Barthes - Semiotics
- As advertisements use recognisable codes and conventions that signify a messages for audiences to decode.
- Clothing is used to rapidly place the athletes within their sport, for example, the track cyclist’s clothing or the swimming costumes contrast with the athletes in their everyday life, such as the hospital clothing when the woman is giving birth or casual clothing when the wheelchair user tries to access the café. These signs serve to illustrate aspects of the lives of the people and creates realism.
- could also say the women giving birth signifies that paralympians training is as challeneging as childbirth. = make sit more relatable
- Non-sports related issues such as discrimantion faced by disabled people = its not accessible for the disabled in the outside world = cafe scene.
- this challenges the creation of myths around disability.
Stuart Hall’s theory of representation
According to Hall, meanings are communicated through signs.
- For example, expressions of endurance and struggle are easily recognisable and understood.
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.
David Gauntlett’s theory of identity
In addressing an under-represented social group, the advertisement gives visible recognition to those with disabilities and allows disabled people to see themselves represented positively in the media. Everyday life, such as a woman in childbirth and a baby crying.
Reception theory – Stuart Hall
- The upbeat soundtrack, use of personalisation and positive representations of the event and the athletes as both ‘Super’ and ‘Human’, encourages an audience to accept the ideologies and intended meaning of Channel 4.
- The use of real people creates a preferred reading that the audience should invest in their narratives and subsequently watch the Paralympic Games.
- Some audiences may adopt a negotiated position, acknowledging the legitimacy of the athletes, but may feel more distanced from the sporting theme of the event.
- However, this audience may be more open to the positive approach of the advertisement and examine their misconceptions about disabled people and their lives more generally
Target audience
- relatively broad demographic.
- 16–34 age bracket; fans of sport, those who have disabilities and those who desire to see more inclusive representations of social groups. =
- ‘Bugsy Malone’ soundtack audience 35+ will be familair.
- Young wanted to ‘appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society’
how the advertisement targets, reaches and addresses its audience.
- personalisation = will reach the audience.
Super.Human. deals with real, human stories focusing on the day-to-day struggles of being an athlete in training and disabled. - The montage of audo commentaryadds tension and realism as though they are being judged - always being looked upon at - linkls to contempotary society
- technical codes include a lot of close-up shots, some of which are uncomfortable,for example, the popping of the blister, bruises etc. These are (overwhelming hyperbole shots).= which gives the audience access to views with which they may be unfamiliar,
- This emphasises the damages/internal injugeries = although triumph = also educates the audience to with what they go through
- The editing cuts between the athletes’ gruelling routines and clips of cartoon moments, lightening the mood and engaging the audience through humour. = almost comedic
- POV shot makes the audience feel like they are involved, makes them feel like their in an action shot bike scence) = escapsaim
Social & cultural context
- wanted to widen the range of representation of disabilities
- The advertisement seeks to focus that these are real people – ‘Human’ rather than ‘Super’ – which makes them more accessible to the audience. This is seen at the end, when the words were on screen and the athlete through the ball to elimainate the word ‘super’ making them to be seen as just HUMAN.
- The representation of disability in this advertisement is affected. 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 is evident at the beginning of the advert when the dream sequence is shattered, and real life begins.
narrative
- features 7 athletes offering diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and the nature of a specific distablity.
- at the start, theres a sense of preparation, from waking up from a dream in which the subconscious fear of failure takes on human form to having breakfast
- ali jaffery arrive before 5am at the gym, underlying the inderpendence and sheer determination required to make it as a paralympian.
- jordan wiley is woken by the screams of babies, that will be instantly relatable to any parent
- the focus on the athletes inside and outsode life makes it something of a depaerture from previous interations from channel 4’s omlypic campaigns
- focuses on the physical and emotional toil, hence the montage of x-rays and brusies
- Although the preperation, theres a problem, as todorov structure, ellie simmions is psychological , she is weighded down by a huge medal, which is part of a pattern of cartoon style = hyperbolic visual.
- lastly, theres is triumph = pain from childbirth, struggle from accessing a cafe = this is overcome in their team GB kit
Structuralism – Strauss
- visual binary opposition is created between
- the dreamlike sequences =comdeic, hyberpobkic visuals with dramatic images, -m x-rays etc =unconformatbake, gruesome
- music and the rich colour palette,
- the reality conveyed though ambient lighting and the sound of the alarm clock.
- The on-screen graphic ‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’ = creates a conceptual binary opposition between audience perception of Paralympic athletes and the reality.
- It challenges how language is used to set against the reality of the positive images in the advertisement.
why particular social groups may be under-represented or misrepresented.
- minority groups tend to be marginalised, creating an unrealistic view of the contemporary world.
- This advertisement attempts to address the marginalisation of those with disabilities.
- The positive representation of disability in the advertisement acts a coverage of the games changed attitudes.
- According to YouGov research:
+ 82% of viewers agreed disabled athletes were as talented as able-bodied athletes.
ways to attract the audience
- challenge perceptions
- celebrity endorsement
- visual codes (e.g. graphic imagery, juxtaposing scenes)
- evoke empathy/sympathy
- any printed text (e.g. slogans)
- technical codes (close-up shots, low-angles.)
what is the superhumans advert
- an advert for created for the Paralympians to display the ‘ super human’ qualities of the athletes for the 2020 competition as well as their success.
- Channel 4 ideology and ethos is to demonstrated disabilities to a wider audience. & to give a voice to those who are not usually represented positively in other areas of the media.
- Bradford Young (African American) directed the advert (& won a BAFTAA award for it) = he wanted to bring inclusivity/diversity and wanted to attempt to address the marginalisation of those with disabilities.
=does this in numerous ways
how are those with disabilities represented
- exhausted
- inferior (face challenges that are irregular to normal people)
- physical pain
- sacrifices = parenthood - misses childs bday etc
- dedicated, resilient
- powerful, strong, determined.
Scenes at the adverts
- At the beginning of the advert, smoke lowkey lighting and dramatic non diegetic music creates drama and excitement
- black women has a central positioning = important and power. Her cool appearence suggests shes prepared
- women is also wearing a bonet to engage black audience who hair is not shown in media (relatable) = diverse and iclusive (tackles that misrepresentations)
- The graphic match cut of the wheelchair with the planets colliding, signifies the athletes power/strength.
How the athletes are seen as strong
- ELLIE SIMMONS : dragging a boat as she swims = reinforces the idea of her being strong and a s determined role model and how difficult it is for her to be respected
- she wears many medals = subverts the representations.
- Man is also dragging weight to the bench = this is metaphorical representation of the burden evrey disable people carry
- jodi cundy sacfrices being present at his daughters birthday for his commitment to his training
audience
what makes a text likely to appeal to the audience?
use of elements such as..
- narrative
- intertextuality: when ellie simminons is ontroduced the advert borrows the tropes of a jewel in a western the enemy she must shoot it out with her own hyper sucessfull past
- sound, both the nostalgoic association by taking the song from the musical bugsy and also the diegetic soundtrack =. the amplified grunts and groans
- social and cultural circumstances: i.e. age, gender or ethnicty, how the experience of disability might lead people to take different responsesto the adverts
