Representations

Question 1

How have presenters presented paralympains

Answer 1

Creators spotted an opportunity to present paralympians in a way that they had not before

Question 2

How have presenters presented paralypians in a new way?

Answer 2

Pointing a camera at their lives and the sacrifices they make in pursuit of greatness

Question 3

What have producers aimed to do?

Answer 3

Producers have aimed to avoid stereotypes of disabled as athletes have to ‘overcome’ their disability in order to achieve success

Question 4

What have the producers painted a picture of?

Answer 4

Paints a picture of metal deterioration rather than disability

Question 5

What does the campaign emphasise?

Answer 5

Campaign emphasises the ‘Human’ rather than the ‘Super’ by juxtaposing images of training with those of everyday life

Question 6

What was the producers intention with this ad?

Answer 6

Intention to make the Paralympians relatable to the audience

Question 7

What does the ad attempt to address?

Answer 7

Attempts to address the marginalisation of those with disabilities

Question 8

Who has the ad aimed to give a voice to?

Answer 8

Aims to give a voice to those who are not usually represented positively in other areas of the media

Question 9

What helped change attitudes of the disabled?

Answer 9

positive representations in ‘Super.Human’ and the coverage of the games, changed attitudes

Question 10

What percentage of viewers said the ad had a positive impact on them?

Answer 10

65% of viewers said it has a positive impact on their perceptions of disables people

Question 11

What percentage of viewers agreed disabled athletes were as talented as able bodied athletes?

Answer 11

82% of viewers agreed disabled athletes were as talented as able-bodies athletes

Question 12

What does the ad actively do?

Answer 12

The ad actively avoids negative representations of paralympians as victims to be pitied - instead the representations create a realistic ‘blood and guts’ feel to the ad

Question 13

What do the representations in the ad cover?

Answer 13

Representations cover both genders and give a different view of the world of disability to that of ‘having something wrong with you’

Question 14

What creates drama in the opening sequence?

Answer 14

Smoke, low key lighting and dramatic non-diegetic sound creates drama & excitement

Question 15

What makes the women seem important in the opening sequence?

Answer 15

Central framing

Question 16

What makes the dream seem like an important event?

Answer 16

The exaggerated breathing sounds and track into close up make this seem like an important event with high pressure.

Question 17

What contrasts the dream sequence with reality?

Answer 17

The transition of the gun shot into the radio alarm helps us to contrast the dream sequence with reality.

Question 18

What helps engage black audiences in the opening sequence?

Answer 18

A black women represented positively - the use of the silk bonnet may help ti engage black audiences who often aren’t show with natural black hair in the media.

Question 19

What helps add a sense of diversity in the advert?

Answer 19

A range of disabilities, ethnicities and genders are represented on screen addition g a sense of diversity.

Question 20

What may help to engage audiences with disabilities?

Answer 20

Disabilities are often underrepresented in the media so the inclusion of people with disabilities may help to engage audcines who deal with disabilities themselves.

Question 21

How did some audcines react to the advert?

Answer 21

Some felt the advert only showed a narrow range of disabilities and they wanted even more diversity.

Question 22

What emphasises the preparation paralympians go though everyday?

Answer 22

The montage of joints being taped, strapped and pushed into prosthetics along with the hyperbolic sounds emphasis the preparation they go through. This suggests a real battle struggle and physical determination and so feels real rather than glamours and idyllic.

Question 23

Describe the sequence with Ellie Simmonds

Answer 23

-Low angle shots and close ups make her seem powerful and dominant
-The jump cuts of different races signifies how many she has entered and won
-Shots of her medals emphasis success.

Question 24

What compares athletes to soldiers?

Answer 24

Shots of sports people training cut with archive style footage of soldiers marching and army training helps compare athletes to soldiers and being fighters.

Question 25

What signifies the athletes strength and power?

Answer 25

The graphic match cut of the wheelchair collision with the planets colliding signifies the athletes sheer strength and power.

Question 26

What shoes the harsh realities of juggling training and family life?

Answer 26

-Shot reverse shot between the cyclist and the phone showing his daughter connotes how hard it is to juggle training and parenting.
-Sad reaction and physical separation emphasises the sacrifices they make to be the best.

Question 27

What could the shot of the father on the phone to his daughter suggest?

Answer 27

-Could represent men as being absent from their children lives and focusing on successes
-Some may see it as representing men as wanting to be emotionally involved with children but being prevented by external pressures.

Question 28

What else does the narrative include about disabled people?

Answer 28

Everyday issues faced by the disabled including discrimination which may help to educate audiences and encourage change.

Question 29

What does the nightmarish imagery emphasise?

Answer 29

Emphasises the fears the athletes have and the pressure they are under as well as the struggles they face.

Question 30

What does the puke bucket do?

Answer 30

Adds comedy but shows they train until they are ill emphasising the harsh realities.

Question 31

What highlights the amount of pain training can cause?

Answer 31

The cuts between the screams during training and childbirth suggests the amount of pain training can cause. Also signifies the paralympians as normal humans dealing with everyday issues such as pregnancy, parenting etc helps make them normalised and relatable.

Question 32

What plays on the popularity of ‘gross videos’?

Answer 32

Close up shots of bruises and blisters being popped plays on the popularity of ‘gross’ videos. Also emphasises the risks and dangers of the sports and the real problems suffered by athletes.

Question 33

What does the reference to medial issues emphasises?

Answer 33

Emphasises the long term health issues that many people with disabilities have to deal with.

Question 34

What does the fallen cascade of balls at the end of the ad show?

Answer 34

Shows the sense of overhwhelmin pressure and stress athletes are under.

Question 35

What does ‘To be a Paralympian there needs to be something wrong with you’ suggest?

Answer 35

-Plays on the negative stereotype that being disabled is somehow wrong.
-Some comments online suggest that some disabled people still weren’t confutable with this message.

Question 36

What is significant about the music?

Answer 36

The music ‘‘So you want to be a boxer’’ is from the 1976 film Bugsy Malone which targets adults 25+ who may be familiar with the song and see it as a fun upbeat reference.

Question 37

What suggests athletes are winners?

Answer 37

Images of athletes celebrating successes adds to the image of them being winner even with disabilities.

Question 38

What may educate audicnes?

Answer 38

The representations of the disabled in the advert may help to educate audicnes and change their preconceptions about disabled people

Question 39

What had previous channel 4 ads focused on?

Answer 39

Previous ads had focused on athletes being Super eg being heroic and not totally ‘real’ or normal.

Question 40

How did Channel 4 change Super Human ad?

Answer 40

Channel 4 kept the Super Human title but changed it to Super.Human focusing on showing the human side of the athletes as well as their successes. Some may say this campaign is more realistic than previous ones.

Question 41

What does the smashing of the word ‘super’ suggest?

Answer 41

Suggests a move away from representing disabled people as ‘other’ and a move towards representing them as human.