Disability Essay
When introduced to the two brothers, the differences are
clearly visible. For the disabled brother's side of the room you can see that
it is more child-like with a bright, colourful wallpaper and bed sheets that
show how his disability affects his maturity. The other brother on the other hand, appears
more like a typical teenager’s room when compared.
The two characters are shown in a bird’s eye view shot of
the room, which shows distance/difference between the two brothers due to one
being disabled and one not. David’s side of the room is the complete opposite
as his side of the room is dark and presents an angsty teenager’s personality.
The medium pan with his calm demeanour during his inner dialogue suggests how
David just seems so sure and has given up on loving his brother. His inner
hatred for his brother is so bluntly puts that he wants to kill him in a
nonchalant sort of way which makes the audience think that he has been thinking
about it for a while.
The music in this scene also doesn’t sound completely
serious, as it is upbeat mixed in with a slow tune, a representation demonstrating
the contrasts of both brothers.
During the Kitchen scene, the first thing the audience is
aware of is Ben.
The close-up of Ben’s face while David's description plays
out represents how David resents his brother as he compares him to a ‘'potato
of eye tentacles'’. In this scene, David is shown in a low angle shot which
represents how he is the main character so the audience is more understanding
as they are only seeing one perspective. However Ben is shown in a high angle
shot which highlights his vulnerability to society as he is seen as the victim.
The conversation between David and his parents in the
kitchen, there is a shot reverse shot is used. This provides a way to present
the obvious tension between David and his parents whereas when the parents talk
to Ben, they talk in a friendly tone which adds to David's anger towards his brother.
This further shows the audience that David feels like he is replaced by his brother
which could be a reason why he feels this way.
During the bus stop scene, it presents a great contrast
between the two brothers.
The long shot portrays the great distance and differences between the two brothers as both of their mannerisms, behaviour and emotions are massively different with naive Ben none the wiser of David's true hatred for his own brother.
David being an angsty, depressed teenager, he walks in an
under confident mopey way to the bus stop but he also walks fast to try and
avoid his brother behind him. Ben however walks with naivety as he shows
admiration for his brother which is obviously not returned. With other
teenagers Ben starts playing with a toys, an innocent childish act that makes
him seem. Normal in a crowded area of unruly teenagers. The music then returns
to how it was originally, it’s mocking tone of seeming happy and sad all at the
same time.
When sitting at the bus stop it is a medium shot to make them both seem equal, never shown separately which represents Ben's childish nature and also his reliance of his brother to take care of him really wants. This also represents how vulnerable he is and how child like to his surroundings , as he has not grown into the
mature teenager due to his disability. A high angle shot is used to portray how small Ben feels
compared to his brother which perhaps represents how he looks up to him.
In conclusion, this clip seems to represent disabled people
in many different ways. It includes many different perspectives that of the
average brother, David who seems to think that Ben's disability makes him seem like more of a burden and how his very presence adds tension to his family life as well. This reinforces the stereotypes of disabilities being seen a burden and a nuisance as
Ben is portrayed as a mortal enemy as opposed to a brother as perhaps he blames his brother for his strained family life and perhaps wants the attention his parents give to Ben. Ben is also seen as a victim due to the way that
David treats and talks to his brother as if he is sub-human because of the fact
that Ben has a disability thus making him seem a bit different and being a proxy for putting all his hatred on.
