Silent Things- Representation- Megan

Long shot of the two characters

The short film- Silent Things- begins by a black screen fading into a tranquil scene of a beach with the diegetic sound of the waves crashing. The non diegetic music which plays on and off throughout the film is also parallel to this scene by being quiet and peaceful.
The first shot we see of characters in this film is at a long shot which we assume to be the protagonists.
The males costume and hair seems to be one of simplicity, showing him to be just as an average man whilst the audience are not aware of his disability yet. However his dark clothing may be shown to be a negative representation towards his disability later on in the film. This may mean the character is more of a darker or mysterious person which is also suggested by the way his body expression is slouched over a bit. On the other hand, the woman seems to be one more of innocence with brighter coloured clothing and the way her hands go to keep stroking her hair shows purity and matched with her facial expressions it shows her to be in her own world of thoughts.

A fade is used to show the difference in time as we are then shown the same man at a long shot with his back to the camera but without the woman anymore. His loneliness is emphasised through the use of shallow depth of field as we can see him clearly in a medium close up however in the background we can see a family or a group of friends together and hear through diegetic sounds of them laughing together with each others company which emphasises that he is alone which may be shown as a negative representation of his disability.




The first proper on screen, diegetic words which are said is a girl swearing at the people in the background who are laughing calling this man her boyfriend. This is shown in a negative way as their laughter seems to be directed towards them- maybe because of his disability, however we are still unaware of what this is at this point.

There friendship seems to grow on the idea that they are both lonely and have no where else to go or anything to do. This is a positive representation of his disability as he has the capability to have or lead a normal life by making friends with someone able-bodied and enjoying their presence.
The other girl seems to suggest that she might not be the right friend for him- suggesting that she doesn't understand his disability and what comes along with it.

We can sense that the guy isn't able to understand his decisions when the girl asks him to come on the ferry with her and he agrees because he knows how ferry's work. The power in their relationship seems to be more in the girl as she is able-bodied and is able to clearly think about what she wants to do- this is also shown by her diegetic voice being much louder and in control as well as the close-ups on their faces which show the girl has a much better idea on what she is doing rather than the disabled man who looks confused.

Close ups when he is on the ferry show he is struggling to understand what is happening and is having some kind of anxiety attack. We can see his disability through the mind of him as at this point the diegetic noises are blurred out and harder to understand- showing the aspect or Asperger syndrome of finding it hard for social interaction. This is shown as a negative representation of his disability as he is struggling with a normal life aspect.




The last scene of him on the beach again where they started shows the narrative to go in a loop. The kite that has been shown in many scenes in a resemblance of his disability meaning that he is used to normal routines- which is flying his kite rather than going on the ferry and it also shows the idea that people with Asperger syndrome have a special interest to them.