Super.Human Flashcards
Product Context
3rd channel4 advertising campaign for Paralympics
‘Super.Human.’ Emphasises paralympians as ordinary people
- not super heroes or victims
Shows real life situations
- producers used athletes real experiences
- sacrifices, family, determination
- more relatable to audiences
Dominant groups
In control of what is produced
- minority groups usually marginalised- creating unrealistic views
Super. Human. Doesn’t do this; C4 gives people a voice
*some may argue that it does happen in Super.Human. As the producers are still likely apart of the dominant group ‘white supremacist capitalist patriarchy’ (proposed by Van Zoonen)
- despite having left wing ideologies
Positive Impact
Changing attitudes surrounding representation of disability
-65% agreed
-
82% believed disabled athletes are as talented as able-bodied athletes
Avoiding stereotypical ideas
Paralympians are not
- victims
- heroes
- superhumans
-previous adverts suggest this (eg. Car accidents, heroic positioning)
Realism
- blood and guts- montage of injuries, juxtaposed with bloody smile
- displays the ‘disgusting’ determination athletes have
Representation of reality
Displaying challenges that the athletes face
- both in sport and ordinary life
- Jordanne Whiley (tennis player) graphic matched scream of training and giving birth
Positive representations
- not disabled people ‘doing their best’
- not ‘overcoming’ their disability
- celebrates success in their own right
- ‘to be a Paralympian there has to be something wrong with you’
Close Up Shots
Training
- displays determination
- Ali Jawad weight lifting- clothes changing each lift (graphic match) to show passing of time
Home life
- eating breakfast
- audience can relate
- positve associations
Fast paced editing
Show a rage of narratives
- all different athletes with their own unique stories
Stuart Hall- Representation
Meanings communicated through signs (semiotics)
- eg. Expresssions of endurance easily understood
Avoids simplifying representations
- athletes 3 dimensional + distinct from each other
- avoiding stereotypes
- no sense of otherness created
David Guantlett- Identity
Visible recognition to those with disabilities
- disabled people may feel positively represented in media
More diverse and inclusive range of identities
- broadens understanding of what life is like as a disabled athlete- not reduced
HOWEVER
Many disabilities are still not represented/ featured in the games
Purpose
Raise awareness
Advert needs to be memorable and hard hitting
Audio Codes
‘So you want to be a boxer’ -Bugsy Malone
- communicates struggles of disabled athletes while maintaining positive feel
- targeting older audience who may be familiar with film
- 2016: ‘yes I can’t potentially viewing disabled athletes as doing their best
Voice overs + dramatic sound effect/ music
- displays battles of training and reality
- eg. Screaming playing tennis vs giving birth
Technical codes
Limited time to present message
Close up shots
- Portray aspects of disability
- not victimising
- but… Ali Jawad is shown dragging a weight, close up creates enigma code until long shot where his disability is revealed
Low angle shot
- display Ellie Simmonds’ power
- alongside her past self wearing medals to connote success
Slow motion
- cycling crash
- muted music to add drama- add to the ‘space’ setting
Visual Codes
Communicate meaning
Iconography and setting related to athletes’ sports
- track for Kadeena Cox (even in the dream world)
- juxtaposed with everyday life
Gestures
-frustration- daughter knocking phone when father was prioritising cycling over her birthday
-competition- Ellie Simmonds putting goggles on
- celebration- athletes cheering at end (wearing GB kit)
Narrative
Battles through training
- having to sacrifice activities (daugher’s birthday- but made up for in comedic scene at end)
Athletes are real people
Stylised sequences
Dream sequence
-contrasting with reality
- displays fear, excitement
- ‘falling off of the edge’ C4 news announcing postponement (dreams broken??)
Humour
Entertaining way to convey info
Puke bucket
- signifier for struggle
- overworking = determination
- having it labelled connotes its frequently used
Intertextuality
- comparisons
- making failure seem more lighthearted through cartoons
Roland Barthes- Semiotics
Symbolic code
- costumes contrasting with athletes real life
- eg. tennis uniform and hospital gown
- creates realism
Claude Levi-Strauss-Structuralism
Binary opposites
- gruelling training and celebration at the end
- signifies that hard work pays off
Visual binary opposites
- dream + reality
- dream: lowkey lighting, dramatic commentary and cheering, gunshot
- reality: Brighter light, alarm clock
-archive footage + real life- humour reinforces narrative
On screen graphic
‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’
- outdated phrase modernly used to signify determination
- conceptual binary opposites
- smashing the ‘super’ to display paralympians are HUMAN
Target Audience
Broad demographic
- C4 viewers- alternative viewpoints
- sports fans
- those who enjoy diverse representations of social groups
- older people who are more likely to watch tv
Personalisation
Focussing on real people + their stories
Narratives constructed so audience identifies with athletes
Technical codes (audience)
Close up shots
- uncomfortable- popping blister
- holds audience attention
- gruelling routines + cartoons add humour
Unique Selling Point
Shows athletes stories
- without voiceover or graphics (genre conventions for charity- gain sympathy)
- realism
‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’
- encourages audience to examine their own personal misconceptions
- outdated language
- shock tactic for people with modernised views
Social and Cultural Context
Focussing on the ‘human’ element
- taking back mythical representations C4 have previously done
- accessible to audience
Athletes neither heroes or victims
- ordinary sports people facing extraordinary challenges
- dream sequence shattered by reality
Stuart Hall- Reception
Dominant position
- accept advert’s ideologies
- real people created preferred reading
-audience may go watch paralympics
Negotiated position
- accept ad’s legitimacy with positve rep
- but show no interest in sports
Oppositional position
- people who don’t support C4’s ethos
- non sports fans
George Gerbner- Cultivation
Audience may already be used to conventions of sub-genre
- repetition of codes (formal mode of address)
- already accepted- immune to purpose
CHALLENGES
- people might question their own assumptions
- open to representation in ads like super.human
- more realistic approach to display disabled person; challenges, misconceptions and mainstream values
