Ethnicity and Race

Ethnicity and Race

Class and Status

Class and Status

Disability in TV Drama

Disability in TV Drama

Secret Diary of a Call Girl- Representation of Disability

Secret Diary of a Call Girl- Representation of Disability The characters within this clip are represented in a variety of ways. The characters being the ‘Call girl’, the boy and the dad. First of all the female character which the TV drama is about (Call girl) is not a stereotypical representation of what the audience would say a call girl would look like, such as a girl objectifying herself for the man. In this clip, the Call girl isn’t objectifying herself. The clothing that she is wearing is of the sort that a business woman would wear in an office. Her makeup is very simple with little foundation and her lips are not being objectified by lipstick. The call girl’s hair is natural brown and has had little done to it which again is the opposite to what the audience would be expecting a ‘call girl’ to look like. With this said, the ‘call girl’ comes across fairly normal and could not be used to being a call girl. This is also shown in her speech as at times she stutters when speaking to the boy, also she seems nervous to be around the dad and boy as she does not want to offend the disabled boy, again showing her lack of experience in the job. This could link to one of Paul Hunt’s ten stereotypes of disability which is non-sexual, as the call girl sees the disabled boy in a non-sexual way. The disabled boy on the other hand is represented as someone who the audience seeks pity with. This again links to Paul Hunt’s stereotyped areas, being pitiable or pathetic. As the audience are watching this, they do feel pity for the disabled boy as he cannot do everyday tasks; this is why he is a reliant on his dad to help him throughout the day. In this clip, his dad being in the room has a sense of awkwardness because the Call girl does not feel comfortable with him being there. This again links with another stereotype area ‘as atmosphere’ as the disabled boy makes the atmosphere, as if it was an abled boy, the situation wouldn’t be completely different. The Dad is represented throughout this clip with the best intentions for his son as he comes across as a caring and honest man. He also comes across as a relatively strong man as shown when he picks up his son with ease visually. Overall, he comes across as muscular man whom links with the stereotypically male; this is also shown in his clothing which suggests that his job involves labouring. The sound used in this clip is mainly diegetic sound, when the characters are speaking to each other. Also used are car noises when the Dad is outside in the van to set the scene that he is outside and also music to merge the scene from the outside to the inside. Editing isn’t used as much through this clip. One scene in which editing is mainly used is when the Dad is in the van and the use of jump cuts are used to show that he is nervous for his son and is anxiously waiting for him. For Mise-en scene in this clip, there are many ways in which the audience can look at. The lighting used in the apartment is very homely and warm which contrasts the character of the ‘call girl’. Also the flat being pink brings out the call girl’s feminine side and makes the disabled boy feel less masculine then he already is due to his disability and lack of power. A wide range of camera shots are used in this clip. At the start of the clip a long shot is used to show the audience the disabled boy and his dad and the back of the Call girl. This gives the audience a view of the disabled boy and his dad and their clothing and also the Call girls clothing. A mid-shot is used to show the audience watching a view of the disabled boy and another characters legs. This emphasises the fact that the disabled boy is disabled from this shot. This makes the audience have sympathy on his character.

Paul Hunt

Paul hunt disability from Sarah Ghost

Gender in TV Drama

Gender in TV Drama

Gender is represented in many ways throughout media, but with the most variety is shown through Television

Stereotypes

There are a variety of gender stereotypes between males and females; this is used to give a certain element to add in TV dramas. For example, one of the most commonly used gender stereotypes is the male being more dominate than the woman, in TV this is shown as the male being either an athletic man or a wealthy business man and the female is used for their looks and their appeal to the male. In most TV dramas it shows the woman being the weaker gender compared to the male and due to this the female character ends up either falling in love with the male character. It is rare occasion that the women would be the powerful figure in TV Drama’s. This links with Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, as the females in most TV Dramas are used for an erotic object for the male character or even the male audience to look at.

Camera angles are used to show Gender, for example the High Angle shot is mainly used in scene which a female is in to show her lack of power and vulnerability as a female. Another example of using camera angles to show gender is the Low angle shot; this angled shot is mainly used when a male character is in a scene to show his power to the audience who are watching the drama. 

Age is represented within disability. For example, in TV dramas when a child is disabled, they are normally physically disabled and because of this, they are then bullied because of this disability and this makes the audience sympathies towards this disabled child. Social class and status is represented within disability as the working class or middle class workers in TV dramas are more commonly injured, comparing to higher class workers. For example, in Downton Abbey there is only one character who is physically disabled who is Bates, but this Disability was because of the war, not because of his work or being born disabled such as a common working class character.

The Inbetweeners- Disability in Media

The Inbetweeners- Disability in Media

In this clip, the disabled girl is used as the comedy element. Across the world, disability has become more of a serious situation but in some comedy dramas such as the Inbetweeners, the disabled are used to create comedy. In the clip, the main character in the series throws a Frisbee and hits the disabled girl by accident and because of her reaction to the Frisbee hitting her; this creates a sense of humour.

A man named Paul Hunt in 1991 observed how the disabled were shown to through media and he talks about how the disabled were mainly used as a comedy element in all types of media. Paul Hunt also goes onto say that that the disabled are seen as a source of comedy since the ancient Greek times as they were seen as the weakest people in their times. And now the disabled girl in this is represented as a comedy element.

In my opinion I feel as if no one should laugh at the disabled as they already feel as if they are low in society. But people do still make jokes and the disabled are still laughed at. But not all media productions are making fun of the disabled to create humour, as in this clip it only hits the disabled girl because of luck of the Frisbee hitting the girl, not where the character said he was going to throw the Frisbee. This clip could have easily replaced the disabled girl for another character such as a child and would still get the same the sense of humour. 

I think the disabled who can relate to this girl would not find this clip funny due to how much they relate to this in real, especially the disabled who are specifically like her (cerebral palsy) may even complain as they will be very offended to watch this scene as it portrays the people with similar or this disability to being weak.

In this society we take pity to people with disabilities, as they appear too many people as weaker and helpless than the physically abled, this is not done on purpose to mock the disabled but because the physically abled people want to help and be nice to the disabled. But recently, it has been shown that the disabled are capable of doing extraordinary achievements, a prime example for this would be in the Paralympics and even in the Olympics.