Superhuman Media Language Flashcards
what’s the aim of charity advertisements?
to raise awareness of issues and events, to have immediate imapct upon the audience to make them take notice. the adverts need to be memorable and hard-hitting.
how is compassion fatigue used?
it aims to make adverts that offer different perspective, more positive and upbeat. the soundtrack ‘So you want to be a boxer’ communicates struggle of disabled athletes while giving positive feels. the voice-over and dramatic music at the start changes to an alarm and realities of daily life. sound effects underscore the music, emphasising battle of training.
how do technical codes convey meaning?
close-up shots of expression portrays aspects of disabilities in a non-victim way. strength and determination of Ellie Simmonds: establishing shot of her alone, close-up of putting on goggles, low angle shot to create power and extreme close-up shows concerntration. slow motion shows cycling track crash combined with muted sound for dramatic effect.
how does the iconography and setting communicate meaning?
Ellie Simmonds putting her goggles on or training are juxtaposed with domestic scenes of everyday life of a disabled person, suggesting normality of their situation.
how do the gesture codes communicate meaning?
gestures communicate frustatration, competition and celebration highlighting results of hard work.
how does the narrative communicate meaning?
follows the paralympians lives and their battles training. the sequences of the athlete trying to sing happy birthday to his daughter through his phones while training reinforces clash between sport and family
how does humour communicate meaning?
the image of the hamster on the wheel and ‘puke bucket’ are recognisable signifiers of struggle. the animated sequences inserts aspects of the comic into what is a gruelling regime.
how can Barthes’ semiotics theory be applied?
clothing places the athletes within their sports. the track cyclist’s clothing or swimming costume contrasts their day-to-day clothes. these illustrate aspects of the lives of the people and create realism.
how can Levi-Strauss’s binary opposites theory be applied?
images of gruelling training contrasts celebratory images when success is achieved. the dreamlike sequences with dramatic music and images contrasts with reality through ambient lighting and the alarm clock. ‘to be a paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’ is conceptual between audiences perceptions of the athletes and reality.
