Representation of Disability

Camera Work:

The long shot of billy walking in the woods with the contrast of the dark background gives the audience an association of loneliness with disability. This shot causes Billy to appear lost and confused in a strange world and makes him seem vulnerable. A tilt is used to reveal the tracks that Billy has left behind on the ground due to his clumsy nature. The use of a tracking shot makes the audience realise that Billy is completely oblivious to the danger that he is in due to the pace of the camera movement. This gives the impression that Billy is very innocent like a child combined with a close-up reaction shot of his face he is easily startled and frightened. This shows that disability has been represented to audiences in a way that reflects child like mannerisms. A high angle is used during the scenes where Billy is being captured in order to further represent how disability has rendered him powerless in comparison to the danger that he is in. The use of a panning shot with a collection of neighbours show give the effect that disability is being seen as a threat by the locals. The use of a high angle shot shows that Billy is like a child in comparison to the characters without disability and he is in a lower position of authority. The use of a two-shot with Billy and his father shows that he requires adult supervision like a child would; again showing how disability is reflected with an effect of child-like innocence.

Mise-En-Scene:

The use of a dark forest setting gives an empty look to the shot that reflects how disability is being reflected as something out of the ordinary and gives the effect of loneliness. The use of police dogs give the effect that he is being hunted down like an animal and it further shows how disability is being treated as a lower class. The way that the police are using Billy's tracks to track him down show that he is clumsy due to his disability. The way that the police are being shown wearing high-visability clothing reflect the prominent threats that Billy sees them as they are hunting him. The use of his mother holding a washing bowl shows that billy cannot clean his room and is totally dependent on his mother and father. Billy is shown in a shot with his father, the use of Billy's father in a higher position than him shows that Billy is like a child and needs to be supervised by his father who is in a higher position of power. Billy's face is covered in cuts and bruises, this shows how he cannot cope independently in the real world and has become injured as a result of his disability and wring treatment by others.

Sound:

When we are first introduced to Billy, ominous music begins to play suggesting that there is something unusual with his character and something dangerous is about to happen. The tension in the music begins to rise throughout the scene but then cuts completely, only leaving the sounds of dogs and police to be heard. This enhances the way that Billy feels that everything in the scene is aggressively pursuing him and his disability causes him to be extremely vulnerable. Dialog in the scene reflects the differences between Billy and the other characters by using simplistic language and light tones in the voice to speak to Billy as if he were a child and to compensate for his lower intelligence. Billy's tone of voice is very similar to that of a child as it contains a lot of high pitches and pleading tones to show that he is in a lower position of authority.

Editing:

We are thrust back into a past scene with the use of a quick cutaway, this allows the audience to experience what it is like to be thrust into an unusual environment.