How is disability represented in the clip from 'A touch of Frost'?

How is disability represented in the clip from 'A touch of Frost?

There are different representations of disability in this clip, one being that people with disabilities are treated like they are children.  We see this in the way people talk to Billy for example Frost slows his speech down, often taking pauses when talking to Billy. Depending on your personal view on disability this may make you think differently. By frost talking down to Billy it may make the audience feel pity for him like he’s a child and he doesn’t understands what’s going on, even though that may not always be the case. You also see Billy being treated like a child by his parents; they may do this subconsciously as they are just trying to protect him. An example of this is when his Mother says Billy would prefer if she could clean him up before Frost speaks to him. This again creates emotion for the viewer as you feel sorry for him as he is covered in blood.

This clip contains both diegetic and non-diegetic sound.  At the beginning of the clip there is non-diegetic sound in the form of the eerie background music. This music builds up tension for the audience as Billy is walking through the woods at night.  As the police shine touches in Billy’s direction the music changes, this may be to show the audience they have found what they are looking for. The background music continues until the policeman had Billy on the floor. The music may stop at this point to show that audience that the tension has reached its climax as the Police have found what they are looking for. The diegetic sound in this clip also builds tension as the view doesn’t fully understand what’s going on with Billy at the beginning. The rustling of the leaves as the Policemen are walking suggest to the audience that they are looking for something, at this point you are unaware so it continues to build suspense.  When Billy says ‘I didn’t do anything wrong’ the audience hears that Billy has a disability, this may make the audience feel sorry for him. The conversation between Frost and Billy’s farther shows how people are often ignorant to disability. This is shown when frost refers to Billy as ‘mentally subnormal’ and is correct that Billy is actually handicapped.

The camera angles in this shot give a different representation of disability.  Firstly they give the impression that having a disability makes you vulnerable.  This is show when Frost is talking to Billy and a high angled shot is used, this makes Billy look smaller and appear weak and vulnerable. The shot then widens and the audience sees Billy’s Dad sitting behind him, this adds to the audience opinions that having a disability makes you vulnerable as his Dad has to sit with him to make sure hes ok. This scene also shows an over the shoulder shot in which you see a silhouette of Frost, this attracts your attention and makes him look powerful as him stands over Billy. The audience can clearly see the fear on Billy’s face when there is a close up of him when the police turn their touches on. A later close up of him being held by the Police makes him look scared and weak. This may also makes the audience feel sorry for him because their personal view, that maybe that people with disabilities don’t understand as much as abled bodied people. The tracking shot of the Police chasing Billy builds suspense for the audience as they wonder whether or not they’ll catch him. It would also makes the audience wonder perhaps Billy did do something wrong as he ran. The tilted high angled shot of Frost talking to Billy’s Dad gives the audience a sense that they are ease dropping on the conversation, this may makes the audience hope that they’ll learn more about what’s going on.

The blood on Billy’s face makes you feel sorry for him as he is obviously been hurt. Even though it does pose the question of how he got hurt in the first place the audience would first feel pain for Billy. The Police and Police dogs at the beginning of the scene tell the audience that something has happened; the audience can tell that they’re looking for something; this builds suspense as it isn’t clear what they’re looking for. The neighbours standing outside the house gives the impression that it’s a close community where not a lot happens, so the slightest Police involvement draws people out of their houses in find out what’s going on.  At the beginning of the clip you see Billy wiping mud off his trousers, at this point you don’t necessarily know he has a disability so you assume hes done something wrong due to the environment in which hes in. If you knew that he had a disability it may make you see the situation differently as you may feel that he wouldn’t mentally be capable of doing something.

The editing at the beginning of the clip is slow paced but cuts straight from one clip to another; for example, you see the police dog, then the Policeman, then Billy. This shows the audience that at that moment they aren’t aware of each other, but it’s only a matter of time before they do. While Frost is interviewing Billy the editing gets slightly faster as it cuts from Frost talking to Billy’s facial expression, then back to Frost to ask another question.  By showing the clip in this way you see that Billy doesn’t look phased by what Frost is saying, it makes Billy look stupid doesn’t look like hes takes in what Frosts saying.