representation of diabled in TV drama

Representation of disabled in TV drama analysis.

The clip: coming down the mountain (written by Mark Haddon Author of The curious incident of the dog in the night time) features one of the key characters (Ben) having a down syndrome and this character has been stereotyped heavily.

The non-diagetic narration from the leading character David, is used to reinforce the stereotype that all disabled people are a burden to their relatives. Since it’s non-diagetic we see this as David’s thoughts and feelings towards his brother.  This overview of his opinion reveals to us his inner most thoughts revealing that he truly resents the fact that he has to look after his brother. Lines like “last summer I decided to kill my brother” and a conversation that subtly links his brother to being a pig for slaughter, indicates his hatred.

The idea that they need constant care and attention is viewed in a montage that starts with a view of the two boys at a bus stop with Ben playing with childish toys and doing what seems to irritate his brother. We then quickly cut to a clip of Ben riding a bike with stabilisers and covered in padding, relating to the audience as we all know how to ride a bike and most people his age are past the point of stabilisers.  This is also from the first person perspective of David who is also looking through a toy rifle, further encouraging the idea that he wants to kill his brother. This representation of a disabled person being a burden on their family is quite common in media as often they do appear to burden their families, not purposefully of course. 

A the first clip we see Ben there is a focus pull from a single piece of food on his spoon, to his face which clearly shows his disability as Down syndrome is visible through the face of the disabled person. The fact that there is a pull between a single speck of food and his face brings us to the idea that he is nothing more than a vegetable in the eyes of people like his brother, who also refers to him as a potato during the commentary. This itself is a very common insult that is often used when people refer to those with down syndrome.

The final scene depicts him as vunerable with shots angled from above and close ups on him wiping sweat from his brow. It is at this point we see he is truly scared, and from quick action like shots of the  people around him, with a man at the back being given a quick shot from between two fighting teenagers, his face clearly shows that this does not concern him and so when we see Ben's frightened face we instantly pity his character.

Overall, it is clear to see that disabled people are shown to cause grief to those they burden as when they are not with them they clearly fear the frightening world around them.This is shown through firstly showing how he can irritate his brother without intention, and then showing him in a situation we all take normally, but to him this is a true nightmare, thus securing the idea of his vunerable state