SUPER.HUMAN Flashcards
PRODUCT CONTEXT
What was the purpose of the advertisement?
To promote the 2020 Paralympic Games and to explore the sacrifices made/trials endured by Paralympic athletes
PRODUCT CONTEXT
Which creative agency devised the advertisement for the 2020 Paralympic Games?
Channel 4’s in-house creative agency 4Creative
PRODUCT CONTEXT
Who produced the advertisement for the 2020 Paralympic Games?
Serial Pictures and Somesuch
PRODUCT CONTEXT
What is the significance of the advertisement in relation to Channel 4?
It was the third campaign for the Paralympics undertaken by Channel 4
PRODUCT CONTEXT
What was included in the bigger campaign alongside the advertisement?
Posters and social media advertising
PRODUCT CONTEXT
Who created the advert and what is his significance?
Bradford Young, an oscar nominated cinematographer.
PRODUCT CONTEXT
How does the 2020 campaign differ from the previous campaigns?
The focus was changed from the previous campaign ‘Meet the Superhumans’ and instead to emphasise the ‘Human’ rather than the ‘Super’ and to juxtapose the images of the training regime with those of the everyday lives of the athletes, with the intention of making them relatable to audiences.
SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT
What do advertisement campaigns seek to address and how does this link to Channel 4?
The concerns and issues of the society that produces them.
In promoting the Paralympics and creating the trailer, Channel 4 is seeking to address the under-representation or misrepresentation of paralympians/disabled people.
SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT
What is the advertisements focus?
The advertisement seeks to focus on the fact that these are real people – ‘Human’ rather than ‘Super’ – which makes them more accessible to the audience.
SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT
How does Channel 4’s representation of the athletes reflect society/culture?
Channel 4 has taken the active decision to present the athletes neither as victims or as heroes, but just ordinary sports men and women facing extraordinary challenges. This constructs a more compelling social narrative reflecting the appetite of the time for success stories that are accessible. This is evident at the beginning of the advert when the dream sequence is shattered, and real life begins.
How do the audio codes in Super.Human prevent compassion fatigue?
The producers of this sub-genre of advertisements are very aware of compassion
fatigue and so will often aim to make advertisements that offer a different perspective
on the issue or event, usually one that is more
positive and upbeat.
This approach is evident
in Super. Human. with the use of audio codes. The choice of the soundtrack of So You Want
to be a Boxer from Bugsy Malone effectively communicates the struggles of the disabled athletes whilst giving the advertisement a
positive feel.
“So if you haven’t got it/You might as well just quit”
What do the use of sound affects convey?
The more typical conventions,
for example a voice-over and dramatic music, appear at the start of the advertisement, but
rapidly change to the alarm and the realities of daily life (through the use of a sound bridge). Sound effects underscore the music, emphasising the battle of training including grunts, groans and tape being applied.
This shows the realities of the athletes lives.
What does iconography/setting convey?
The iconography and settings are related to the athlete and the sport, for example Ellie
Simmonds putting on her goggles in the pool, or training in the gym, but these settings are
juxtaposed with domestic scenes of everyday life as a disabled person, suggesting the normality of their situation.
What does the archived footage in the advertisement convey?
The wide shot of a diver jumping into a small swimming pool reflects the true ability and impressiveness of the paralympians skill.
The close up shot of army boots marching represents the order, discipline and routine required for these paralympians.
This could also represent the idea that the athletes are representing their country.
What does the use of eliptical editing convey?
This can be seen in the close up tracking shot of a man lifting weights in different coloured shirts.
This conveys the relentlessness of the paralympians training.
How does the use of the Kuleshov effect create meaning?
Close up shot of bicycle wheel cuts to a wide shot of a hamster running on its wheel.
This connotes the relentlessness and hard work of the athletes.
Wide shot of two wheelchairs colliding in a game of basketball cuts to an image of planets colliding.
This connotes the physical sacrifice paralympians make.
How does language aim to break down stigma in the advertisement?
“To be a paralympian there must be something wrong with you”
This breaks down the stigma that paralympians/disabled people are “different” from able bodied people.
“Super.Human”
Through the use of graphic effects, the “super” is shattered by a ball being thrown at it. This reinforces the purpose of breaking down the stigma to show that paralympians are normal people.
What does the opening “dream sequence” connote?
The long establishing shot of the athlete standing under a floodlight with fog surrounding her might connote the pressures that athletes face to succeed.
It also shows how isolating training can be.
The long-shot zooms in to make a close up shot, connoting how the athlete is disciplined and composed.
The non- diagetic sound of a commentator and crows cheering reinforces the pressure to succeed.
How are binary opposites created through the swimmer?
Long shot of Ellie Simmonds in a white swimsuit cuts to her on the other side of the pool in a black swimsuit (symbolic code of wearing medals too).
