super. human.

Question 1

product context

Answer 1

• created to promote 2020 paralympics
  by Bradford Young, an oscar nominated cinematographer
• devised by Channel 4’s inhouse creative agency 4creative
• produced by Serial Pictures and Somesuch

Question 2

purpose of advert

Answer 2

• athletes first rather than a person with disabilities ‘doing their best’
• realistic representations of their everyday life

-

Question 3

opening of video - dream sequence

Answer 3

• smoke, low key lighting, dramatic non diagetic music create drama and excitement
• montage of audio commentary adds tension and realism as though real competition being judged
• cool calm demeanor signify shes prepared

Question 4

gun shot transition

Answer 4

• gun shot transition into the radio alarm helps us to contrast dream with reality - binary opposition

Question 5

representation

Answer 5

• range of disabilities, ethnicities, and genders represented - diversity
• disabilities are often under represented in media so inclusion of people w disabilities helps engage with a disabled audience

Question 6

critique of representation

Answer 6

• some people say advert had narrow range of disabilities, wanted more diversity

Question 7

montage of joints

Answer 7

• montage of joints being taped, strapped, and pushed into prosthetics, with hyperbolic sounds, emphasises preparation they go though everyday
• suggests a real battle, physical determination, feels quite gritty and real

Question 8

Ellie Simmonds

Answer 8

• low angle shots and close ups
  eg extreme close up of her eyes connoting concentration
• make her seem dominant and powerful
• example of iconography and settings related to athlete and sport
• jump cuts of different races (emphasised by costume changes) signifies how many races shes entered and won

Question 9

sacrifices of atheletes

Answer 9

• shot reverse shot between cyclist and phone showing his daughter, connotes struggle of juggling training with parenting
• sad reactions and physical separations of parents from kids emphasizes sacrifice

Question 10

paralympians as normal people

Answer 10

• shows them dealing with everyday issues such as pregnancy, childbirth, parenting

Question 11

audio codes and what they suggest

Answer 11

• ‘so you want to be a boxer’ from bugsy malone - communicates struggles of disabled athletes whilst giving ad a positive feel
• sound effects emphasizing battle of training - grunts, groans, tape

Question 12

claude levi strauss - binary oppositions

Answer 12

• gruelling training regimes contrasted with celebratory images at end when success is achieved
• on screen graphic ‘to be a paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’ creates conceptual binary opposition between audience perception of parlympians and reality
• animated vs real life action - adds humour

Question 13

david gauntlett identity

Answer 13

• disabled people allowed to see represented positively in media
• offers a diverse range of identities

Question 14

stuart hall reception

Answer 14

• preferred: audience invest in their narratives, the intended meaning of Channel 4, and watch Paralympic Games
• negotiated: may feel distanced from sporting theme, but acknowledge the encoder, and open to postive approach of ad
• oppositional: from non supporters of Channel 4 and its ethos of giving voice to those under represented

Question 15

George Gerbner cultivation

Answer 15

• audience may have become used to conventions of ‘charity’ ad and so become immune to purpose
• however, ad challenges Gerbner’s assertions, audiences may question assumptions and be more open to representations in ads like super human