Coming Down The Mountain- Disability

In the clip coming down the mountain it shows the difference between mentally disabled and non disabled it also shows how they need to be taken care of.

David the non disabled boy is shown to be good looking much like a teenage boy should be he is shown this way to show the difference between non disabled and mentally disabled. Ben the boy with downs syndrome is shown to be under the stereotype of ugly which means he is physically incapable he is shown as ugly to enhance the stereotype of disabled people and to enhance that they are abnormal. Ben has a stylised speaking which shows the idea of being mentally challenged. At the very beginning of the clip David is thinking about how much he dislikes his brother and it goes into an explosion in his head where he sees back to many years before, this is a use of non-diegetic sound as we can hear what is being said but we cannot see him speaking it.

There is happy music at the beginning of the clip which challenges the stereotype as usually when you would see a disabled person sad or slow music is played so that the audience can feel sorry for them. The music throughout the clip is still happy which shows that even though Ben is mentally disabled he can still be happy and he still knows how to enjoy himself. The camera has many different shots in this clip, there is a shot reverse shot which shows that David has more power over Ben the reason that it shows more power over Ben is because it also gets close to David's face and he looks very intimidating and talks down to Ben. The shots change quite quick rather than slow, this is another representation of challenging the stereotype as usually you would see a slow fade to the next shot of a slow pan around the room to show that disabled people are slow and that they are vulnerable but in the clip coming down the mountain it moves fast which shows that Ben is challenging the stereotype by being as normal as he can.

There is a close up on Ben and a close up on David the close up shows their beauty and their ugly, Ben is shown as the ugly one and David as shown as the beautiful one. There is a few moments in the clip that show power over Ben and sometimes even power over David. When David and Ben's dad talks he is standing up and tells them to stop arguing, by him standing up it shows that he has the more power as he is higher than them both and that he gives out the orders. When the mother stands up and goes to say goodbye to Ben she leans down to give him a hug, by her leaning down to his level it shows that she is not trying to be over powering and she is trying to show Ben that they are the same even though they are not. David shows power over Ben when he talks to him like he is a child who does not know what they are doing or what they are talking about. When walking to the bus stop Ben walks behind David like a child would walk behind their parent, this is also a show of power as it looks as though David is the more grown up one and that he is the one who sets the rules against Ben.

Ben continues to show his child like behaviour which links in with the mental disability, he begins to play with his toys at the bus stop which once again puts across his the idea that he is child like and that he does need supervision which links in with the stereotype of physically incapable. The clip then goes to showing David at school, by showing David at school and not showing Ben it could be representation that David can learn with other non disabled students whereas it does not show Ben so he could be with a special needs class to help him with his downs syndrome which links to the stereotype of abnormal. David sits at his desk drawing and it looks as though he is not listening the teacher then asks if he has any idea what has been happening he repeats everything that is said which shows he can retain information and that he is fine whereas Ben would not be able to remember simple things which shows he is vulnerable.

At the beginning of the clip Ben says that he needs to go to the toilet, Ben and David's father then tells David to go and help Ben which shows that Ben is not capable of going to the toilet by himself which makes the audience feel sorry for him however happy music is still playing which challenges the stereotype. The lighting throughout the clip is quite bright and sunny which puts across happiness and joy and Ben always seems filled with joy however when you would usually see a clip with a disabled person it is slow music and gloomy so that we can feel compassion for them and sorrow.