Super. Human. Tokyo

Question 1

Product context

Answer 1

• Created to promote the 2020 Paralymic Games by Bradford Young (Oscar nominated cinematographer)
• Trailer was the 3rd campaign including
• Explores sacrifices made and the trials endured by Paralympic athletes

Question 2

How media language influences meaning: Audio codes

Answer 2

• Audio codes, communicates struggles of disabled athletes whilst giving advertisements a positive feel
• Voiceover and dramatic music appear at the start of the advertisement, but rapidly change to the alarm and realities of daily life
• Sound effects underscore the music, emphasisng the battle of training (grunts, groans, tape being applied etc)

Question 3

How media language influences meaning: Technical codes and editing

Answer 3

• Close up shots of expression to engage the audience and portray aspects of disability in a non-victim way
• Range of shots used to convey strength of swimmer Ellie Simmonds, cutting between her alone in the pool, putting on her goggles or training in the gym
• Slow motion is used to show the cycling track crash combined with muting the sound for a more dramatic effect

Question 4

How media language influences meaning: Visual codes

Answer 4

• Iconography and settings are related to the athlete and sport
• Settings juxtaposed with domestic scenes of everyday life as a disabled person
• Gestures communicate frustration, competition and celebration, highlighting the result of hard work

Question 5

How media language influences meaning: Narrative

Answer 5

• Follows the lives of Paralympian’s and their battles through training
• The sequence where the athlete is trying to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to his daughter on a mobile phone whilst training on a bike reinforces the clash between the sport and the family and further establishes the athletes as real people

Question 6

How media language influences meaning: Sequences

Answer 6

• More stylised sequences
• The dream sequence reappears later in the advert and is edited with a Channel 4 news clip announcing the postponement of the Games
• The impact of this is shown as the athletes fall ‘over the edge’

Question 7

How media language influences meaning: Humour

Answer 7

• The image of the hamster on the wheel and the ‘puke bucket’ are recognisable visual signifiers of struggle
• The animated sequences also insert aspects of the comic into what is a gruelling regime

Question 8

Semiotics, Ronald Barthes

Answer 8

• Use recognisable codes and conventions that signify messages for audiences to decode
• Clothing is used to rapidly place the athletes within their sport
• Contrast with athletes in their everyday life
• Serve to illustrate aspects of the lives of people and creates realism

Question 9

Structuralism, Claude Levi-Strauss

Answer 9

• Images of gruelling training regimes are contrasted with the celebratory images at the end of the advertisement when success is achieved
• Dreamlike sequences with dramatic images, music, and the rich colour palette
• Reality conveyed through ambient lighting and sound of the alarm clock
• Animated and archive footage are included in opposition to real-life actions to introduce humour and reinforce the narrative

Question 10

Conceptual binary opposition

Answer 10

• On-screen graphic ‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’
• Between audience perception of Paralympic athletes and reality
• Challenges how language is used set against the reality of the positive images in the advertisement

Question 11

Representation product context

Answer 11

• Lynsey Atkin, 4Creative’s Executive Creative Director said: ‘we spotted an opportunity to present Paralympian’s in a way they hadn’t been shown before’
• Decision was made to change the focus of previous campaign ‘Meet the Superhumans’
• Emphasised the ‘Human’ rather than ‘Super’

Question 12

How and why social groups may be underrepresented or misrepresented

Answer 12

• Dominant groups in society largely control what is produced and so minority groups tend to be marginalised
• Attempts to address the marginalisation of certain social groups
• Aims to reflect the ideologies and ethos of Channel 4,
• Voice to those who aren’t usually represented
• Changed attitudes

Question 13

How representations are constructed through process of selection and combination

Answer 13

• Create representations that challenge accepted ideas regarding disability
• Avoids negative stereotypical representations of Paralympian’s as victims to be pitied, or heroes
• Representations cover both genders and give a different view of the world
• Narratives centred around real people
• Aimed to avoid stereotypes

Question 14

How representations are constructed through media language

Answer 14

• Close up shots of athletes during training and their home lives
• Creates positive representations of ordinary people
• Fast paced editing highlights a range of narratives of athletes with different disabilities, disciplines and challenges

Question 15

Theory of representation, Stuart Hall

Answer 15

• Addresses Hall’s assertions that stereotyping occurs when there are inequalities of power, and that excluded groups are constructed differently
• Focus is on the athletes as ordinary sports men and women
• Three dimensional and distinct from one another

Question 16

Theory of Identity, David Gauntlett

Answer 16

• Visible recognition of those with disabilities
• Allows disabled people to see themselves represented positively in the media
• More diverse and inclusive range of identities
• Broadens understanding of disabled everyday life
• However, Paralympics itself is not enough to redress the balance, many disabilities aren’t featured

Question 17

Target audience

Answer 17

• Broad demographic
• 16-34 year olds
• Fans of sport who want to see more representation

Question 18

How it targets, reaches and addresses the audience

Answer 18

• Personalisation, real human stories
• Technical codes which are uncomfortable (i.e. popping the blister), holds attention
• Audio codes, upbeat music with its connotations of struggle and hard work paying off
• Unique selling point is showng the athletes stories

Question 19

How audiences may interpret it in different ways

Answer 19

• Regular audiences may be familiar with the approach taken by the broadcaster
• Expect the advertisement to raise the profile of the event
• May make some audiences uncomfortable as it uses shock tactics to make aware of issues faced by disabled people
  -Challenged audiences to examine how they might categories disabled people and use outdated language

Question 20

Social and cultural contexts

Answer 20

• Channel 4 is seeking to address the under-representation/misrepresentation of a particular social group
• ‘Human’ rather than ‘Super’
• Present the athletes as neither victims or heroes
  -Constructs a more compelling narrative

Question 21

Reception theory, Stuart Hall

Answer 21

• Upbeat soundtrack, use of personalisation and positive representation encourages to accept the intended meaning of Channel 4
• Use of real people creates the preferred reading that audience should invest in their narratives
• Negotiated would be acknowledging the legitimacy of the encoder’s position, but feeling distanced from the games
• Oppositional responses may come from those who aren’t supporters of Channel 4 and its ethos of giving a voice to those who are underrepresented

Question 22

Cultivation theory, George Gerbner

Answer 22

• Audience may have become used to the conventions of this sub-genre due to repetition of certain codes and conventions
• Focus of specific disability accompanied by a voice-over of serious mode of address
• Can also challenge Gerbner, audiences may question their assumptions and be more open to representations

Question 23

Who was it created and produced by?

Answer 23

• Devised and created by Channel 4’s house creative agency 4Creative and produced by Serial Pictures