This shows how the athletes are under pressure to always improve and continue to success.
They are isolated and their own competitors.
What is the effect of the multi strand narrative?
The narrative therefore shows the complexities of the paralympians lives in terms of their training and their personal lives.
For example, the sequence where the athlete is trying to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to his daughter on a mobile phone whilst training on a bike reinforces the clash between the sport and the family and further establishes the athletes as real people.
What is the effect of the wide shot of “Mr Puke Bucket”?
It portrays the physical strain the athletes are under - whilst connoting that they work hard.
It also generates this idea of suffering in a humorous manner, which avoids compassion fatigue and engages audiences.
What does the jump cuts of people screaming (diagetic sound)?
Cuts from an tennis player screaming whilst playing to her screaming during childbirth.
This connotes the duality of athletes lives, they are ordinary mothers but in extraordinary circumstances.
What do the graphic close-up shots connote?
The time-lapse of a growing bruise/close up shot of a blister being popped shows the physical suffering endured by athletes day-to-day due to their training.
How does the wheelchair user being unable to get into the cafe successfully portray Channel 4’s purpose?
The close up of the wheels hitting the step shows the struggles of disabled people in everyday life - this shows how disabled people face extraordinary challenges, perhaps encouraging audiences to consider these challenges which are taken for granted by able-bodied people.
This suffering is once again portrayed in a light-hearted, comedic way through the diagetic dialogue of the woman swearing at the ignorance of those passively watching her struggle. This doesn’t pose her as a victim.
How does the reoccurring dream sequence show the pressures of the athletes?
We see a long shot of a runner being chased by medals in a race, showing the pressures to win and perhaps a fear of failure.
This is reinforces through the diagetic sound of an evil laugh coming from one of the medals, posing this sequence as a nightmare representative of the athletes fear of failure.
How is nightmare imagery continued in the shots of the swimmer?
Through the wide shot of Eillie Simmonds being dragged down by a massive medal.
This nightmarish imagery makes Ellie look small, connoting how belittling it can feel to fail as an athlete.
Her being dragged under the water connotes the pressures and mental strain of competing as an athlete.
What does the jump cut of thousands of pills falling out of a cupboard to balls falling on top of an athlete connote?
It connotes the overwhelming stress and pressures of the athlete - in terms of their physical health (which consequently affects their personal lives, the medication is likely due to their disability too) and in terms of their profession.
What is the effect of stolen footage of Boris Johnson?
It reflects the context of the times, coronavirus and how this would’ve affected the paralympians due to their games being postponed. This would’ve been unmotivating and disheartening.
Hence the manipulated speech of him saying “You might as well quit”, reflective of the athletes mental state at the time.
What are the key ideas of Hall’s Representation Theory?
The idea that representation is the
production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs
The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes.
The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
The idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’
How does Hall’s Representation Theory link to Super.Human?
This advertisement goes some way to
address Hall’s assertions that stereotyping occurs when there are inequalities of power, and that excluded groups, such as the
disabled, are constructed as different.
In the advertisement, the focus is on the athletes as ordinary sports men and women striving to achieve a goal. The athletes are three dimensional and distinct from each other;
therefore, the advertisement avoids
simplifying their representations.
What are the key ideas of Gauntlett’s Identity Theory?
The idea that the media provide us
with ‘tools’ or resources that we use
to construct our identities.
The idea that, whilst in the past the
media tended to convey singular,
straightforward messages about identity - the media today offers more diverse representations.
How does Gauntlett’s Identity Theory apply to Super.Human?
Super.Human depicts Gauntlett’s idea that the media now offers more diverse representations who audiences can pick and choose aspects to build their own identities.
The advert doesn’t offer a simple representation of disability, which empowers them without portraying them as heroic and also shows their struggles without portraying them as victims.
What are some examples of binary opposites (Strauss)?
Personal vs professional life
Dark vs light
Physical vs mental endurance
Success vs struggle
What are the hermeneutic codes (Barthes)?
The opening dream sequence - how will she succeed?
Engages audience in a sort of narrative.
The enigma is solved when the dream sequence reoccurs and she wins - shows how the multi-strand narrative is engaging for audiences, we want to see the outcome.
What are the symbolic codes (Barthes)?
The archived/borrowed footage.
Diving into small pool - the impressive nature of the paralympians skill.
Army boots marching - the discipline/regime of the athletes. Also the idea that they are representing their country.
The hamster wheel - the relentlessness and repetitive nature of training for the athletes.
What are the semantic codes (Barthes)?
The colours of Ellie Simmonds swimsuits as she is “competing against herself’.
The white connotes neutrality and her current self.
The black connotes the enemy and therefore the dark side of being an athlete which includes immense pressure.
What are the cultural codes (Barthes)?
The borrowed footage of Boris Johnson saying “you might as well quit” in reference to the Covid pandemic and how this affected athletes.
