coming down the mountain disability aaron

In the clip from 'Coming down the mountain' the representation of disability is presented to reinforce the stereotype of disability as a victim. It presents this representation by using 4 key areas, Mis-en-scene, sound, camera and editing.

Mis-en-scene

Specific props used in the clip that represent disability are the helmet and toy gun. The helmet is worn by the victim stereotype when he is riding a bike. This shows that the victim stereotype is weak and fragile. He is also shown with a toy gun even though he is a teenager. This shows his child-like nature and innocence. The colour is especially prominent in the first scene, with the birds eye shot of the two brothers rooms. The victim stereotypes bed and wall on his side of the room is colourful and has a patterned blanket on his bed, this is in contrast to his brother who's side of the room is dark and has no colour. This emphasises the victims stereotype of child-like nature in juxtaposition to his brother who is aware of the world and dislikes his brother. The costumes and locations are of everyday life, for example the scenes are set in houses, bedrooms, schools and bus stops whilst all the characters wear everyday clothing. The setting of everyday life reinforces to the audience that what they are seeing actually happens in real life, re-inforcing sympathy for the victim stereotype. 

Sound

The dialogue in the clip creates conflict between the able brother and the disabled brother (victim stereotype). The able brother speaks normally whilst the disabled brother speaks in stylised language, which is slurred, indicating his disability in contrast to his brother.Another example of dialogue used is that the mum and dad, the adults, resolve the two brothers arguments which show that able-bodied people have power over the disabled. The soundtrack is also used to show disability. The happy, upbeat music that plays during the breakfast scene represents the disabled brothers mind state of child-like naivety which is set in contrast to the grey and dark appearance of the flat block his family live in. 

Camera

The shot and reverse shot shows the conflict in the conversations between the two brothers. In terms of prominence, the able brother has the most screen time. This is used to convey the stereotype of able bodied people having the most power which victimises the disabled brother who is the weaker figure. A long shot is used when the disabled brother is sitting round the breakfast table, he is positioned at the centre of the shot utilising the rule of thirds technique. The use of the long shot could be to position the disabled brother as mentally distant even though he is with his family. This reinforces the stereotype of him as a victim unable to be close with his family. A close up shot is used on the disabled brothers face which shows the eyes of the character. Downs syndrome which is the disability the character suffers from, is stereotyped as having different eyes to normal people. The close up emphasises his disability by using his eyes as symbolism for his disability. This creates sympathy for the victim stereotype by showing his disability in contrast to his families eyes.

Editing

The pace of the clip is slow when the disabled brother is in shot, whilst it quickens when the brother is in shot. This re-inforces the stereotype of disability as slow whilst able bodied people are fast. Black and white stock footage from the past is used to show the able brother thinking, which shows he is intelligent and aware of the past and everything around him. This creates a juxtaposition to the disabled characters stereotype of being slow. Another type of editing that shows a contrast between the two brothers is the cuts and transitions, the cuts are slow for the disabled brother whilst they are faster for the able brother. There is not a lot of match-on-action in the clip, which resembles the disabled brothers disjointed state of mind and that he is not aware what is happening around him. This reinforces the stereotype of the disabled as a victim. During the scene at the bus stop, the cuts are fast but they are shown to portray the length of time the able brother is spent looking after his disabled brother. This portrays the disabled as a liability to the able bodied. This is another example of how the disabled are portrayed in the clip as victim.