Stephen- Slient Things Analysis

Silent things- representation

The opening extreme long shot shows a pair on the beach, alone. This represents people with disabilities negatively, though we seek to comfort them. The shot, which tilts to focus on the pair, enforces a feeling of isolation, how people with disabilities are forcibly isolated from other people, either by themselves or from the other people. The opening credits show a simple font used over a black background. This could be used to represent our own thoughts on people with mental disabilities; how we think that they’re simple. And so, instead of it being a simple title screen- it’s much more complex, and powerful, just like how we should see people with Autism and Asperger’s. This initially would seem to be a negative portrayal; however we can ultimately see that the director of the film seeks to make the audience more aware of these disabilities. 

The setting reveals a beach, the colouring of which is bleak and dull. This, combined with the diegetic sound of the waves crashing, sets a somewhat eerie atmosphere- giving us insight into what they think the world is like. The flying kite is a prop which represents what people with mental disabilities wish to do, they wish to free themselves from their restrictions and set them free. However, as we cut to the pair, we see the male character is pulling the strings; effectively symbolising how people with mental disabilities will always feel like they’re being used, or how they rely on someone else.

The man’s body language is laid back and his posture shows his concentration in the kite- it isn't instantly obvious he has a disability. The woman’s body language, however, has her hands close to her face, a common sign of anxiety and nervousness. Her hands are fidgety and her facial expression is very vacant, however her eye-line match is equal to that of the man’s, she’s still focusing on the kite. This represents her disability positively: how she can be anxious and nervous, fidgety and scared, but still can focus on what’s important- friends. The costume the woman wears is not stereotypically something a girl her age would wear, instead something like a mother would pick out for her- this is a stereotype for disabilities, and a negative one, how they rely on others to pick their clothing. The hair has also evidently been done by someone, but the woman isn’t straightening it when the wind blows and instead lets it flow- showing she doesn’t actually care for it. This is, again, a representation of how they rely on others to help with their routines.

As the camera cuts to a big close up of the pair’s hands the lighting dims to low key demonstrating the passage of time. The man and the woman are seen dismantling the kite. The man holds the pieces close to his face, his expression shows he's entirely focused on what he's doing, suggesting an intense interest. This is a stereotype of how people with disabilities can focus on one thing and perfect it with ease, and its positive look on disabilities. Whilst the man is in the depth of field, it’s shallow, causing the woman to be out of focus- perhaps representing her? She’s not focused on the task. The next two shots show, however, that she’s entirely focused on helping her friend pack the kite away- and a depth of field focusing on her proves that we jumped to conclusions earlier. The director is playing with us, showing how we actually see people with disabilities, and he wishes to contort our views to match his. His views are shown throughout the piece, how we need to stop feeling like they’re outcasts and more like they’re friends.

A girl approaches the man, when he’s alone, the next day (as told by the change in lighting). He’s still flying his kite, and the diegetic sound of the waves is still present.  A group of people behind them start mocking the girl, who promptly tells them “maybe he is my boyfriend, so why don’t you fuck off?” – This attitude, dialogue and body language, tell us that the girl is confident in herself, like most people without disabilities are. They strike up a conversation, him asking why she lied and her replying “it’s a white lie” something that he hasn’t heard of, she says it’s “a small lie that you tell to get yourself out of a bad situation”. He also reveals to her via dialogue that he has Asperger’s syndrome.

The film continues and the man and the girl are packing the kite away while other woman returns, we see an eye line match from when she enters the beach, to them packing the kite away, back to her face, jealousy evident on her facial expression. This represents how some people with disabilities find it hard to confine in people, to trust people, and she’s clearly feeling betrayed that he has found a ‘friend’ so quickly. When the disabled girl tries to speak to him, it looks like he doesn't want to talk to her as his dialogue is mumbled, hard to hear compared to the diegetic ambient noise, and he turns away from her. At this point, the woman's status seems low as she is being intentionally ignored.

The man and the girl sit on the beach and talk, whilst doing so a ferry goes by and he begins to tell her facts about them. This indicates another one of his intense interests as he talks about how he knows how a ferry works. The music used is very atmospheric and warped/distorted, which can be seen as contrapuntal to the image being shown; a calm, bright day at the beach. This could represent the man's senses and his feelings, as his are different to the girl's. However, this type of music could also be suggesting a negative stereotype about his disability, that his view on things are 'warped’ and ‘twisted.’ However, this is another bait the director used for us- and instead, it’s representing how the girl thinks his mind works, as it is her who has the most camera time.

The other woman remains watching the pair, showing a protective gaze over her friend. This is a very positive view, how friends are meant to look out for another. It’s not just about disabilities, in this shot, but that of friendship- which is what the director is trying to show in these scenes. How not everything is about someone’s disability, but instead on the betrayal of friendship; in doing so the woman has a lot of power over us, the audience, and the characters in the film- as she’s the only one who stands her ground and commits to something- protection of her friend. However, this also gives a portrayal of disabilities, how people with them understand other’s with the same or similar disability more.

When the camera cuts to the man and the girl on the ferry, the hand-held camera movement instantly suggests something is wrong. The ambient noise slowly dies down, and as the man seems to be struggling to focus his facial expression turns to one of discomfort, a dull ringing sound gradually builds up, diegetic in the sense that it’s in his head- a Foley used to signify how painful it is for the man to be this confused. We’re led to sympathise with the character, whose discomfort is edging into those around him- including the audience. This representation is a negative outlook but essential in us understanding the character. As the discomfort grows, they gain the attention of two ferry workers who quickly see to the man.

As the sequence continues, the girl explains what’s going on- her facial expressions, however, betray her lies. The audience then dislikes the girl for what she has said, but wouldn’t they do the same in that situation? It’s representative of our effects on the people with autism and other spectrums, we seem nice to them until something goes wrong and we try and evade them. This also reflects back to when she says the “white lie,” how she knows she’s in trouble- both for getting on the ferry underage and for hurting the man’s feelings.  The ferry workers are clearly disturbed by the reason she gives, as evidenced by their facial expressions- but they remain clueless as to the man’s condition, treating him like they would someone who’s stolen something.
 

The camera cuts to a new setting, outside the dock office, and reveals the woman sitting on bench- waiting for the man to return. Beyond her are two police officers, whom we know are waiting for the man as well. This can be seen to show how disabled and non-disabled minds think alike; how they’re all waiting for the same man for mostly the same reasons- to see if he’s okay. The woman’s facial expression is clearly frightened, and she’s taking deep breaths to calm herself down. A representation like this makes you feel extremely bad for her, and all you want to do is comfort her, and those with her condition as well.

 

The policeman is trying to talk to him but the audience can only hear slight muffled sounds, representing the man's current state. He lashes out a few times and the music/sound effect booms, creating a shocking effect. This represents how his disability affects him and reinforces that it can change him as a person, from is nice and calm demeanour to a more aggressive and restless one.

Throughout this scene the way the man is represented is of a weak man who’s extremely misunderstood; we’re feeling sorry for him but would we come to his defence in a real situation like this? The director is forcing us to see from their eyes and to change our attitudes in these situations.In the final shots we see the man and the woman back on the beach together, isolated again. They’re not talking, but enjoying their time together- a positive look on the disabilities they have, how they don’t need words to communicate their situations and how they’re happy the way they are, with no one needed to change them. The dark lighting reflects the previous dark mood, but their smiles are bright anyway- showing that all is well, no matter previous events.