TV Drama Media Representation of Age -

Representation of Age - 

Stereotypes of Old Age:

• Sociological studies have shown that older people are portrayed as: grumpy, conservative, stubborn, resistant to change
• Enjoying a second childhood, being cheeky, reliving their adolescence, engage in activities they've always wanted to do before death (Shreddies advert: Nana Shreddies)
• Pitied, dependent, economic burden, helpless

Catherine Tate 'Nan' Stereotypes: 

• She is stereotypically stubborn and resistant to change but is not conforming to the stereotype of being grumpy and conservative.
• She is stubborn and resistant to change as she refuses to move to a nursing home and insults her new great-granddaughter. However, she laughs a lot at others stupidity, in her opinion, and uses vulgarisms and insults whilst not being conservative in the personality trait. She is conservative in her dress code by wearing a top underneath her dress and wearing a cardigan. 
• She is in the genre of comedy TV.
• The genre affects the character as it becomes an extreme and satirical representation of age. 
• The iconography present in the programme is the costume of the knitted cardigan, the doilies on the furniture, the furniture is a high armchair. All of these are representative of old age in a stereotypical manner.

'Waterloo Road' Middle Age & Teenager Essay Preparation:

Mise-en-scene:

• Heroic: both students and teachers run into a burning building to save fellow staff and employees. 
• Only one student made an attempt to rescue the passed-out teacher. 
• The female teacher passes out as she allows the students get closer to the doors to breathe the fresher air (conforms to caring nature of older aged people)

Camera:

• Low angle shot: the camera is looking up at middle-aged headmistress is questioning the commotion: authority (contrast to high angle shot looking down on the student who is of lower position)
• Mid two shot: the young students attempting to rescuer the teacher (subverts from selfish stereotype of teenagers)
• High-angle tilt: on coughing teacher being placed on ground by a teenager (subverts from lazy self-centred stereotype of teenagers and conforms to dependent stereotype of old people)

Editing:

• Shot duration: jump cuts for students whilst the camera stays longer on the middle aged head-teacher thus showing authority due to age
• Match cut: the fire and smoke of two scenes: those trapped by the door and the one girl trapped in the bathroom. Students are attempting to stay alive due to their youthful nature.

Sound: 

• Screaming of students/ calm speech of the adults to contrast the erratic response of the young and the more responsible older. 

Strauss:

• Binary opposites

'A Touch Of Frost' Disability Analysis Essay Preperation -

Disability - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C6thBrPD6g

Camera:

• Panning shot as the police chase after 'Billy'

Editing:

• Jump cuts which contrast between the disabled and the 'fully able' officer/ parents

Sound:

• The crescendo music during the police chase of 'Billy'

Mise-en-scene:

• "Mentally subnormal" (Police officer about 'Billy')
• "Handicapped" (Parents about 'Billy')
• Mother was going to 'clean him up' 
• Billy: 'I was frightened' by the police
• The officer asked the father rather than the disabled character 'Billy' 
• 'Billy' is disabled due to his down syndrome
• The lighting is darker on 'Billy' to make him appear more suspicious and 'dimmer' mentally
• People are patronising towards him, speak like a child

Disability (Differently Abled) Representations and Stereotypes -

Disability - 

Dramas Featuring People with Disabilities :

• Silent Witness : Clarissa Mullery

• Breaking Bad : Walter JR

• Walking Dead : Herschel

• Game of Thrones : Hodor, Bran and Tyrion

• American Horror Story : Freak Show characters/ Pepper

• The 100 : Raven

Disability Information:

• Almost 1/5 People of the British population are disabled (7 million or 18.6%)

Paul Hunt (1991) 10 Disability Stereotypes : 

• Pitiable or pathetic
• An object of curiosity or violence
• Sinister or evil
• The super cripple
• As atmosphere
• Laughable
• His/her own worst enemy
• A burden
• As non-sexual
• Unable to participate in everyday life

Shakespeare (1999) The Medical Model :

• The media throughout history has depicted disability as an impairment, Shakespeare point out in his article about disability in film.
• "impairment is made the most important thing" and disabled characters are "objectified and distanced from the audience".

'The Inbetweeners' Disabiltiy Frisbee Clip : 

• The clip is humorous as it depicts failure and actions not going as intended resulting in accidental injury. It is slapstick comedy that depicts injury which people, due to the human condition, naturally find humorous.
• The disabled girl is represented as pitiable as she cannot interact in the same way as others, laughable due to the misfortune of the protagonists, unable to participate as they were simply sat in the park not involved in the activities.
• We are not intended to laugh at the disabled character but instead the main protagonists due to their misfortune and stupidity.
• The disabled character can be perceived as the "butt" of the joke as the victim but also the main protagonists, specifically Will who threw the frisbee, are also the "butt" of the joke for their stupidity.
• Disabled people may feel conflicted about the sketch as it finally depicts a disabled person in modern television when they are under-represented although it depicts them in a negative stereotype as helpless and abused. 
• The Medical Model can be applied to the example as pitiable, laughable and unable to participate in everyday life.
• We as members of society may have been conditioned to perceive disable people as pitiable due to under-representation, negative stereotyping and as characters in more comical roles.

'Warwick Davies and the Washing Machine: Life's Too Short' Clip : 

• The clip is humorous as it depicts the struggles of modern humanity.
• Warwick Davies is depicted as a man who is attempting to maintain his everyday life whilst others surround him with stupidity.
• We are not meant to laugh at the disabled person but instead at the actions of others which are examples of stupidity and annoyance to the main protagonist Warwick.
• Warwick is the "butt" of the joke as others stupidity impacts upon him but this is not as a result of his disability.
• Paul Hunt's theory, in my opinion, does not fully apply to the clip. Warwick is pitiable as a result of others uselessness not his disability. He is depicted as his own worst enemy due to his anger which is a stereotype attached to dwarf's or those with the condition achondroplasia. 
• Shakespeare's theory applies as Warwick has to contact others such as plumbers and handymen to help him fit and adapt his home due to his disability.