Coming Down the Mountain - PEE chains

Mise en Scene

In this film clip, disability is shown though the physical traits if the characters, Ben and David. David is very tall and wears a dark shirt in the first scene whereas his brother, Ben, who has down syndrome, is a lot smaller and wears a light coloured shirt. By David being taller than Ben, it shows that he is the more dominant brother and has control over him. This could be a metaphor for the physical strength of able-bodied people in comparison to disabled people.

In the first shot, a birds eye view is shown of the room that the brothers share together, Ben's side of the room being very unorganised, messy and colourful, and David's side being neat and organised but dull in colour. This could be interpreted by the audience that this is the brain of a disabled person and an able-bodied person. This represents someone with a mental disability in both a positive and negative light, because it shows that they are unorganised and need assisting with everyday tasks, but also shows that they can be creative and imaginative which is being represented through the use of flamboyant colour.

Sound

In this clip, the audience is shown the difference between disabled and able- bodied people through the character's dialogue. David is shown to talk using long words and with a quick pace which contrasts with Ben's speech, as he talks slower, with fewer, more simple words. This shows the audience that people without a mental disability are seen as more intelligent as they can process their sentences quicker than people like Ben who takes longer to express his thoughts.

The music which plays in the background of the video changes depending whether the main focus is on Ben or David to show their differences in ability and social awareness. This determines the feelings that the audience has towards the characters, for example, when Ben is filmed on his own on the bus, slow piano music is being played. On top of this, there are noises of other kids arguing in the background, David narrating and children laughing. By adding four layers of sound on top of each other, it shows the audience how confusing it may be for a mentally disabled person to focus on all of these sounds at once even though they occur in everyday life. It also makes the watcher feel sorry for Ben which may be a metaphor for how society views disabled people.

Editing

The way that this video lip has been edited plays a part in how disability is viewed in society by using effects such as 'slow motion' and connecting it to disabled people. This happens when Ben is filmed sitting down on the bus, which could be trying to represent the way he processes simple tasks or how he easily gets distracted and starts daydreaming. This effect however is not used when filming an able bodied person.

The placement of Ben and David on screen also plays a crucial part when assessing how this film clip is representing disabled people. This is because, when David and Ben are filmed together, David (who is able-bodied) is positioned in the middle of the screen and becomes the main focus to the audience, whereas Ben (who is disabled) is positioned in the bottom left corner of the screen, standing behind David. This represents how people with a disability are sometimes "brushed aside" in society and are not given the same opportunities or voice as an able bodied person would be.

Camera

An understanding of the representation of disability is also shown through the camera work of the clip. At one point in the video, Ben is shown riding his bike but he is being filmed as though he is a target. By filming Ben in this way, it represents how people with disabilities are often a target for bullying and hate in society.

When David is narrating and talking about his brother, Ben is filmed looking at his cereal through a series of close-up shots. By doing this, it not only shows how David views his brother, but it also exaggerates the amount of concentration that is needed for Ben to eat his cereal and carry out everyday tasks. This is then juxtaposed with the medium shots which are used when filming David, showing that less thought needs to be put into such a simple task.