Stills analysis

• Kandukondain, Kandukondain
• Gallivant
• Wait Until Dark
• Born on the Fourth of July
• The Men
• Forrest Gump
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• The Elephant Man
• Children of a Lesser God
• Shrek
• Frida
• Scent of a Woman
• My Left Foot
• Coming Home
• Sixth Happiness

Kandukondain Kandukondain

This film breaks the stereotyped pattern of Indian cinema with the beautiful girl eventually falling in love with and marrying the disabled man.

Type of shot

long shot

Location

a party

Characters

widowed mother (on the right of the four women in the foreground, left of centre) and her three daughters, Kamla, Meenakshi and Saumya (l-r).

Action/Mood

The women look worried, anxious and pitying. They are facing Major Bala, who is supported by his friends. Major Bala looks angry. This is the first time Bala and Meenakshi meet. Party guests in the background look on as if something to draw their attention has just occurred. Bala's impairment (he is an amputee) is shown by him supporting himself on the chair, and having his arm around his friend's neck.

Place and purpose in film

near the beginning; features the main characters; sets up the key dynamic of Bala and Meenakshi's interaction, which is slowly resolved in the film.

Disability focus

Disabled person as pitiable.

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Gallivant

Andrew Kötting tells us he made Gallivant to show his daughter, Eden, and her grandmother, Gladys, getting to know each other as they travel round the coast of Britain, exploring people and places.

Type of shot

medium long-shot from a low angle.

Location

outside, on a beach.

Characters

Eden (left) and her grandmother, Gladys.

Action/Mood

An intimate scene of a little girl and an elderly woman who is holding her hand, a bucket, a spade and a kite. The elderly woman is showing great care and interest in the little girl. They are framed by the sky and, low down, the horizon. The little girl is looking down and appears to be very interested in something on the beach.

Place and purpose in film

near the beginning, introducing these as the main characters in the film; the shot shows one of the main emphases of the film: members of different generations of a family getting to know each other.

Disability focus

communicating with Eden, who has a rare syndrome and communicates through Sign language.

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Wait Until Dark

A blind woman is subjected to terror in her own apartment.

Type of shot

Shot 1: medium shot. Shot 2: medium two-shot.

Location

Both shots are inside the woman's apartment.

Characters

Shot 1: the blind woman, Suzy Hendrix; Shot 2: Suzy and a man posing as a policeman to frighten Suzy and get her to tell him about a doll (filled with drugs) he believes is in her possession.

Action/Mood

Shot 1 shows a tentative but independent blind woman in her kitchen finding out the time by touching a clock. Shot 2, in the living room, shows the same woman with a man in gloves, coat and hat holding the telephone up to the woman's ear The situation looks threatening and worrying. The woman appears concerned; the man looks ominous, an effect heightened since the audience knows the woman cannot see him.

Place and purpose in film

near the beginning. Shot 1 establishes that the woman is blind but is able to cope. Shot 2 shows how her blindness is exploited by the people who want to scare her, and helps impress on the audience how frightening it must be to be unable to see your adversary.

Disability focus

Disabled person as victim.

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Born on the Fourth of July

A hawkish American super-patriot becomes disabled by war. The film is in many ways an allegory for the changes that took place in America in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Type of shot

medium long-shot. The shot is from a low angle, so the central, wheelchair-using character is level with the viewer.

Location

A demonstration outside the 1972 Republican Convention, USA.

Characters

The lead character, Ron Kovic, and other demonstrators.

Action/Mood

In the foreground, Ron Kovic in his wheelchair proudly holds an American Flag. He is being pushed by a fellow demonstrator. Next to him is another veteran in a wheelchair, partly obscured by the flag. They all look very determined.

Place and purpose in film

near the end of the film, when Ron has worked through living with his impairment. The shot makes it clear that Ron has become a committed anti-war protestor, which brings him dignity and pride, in contrast to his earlier disillusionment at being disabled by war.

Disability focus

How protest and the fight for rights confer dignity on this wheelchair-using war veteran.

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The Men

A veteran disabled in war becomes isolated and bitter until cajoled out of his solitude by his disabled fellows.

Type of shot

medium long-shot.

Location

in the corridor of an institution.

Characters

the lead character in the film, Bud Wilozek, and his fiancée, Ellen.

Action/Mood

Bud is in his wheelchair, three-quarters turned away from the camera. He is squeezing the arm of his fiancée, Ellen, who is looking at him and flinching. Something is wrong between them. Could it be that Bud is thinking he has failed as a man because he will not be able to make love to his wife now he is in a wheelchair?

Place and purpose in film

three-quarters through the film. This shot expresses Bud's initial negative reaction to being disabled and how it affects his relationship with Ellen. Gradually, he is helped by his friends and by counselling and comes to see that there is a more positive way forward (although the question of sexual relations remains unanswered).

