Wednesday 29 October 2014

Representation of disability within a clip-The Inbetweeners




  • Why is the clip funny?

  • This clip is funny because Will tries to represent himself as the dominant character by insisting playing Frisbee over football will win over the girls. Then not only is he proved wrong when the girls do not look interested to play but it also goes very wrong for him when it hits the disabled lady. It is funny due to the change in power of Will as he goes from leader of the group to someone very venerable as the women shouts and him and no longer respected by his friends. Moreover, the idea that Will does not give up on trying to receive his Frisbee and insisting he has a receipt to prove it when he is being chased makes it more amusing for the audience. 

  • How is the disabled girl being represented?

  • The disabled lady is being represented as helpless and vulnerable as not only does her friend stand up to Will for her but also the boys playing football. The lady is shown to be in distress when she is hit by the Frisbee and does not appear to be angry at Will herself unlike her friend; she relies on her friend to make it right and emphasises the reliance on her friend by leaning into her and letting her make justice for her. However, she does try and hold onto the Frisbee showing how she was one step ahead and would not Will take it back.

  • Are we meant to laugh at the disabled person?

  • I believe that the audience is supposed to laugh at Will and how this game has gone disastrously wrong for him rather than laughing at the disabled person. The audience cannot help but laugh when the disabled lady is hit but not because she is hurt or disrespected but because of how bad it immediately makes Will look. The various shots of the different characters expressions around when she gets hit highlight how awkward the situation is for Will and is echoed by the fact he immediately starts apologising even though he is no where near the girl yet. The audience does laugh at the disabled person for example, when she is first hit and then when she holds onto the Frisbee when Will wants it back but at both times Will is trying to show off and take control of a situation but it has gone the opposite way to planned and therefore makes the audience laugh at him. I believe that if it had hit any other person the audience would still have laughed however the joke would not have worked the same way if it had of hit someone who was able to fight back at Will or someone who was unaffected by it and accepted his apology.

  • Are they the 'butt' of the joke?

  • I do not believe the disabled lady is directly the butt of the joke as the main target is Will and how it all went wrong for him. Although the audience is not directly laughing at her pain and disrespect they cannot help but laugh when it all goes wrong for Will and for this to happen the Frisbee must have hit someone who would not have been easily able to defend themselves which is why I believe a disabled person was chosen.

  • How do you think disabled people respond to this?

  • I think that a disabled person would laugh at this scene because of how Will is portrayed; the scene does not directly disrespect the disabled person and she is actually shown to be more respected than Will as the other boys playing football help her when they believe that he is stealing her Frisbee. It may have been offensive to some people to have the Frisbee hit the disabled person but I believe it had to have been an innocent person that may be helpless for this act to make Will seem like such a bad person and this is how disabled people are often viewed.

  • Are we as a society cultivated to think we should pity the disabled?

  • I think that we are a society that think the disabled should be pitied to some extent; disabled people are shown to need extra help when it comes to doing certain things and although the idea of the disabled person in this clip makes them appear very vulnerable and helpless not all disabled people would have reacted the same way. Many disabled people are just as able to do the same things and act the same way as people without a disability however they are looked upon different because of their situation. I do not believe that the way disabled people are looked at is a bad thing, I think that most people would help disabled people if they needed it as the circumstances are clearly very different for them and therefore they have to be treated slightly differently as people may feel as though they have to respect them more and look out for them. This is shown in this clip where the boys playing football automatically help. However, they should not be pitied in a way that makes them seem like they cannot do anything for themselves as they should be just as respected as any person without a disability.

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