Media language and context

Introduction

The super human advertisement was created to promote the 2020 Paralympic games . It was created by Channel 4, who also broadcasted the Paralympics, and the advert explores the sacrifices made by athletes in preperation for the games.

Upbeat song

So you want to be a boxer - Bugzy Malone

Compassion fatigue

People becoming exhausted from seeing too much suffering (fed up)

How did producers tackle compassion fatigue?

They offered a different perspective on the event, usually one that is more positive.

• This was done with the audio codes, the song communicates the struggles of disability while giving it a positive feel.

• Struggles are still shown with the loud sound effects underscoring the music

Technical codes

• Adverts have limited time, so rely on technical codes

• The use of close ups and expressions engage the audiences and connote disability in a non-victim way- its a part of their lives

• Slow motion for the bike crash, along with the muted sound is more dramatic.

Visual codes

• The iconography and settings are related to the athlete and the sport.

• However these settings are juxtaposed with scenes of everyday life

• This connotes the normality of the situation

Narrative

• It follows the lives of Paralympians and their battles through training

• The sequence where the athlete sings Happy birthday while on the phone reinforces the clash between the sport and family, connoting the athletes as ‘real’ people.

Use of humour

It’s used to convey information

• The image of the hamster on the wheel and the puke bucket are visual representations of struggle

• The use of animations inserts aspects of a comic to a struggled lifestyle.

Roland Barthes - Semiotics

Adverts have to communicate meaning rapidly, due to limited time.

They use recognisable codes and conventions for the audience to decode.

• Clothing is used to place the athlete within their sport. (swimming costume, cyclist outfit)

• This contrasts to their everyday life, (hospital clothing when the woman is giving birth, or the causal clothing when entering the cafe)

• These signs create realism

Claude Levi Strauss - Structuralism

Texts are constructed through binary oppositons

• The struggles of training are contrasted with the celebrations at the end of the advert when success is achieved

• More binary opposition created with the dreamlike sequences (the dramatic images, music and rich colour palette) to the reality (sudden alarm clocks, ambient lighting)

• “To be a paralympian theres got to be something wrong with you”. This contrasts with the positive associations with paralympians throughout the video, which makes the audience reflect.

• The juxtaposition of feeling powerful, then being unable to enter a cafe