of the older boys is wearing a leather jacket instead of his blazer which the younger pupil is wearing. The pupils are represented as young because the way they speak to each other shows their level of maturity because they speak so informally.
The variety of camera angles used in the extract are also key in representing age. For example, when the headmistress confronts a pupil the camera is looking down at the younger person. In turn, when the camera switches, it is looking up toward the teacher, it shows the levels of authority between the two.
The adults in the scene wear tailored clothing and speak formally. The different ages of the pupils are represented through costume. The younger boy is wearing the correct uniform and looks smart whereas the older boys do not have their shirts tucked in. This makes them seem fairly relaxed about school rules and therefore implies they are older students. The camera also faces down when showing the younger student from the older boys perspective this emphasises the peer pressure being discussed in the scene and represents the age gap between the pupils.