Representation within Casualty

In this extract in Casualty disability is represented in a stereotypical way, by making the characters not seem able to do things and really show their differences to somewhat ‘normal’ people. We first meet the man in the wheel chair; the mise-en-scene helps us to identify the differences between each of the characters, such as the type of clothing worn and the wheel chair for instance, this implies that he is physically disabled portraying that he is not capable of getting around therefore has to have someone help him around. He is wearing dull, brown clothing which makes him stand out in the brightly coloured shop that he is in, instantly making him look out of place, along with the wheel chair. His brother however is smartly dressed, wearing lighter colours, which connotes happiness, fresh appeal to him.  The shop assistant doesn’t know how to react with the disabled man, suggesting that she feels awkward around him. When the toilet scene arrives, yet again the man looks out of place, however, the toilet does blend in with the characters clothing which connotes to the dull atmosphere. The wheelchair is bulky, and too big for a disabled toilet, suggesting that he looks more disabled than I ‘typical’ disabled person is. This shows the stereotype of a disabled person not being able to do the simplest things in life such as going to the toilet, highlighting the fact the everyday life is a hassle and a struggle which takes twice as long. In addition to this in the cafe his chair is higher than the table, suggesting that cafe’s, shops and other public places are not suited for disabled people as it is not ‘normal’. We are introduced to another character Eli, who looks ‘normal’, well dressed, smart, and fit into his surroundings. However when approaching a group of girls he becomes nervous, there is no sign of any disability until he collapses onto the street. This then creates suspicions and tensions, making the audience anticipated to see what happens next.

The sound that is presented in this clip is mainly diegetic, mainly quite a bit of silence due to the fact that silence has a higher impact on emotions. In the shop at the start of the clip there is diegetic sound of Christmas music playing in the shop, along with the hustle and bustle of the shop. This also occurs in the coffee shop, when the lady asks for the music to be turned up, the music becomes louder. The jolly music juxtaposes with the man in the wheel chairs mood, as he is extremely run down and negative, it is almost as if the music is an example of contrapuntal sound but only towards this character. Some of the dialogue used is powerful, to the fact that only short sentences has a huge impact of the stereotypical ways of a disabled person, for example, ‘Quit pushing me about’, this line suggests that he knows he is capable of pushing himself around and tries to act like a normal person. This makes his brother instantly in the wrong and the audience almost frown upon him for his actions. The words ‘incurable disease’ was also said, suggesting that he has got the condition forever, highlighting the fact that it is a long and slow process for the everyday.

The editing that occurs is very slight, and not very noticeable as it is so continuous (continuity editing), however we follow different characters throughout the day referring back to another character. This feels like the day is dragging by and showing all of the characters at their best/worst stages of the day. It is not racy and no jump cuts are used reflecting back to the slow pace of things. This keeps the audience interested and not focusing on just one character, it breaks this up, it is known as parallel editing.

The camera angles usually reflect importance, wealth and authority, which it presents in this extract. Mainly mirror shots are used with the brothers, happening in the shop, whilst he is trying something on, and in the toilet, where we see the man’s head and the disabled man in the lower left hand corner, with the disabled character below the man, shows vulnerability and weakness. However the disabled character acts and looks like the man’s conscience, and it has a powerful impact on how the scene is perceived. In the cafe shot we first see the two coffees, they both look exactly the same, it instantly changes when the woman puts a biscuit on the disabled mans saucer. It stereotypically shows that the woman thinks the man is mentally disabled and is ‘special’, therefore is treated differently and like a child. Referring back to the character Eli, when he is targeted by the bunch of drunken ladies, the camera footage is shaky, as if it were to be amateur footage; the camera is panning around him and the group of girls with him in the middle, as if there were to be no escape. When he collapses the camera topples over with him, spinning around, giving the audience a sense that they are there with him, experiencing the fall as he goes down. As if the camera had been dropped it lies on the road, showing some of the tarmac, along with the eye line view of Eli’s unconscious body, making him look weak and vulnerable.

At the end of the clip the man in the wheelchair has a sense of control over Eli, when he makes the call to the ambulance; it is a low angle shot, showing a role reversal (Eli and man in wheel chair) which goes against stereotypical views of disabled people. This implies that he is not worthless and is useful in situations like these, ending the scene in a positive way, having high hopes on the disabled man.