A Level Media - Super.Human. Tokyo 2020 advert - Media Language, Representation & Audiences

Summary

This video script dissects the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics advert by Channel 4, focusing on media language, representation, and audience engagement. It explores how the advert uses dramatic visuals, music, and narrative to depict Paralympians as powerful and relatable figures. The script also discusses the advert's portrayal of disability, aiming to normalize and diversify representation, while also highlighting the challenges and sacrifices these athletes face. The analysis concludes by reflecting on Channel 4's approach to representation and the advert's impact on perceptions of disability.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The advert uses dramatic visuals, music, and lighting to create a sense of urgency and power, particularly highlighting a Black woman at the start.
• 🏃‍♀️ A montage of audio commentary and dramatic breathing sounds emphasizes the intensity of the Paralympians' preparation, with a calm, focused athlete at the center.
• 🛏️ Transition from a dramatic race scene to a more realistic bedroom setting reflects normal life, featuring a Black woman wearing a silk headscarf, highlighting the underrepresentation of natural Black hair care in media.
• 🌍 The advert showcases a diverse group of athletes, including those with visible disabilities, emphasizing the importance of visibility and underrepresentation of people with disabilities in mainstream media.
• 💪 Scenes of athletes strapping joints and experiencing physical strain highlight both the pain and heroism of their training, presenting them as strong and committed, yet human.
• 🛠️ The advert balances the successes of Paralympians with real-life struggles, such as discrimination, parental sacrifices, and physical injuries, showing a deep and relatable portrayal of their lives.
• 🎬 The inclusion of surreal and dramatic imagery, such as a woman chasing a clock symbol, adds humor and depth to the athletes' lives, reflecting their dedication to sports.
• 🏅 A graphic match cut between racing wheelchairs and planets colliding emphasizes the extreme, heroic nature of Paralympic sports, blending action-film-like drama with reality.
• 🏆 Channel 4's emphasis on showing the human side of Paralympians, contrasting previous campaigns that focused more on elevating them to 'superhuman' status, aims for a more balanced representation.
• 🤝 The final message of the advert, with the word 'super' being smashed to leave only 'human,' reflects a shift in perspective toward normalizing and humanizing Paralympians, aligning with Channel 4's alternative and diverse broadcasting style.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video guide?

The video guide focuses on analyzing the media language, representation, and audience aspects of the 'Superhuman Tokyo 2020 Paralympian' TV advert, specifically for students studying the Eduqas A-level Media Studies specification.

How is the initial atmosphere of the advert created?

The initial atmosphere is created using smoke, dramatic music, and low-key lighting, contributing to a sense of drama and excitement. A black woman is centered in the frame, emphasizing her importance and power.

What is the significance of the woman's silk headscarf in the advert?

The silk headscarf is significant as it is a conventional practice for black women to protect their hair at night. This representation provides a relatable and authentic portrayal of natural black hair care, which is often underrepresented in the media.

How does the advert portray diversity?

The advert showcases diversity through its montage of different people, including men, women, individuals in wheelchairs, and amputees, highlighting the diversity within Paralympian sports.

What criticisms have been made about the advert's representation of disability?

Some viewers felt that the advert focuses on more obvious disabilities, such as people in wheelchairs, while leaving out other less visible disabilities, suggesting that the representation could be more inclusive.

What technique is used to create urgency in the advert's race scenes?

The advert uses tracking shots that zoom in on the athlete’s face, heavy breathing sounds, and audio commentary to create a sense of urgency, simulating the feeling of being in a live race or sporting event.

How are the athletes’ struggles depicted in the advert?

The advert shows athletes dealing with pain, injuries, and sacrifices such as missing family moments. These portrayals aim to provide a realistic depiction of the challenges Paralympians face, rather than glamorizing their lives.

What message does the advert convey through its graphic match cuts and surreal imagery?

The graphic match cuts, such as the collision of wheelchair wheels with planets, and surreal imagery, like the black woman running through symbols, convey the intense, almost otherworldly nature of Paralympian sports, blending reality and fantasy.

How does the advert attempt to normalize disability?

By showing diverse disabilities and everyday struggles that disabled individuals face, such as accessibility issues and medical challenges, the advert aims to make disability more visible, relatable, and normalized for a wide audience.

What shift in representation does Channel 4 make compared to previous Paralympic campaigns?

Unlike previous campaigns that portrayed Paralympians as 'superhuman,' this campaign aims for a more realistic and balanced representation, highlighting both the achievements and everyday struggles of disabled athletes to present them as 'human' rather than superhuman.