Disability focus

disabled people as asexual and bitter.

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Forrest Gump

The unlikely adventures of a man with a learning difficulty becomes an allegory for American history over the last fifty years.

Type of shot

long shot.

Location

on a bench waiting for a bus.

Characters

the lead character, Forrest Gump.

Action/Mood

Forrest sits alone, with just some trees behind him. He has a seriously short haircut, when this was not a fashion statement, a sky-blue shirt uncomfortably buttoned up at the neck, white socks with coloured hoops and a pair of bedraggled training shoes. He has a large box of chocolates on his suitcase. He looks straight ahead with his hands in his lap.

Place and purpose in film

this is the opening shot of the film. Forrest's appearance suggests a 'geeky' teenage mentality in an adult body, indicating that he has a learning difficulty. You get the impression he is isolated and friendless as he is alone on his bench.

Disability focus

A person with a learning difficulty being an isolated loner.

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame

A film of the classic French novel by Victor Hugo.

Type of shot

long shot.

Location

a dark, shadowy doorway or window alcove, looking out over a street scene of historic Paris.

Characters

Quasimodo, 'The Hunchback', is silhouetted in the foreground and a Parisian crowd features in the distance.

Action/Mood

Quasimodo is a dark, deformed figure seen in profile framed by dark walls. He is alone and secretive, looking out on the light and life of the streets of Paris.

Place and purpose in film

after Quasimodo has come down from his belfry and has been mocked by the crowd. The shot establishes Quasimodo as disfigured, sinister and alone. The distant crowd and sunlit streets emphasise his solitude and isolation, and the fact that he keeps an eye on what's going on in the city.

Disability focus

a disabled person as sinister, isolated and segregated.

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The Elephant Man

The true story of a Victorian freak, exhibited for money by a doctor. John Merrick had a rare condition called proteus syndrome that deformed his face, head and limbs and caused his skin to hang in thick folds. So he was treated like a freak.

Type of shot

medium, low angle.

Location

on board a ship, cloudy background.

Characters

John Merrick, 'The Elephant Man'.

Action/Mood

Merrick is huddled alone. His face is covered by a piece of material with eyeholes cut out and the folds at the front of his face look like the outline of an elephant's trunk. He wears a hat and a cloak gathered about him. Although you cannot see his expression, he seems mysterious, strange, alone and sad.

Place and purpose in film

This is on a boat after Merrick had been kidnapped by his former fairground exploiter and taken to France and is returning to notoriety in England. This shot builds up the audience's fearful and curious expectations of eventually seeing a freak man who 'looks like an elephant'. It also suggests Merrick's sadness and isolation, building up some sympathy for him.

Disability focus

A disabled person as freakish, creepy and an object of curiosity.

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Children of a Lesser God

The debate between oralism and signing for deaf people is played out in a love story between a deaf girl and a teacher in a deaf school.

Type of shot

medium, two-shot.

Location

in a room. The background is black with no objects visible.

Characters

the main characters, Sarah (a deaf girl), and James Leeds (a hearing teacher in a school for the deaf).

Action/Mood

both characters are sideways to the camera. Sarah is speaking with her hands, making intricate signs to communicate using American Sign Language to James, who is facing her and making less refined signs back. Strong lighting on their hands against the black background puts the dramatic emphasis on their communication. Their faces are intent and concentrating

Place and purpose in film

halfway through the film. The shot shows how lively communication in Sign language is, and also illustrates in the story how James, who is an oralist and anti Sign-language, gradually comes to see what signing means to Sarah and her friends, though not before they move in together and break up because of James's hang-ups about relying on Sign language for communication.

Disability focus

a strong and independent deaf person.

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Shrek

Fairytale stereotypes turned on their heads in a funny, animated film.

Type of shot

medium.

Location

outside at sunset, sitting on a tree trunk, with meadows and trees in the background.

Characters

Shrek, the ogre, and Fiona, a princess.

Action/Mood

: a large, green ogre is holding the hand of a young, beautiful woman wearing a coronet and therefore, obviously, a princess. His hand is large and clumsy but clasps her tiny hand gently. They are looking into each other eyes, like lovers. The picture evokes the idea of Beauty and the Beast. Although the ogre is large and ugly, he looks sad and compassionate.

Place and purpose in film

Three-quarters through the film, though Shrek still feels he cannot express his true feeling to Fiona. This shot shows that the princess and Shrek are falling in love. It contrasts the big, ugly ogre and the classic 'beautiful princess'. It seems to establish that the two are opposites who could never come together, although the film belies that cliché in the end. The sunset is significant as the audience knows, by now, that at sunset Fiona turns into an ogre. The ogre's gentle behaviour and kind expression arouse the audience's sympathy.

Disability focus

stereotyping and judging people by their looks without getting to know them.

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Frida

The life story of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

Type of shot

a long shot, from a medium-high angle.

Location

an open courtyard in a warm, South American country.

Characters

the artist, Frida Kahlo, her sister and her baby being held by a servant.

Action/Mood

in the middle ground is a wheelchair and, sitting sideways in it, Frida is painting the portrait of a beautiful young woman, who is posing for her. The artist is working on canvas on an easel and behind her is a table with paints and brushes. In her left hand is a palette and in her right, a brush. Off to the left is an older woman sitting down holding a baby. She appears to be smiling or laughing as the baby fingers her face.

Place and purpose in film

Near the beginning of the film, when the young Frida is recovering from her accident which left her with a permanent impairment. Here, she is developing her painting to take her portfolio to meet the famous artist and muralist Diego Rivera. The still shows Frida as an artist, in her wheelchair but active and intent on her painting. The characters seem relaxed and the atmosphere creative and friendly.

Disability focus

a powerful image of a disabled person fulfilling her creativity and expressing herself.

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Scent of a Woman

Blinded ex-colonel, Frank Slade, wants to kill himself, but is shaken out of his self-indulgence by a young man he meets.

Type of shot

medium long-shot.

Location

on a dance floor. Other people are watching from tables in the background.

Characters

the lead character, Colonel Frank Slade, dancing with a woman in black (whom he has never met before, and asked to dance in a restaurant).

Action/Mood

Frank, blinded in action and bitter, looks debonair dancing the tango, cheek to cheek, with a young woman in a black cocktail dress. He is authoritatively leading with his eyes open. The young woman has her eyes closed. This is an unlikely situation for a blind person to be in.

Place and purpose in film

in New York when he is still trying to impress the Chris O'Donnell character and teach him what he knows of the world before his intended suicide.

Disability focus

a disabled person as 'super-crip', unrealistically able to get along just as well as a non-disabled person in the world as it is.

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My left Foot

The true story of Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy and learned to write and draw with his left foot.

Type of shot

Shot 1: medium long-shot. Shot 2: medium long-shot.

Location

Shot 1: in church. Shot 2: inside a house, on the floor of a room.

Characters

Shot 1: Mrs. Brown and her son, Christy. Shot 2: Christy Brown.

Action/Mood

Shot 1: Mrs Brown is praying, kneeling in a church pew. Behind her and on the floor of the aisle lies Christy, at about 10-12 years old, looking up at her. Christy's mum looks thoughtful and determined, and is praying. She believes if she prays hard enough he will be cured. Christy looks serious and rather helpless in his prone position. Shot 2: the same boy now has no boot or sock on his left foot and is holding a piece of chalk between his toes and writing a letter on the floor. Christy's left hand is clenched into a fist and his lips are pressed together, showing he is putting a lot of energy and concentration into his efforts. His body is lit, but the details of the room fade into the background.

Place and purpose in film

while Christy is still growing up in Dublin. Shot 1: establishes that Christy's mum felt the only hope of a cure for her son was intervention from God. But her practical, serious expression shows her strength of character and determination to help him. Shot 2: shows Christy concentrating to show the world that he can think, and communicate using his left foot.

Disability focus

divine interventions do not work, but a way can always be found to communicate with a disabled person.

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Coming Home

The impact of the Vietnam War on returning 'vets' and the women they returned to.

Type of shot

medium shot.

Location

outdoors, in sunshine.

Characters

two of the main characters, Luke Master (a disabled veteran) and Sally Hyde (the wife of another veteran).

Action/Mood

Luke sits outdoors in his wheelchair with Sally sitting sideways on his lap. They are looking lovingly at each other. Luke has his arms round Sally and Sally has one arm round Luke. They look like any ordinary couple enjoying the sunshine and each other's company, except that he is in a wheelchair.

Place and purpose in film

halfway through the film, when Luke has moved into his own adapted flat and Sally's husband is in Vietnam. Shows how a deep, loving relationship has grown up between Sally and the disabled veteran whom she first visited in a veteran's hospital.

Disability focus

a very positive image of love and passion between a disabled and a non-disabled person.

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The Sixth Happiness

Based on the autobiographical book, Trying to Grow, by Firdaus Kanga, about a boy with brittle bones growing up.

Type of shot

medium shot.

Location

in a bedroom, on the bed.

Characters

the main character, Brit, and the lodger with whom he has an affair.

Action/Mood

Brit's short body is in stark contrast to the fully developed body of his lover. They are looking into each other's eyes. It is a tender moment.

Place and purpose in film

when Brit is a teenager, a lodger moves into their flat to help pay the rent after Brit's father has killed himself. This is a strong image that challenges stereotypes in several ways: love between men, love between non-disabled and disabled and love between Parsee and Hindu.

Disability focus

stereotype-busting story of a man with brittle bones living his life to the full.

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