Disability in The Media: A Touch Of Frost

Immediately we are introduced to our antagonist, “Billy” the mid shot displays how the couple believe in Billy’s innocence; a stereotype connected with disability. The bridging non-diegetic that connects the outdoors shots is inquisitive much like peoples opinions of Billy. His clothing is full of mud and in an attempt to hide disguise this he briefly rubs it off. The music is dark and mysterious; it has an anticlimactic feel to it as is creates and eerie atmosphere. This is exaggerated by the clever use of natural light giving Billy a shady and disfigured image of him. This disfiguration creates question in the readers mind ‘ Why is a physically and mentally disabled man walking out in the cold and dark at night?’ The quick match on action and continuity editing enhances this atmosphere and displays how this is no ordinary evening. The tracking shot of the perpetrators displays how Billy is being seen as a threat to society, he is being seen as abnormal and almost animalistic as the police are tracking him. The quick change in shot gives a dislocated feeling to the clip highlighted more by the tracking shot, which displays his disability as he has a dysfunctional walk. The non-diegetic reaches its climax and there is literally a light bulb moment where Billy realizes someone is tracking him, the long shot used display Billy’s astonishment and fear as well as his trackers torches, this metaphorically displays how disabled people are always in the spotlight despite their aspirations to be seen as normal. The continuity editing allows Billy to be seen fleeing the crime scene as well as the police chasing him. Billy is incapable of escaping probably due to the fact that he is physically incapable of running for a long time. The diegetic of the rustles of leaves and scrambling of the police officers are visible in a point of view shot which gives the idea of Billy being surrounded, and almost bullied. The high angle shot attaches vulnerability and weakness to Billy as he is almost looked down on moreover he is being watched being caught and almost poached like an animal. It is obvious that Billy’s mind doesn’t match his body as he moans through diegetics, “Haven’t done anythin wong” this highlights that he is afraid and has committed that natural reflex to remove the blame from himself.

We see the return of the clarinets and now the trumpet as the title sequence begins; this music bridges the previous exterior scene and now another exterior scene of supposedly outside of Billy’s residence. There is a diegetic overlap of the two settings as we move from the exterior of he house to the interior. A high angle shot is used from the point of view of someone on the stairs, this raises suspicion in the clip as it sees everybody wants to know what Billy was doing. If it wasn’t obvious before the viewers now are backed up on the point that Billy suffers from “disability” however his father calls him handicapped which is politically incorrect, this could suggest that his father feels burdened with Billy.

We see that Billy’s father treats him as a child as he speaks in a father-like supportive manner, which could be seen as condescending. However we see his father sit behind him through the use of a long shot, this shows the viewers that his father fully supports Billy, this is unstereotypical of human beings as there are only a few who stand up for people who are different. It is obvious that Billy is fearful as the close-up of his face tells the viewers that he seems guilty. The match on action and shot reverse shot creates an interrogation theme as Mr Frost is always in control of the situation and is always looking for answers. We see through the diegetics how Mr Frost treats Billy like a child which is very stereotypical he speaks slowly saying “sudd-en-ly there were po-lice and dogs.” Mr Frost is very aware of Billy’s state asking him simple closed questions so he can retrieve some information. The conversation seems innocent at first however this sombre atmosphere and low key lighting and small remains of back lighting therefore highlighting billy as the main culprit this displays how everything is always what it seems moreover Billy’s innocence is heightened by the fact that he has been battered and bruised this is shown through the fake blood and bruises he has on his face. Billy is quite childish and probably doesn’t understand the rules of society as it is very abnormal to be walking alone at night in the woods. This childish attitude comes across when he tells Mr Frost that he was playing in the “playground” this seems out of the ordinary for a young man however because of his disability he wants too. Trisha the girl who the police are looking for is only eight years of age; this makes this accusation even more shocking but gives the readers an idea why they were together at the playground.

Mr Frost seems almost new to interrogating anyone with disability as he overlooks Billy when he says “coming home from work shop before tea” it is obvious from Billy’s spoken syntax that he does have some mental disabilities he speaks like a child. Mr Frost recognises that Billy’s answer doesn’t help him and therefore overlooks him; this is demeaning towards Billy and is taboo in many disability cases he speaks to his dad looking right through billy saying “what. What does that mean?” as if it was impossible to understand. His father interprets Billy giving a proper time period. It might be seen as Billy being a bit simple however others may see him as cunning and intuitive playing off his disability to try and get himself out of trouble. Billy having the mind he does, tries to impress Mr Frost by telling him he works at a workshop; it is rather odd someone with disabilities is allowed to work and even if he was not in this intricate profession, however this is a stereotype as Billy he just wants to seem normal and have a normal job. The silence in the background creates a tense atmosphere; it gives Billy space to speak. However once the questions become tougher Billy does not have as much confidence to give answers. He uses his head to nod, therefore showing how uncomfortable he is in the situation. We see how under pressure from other “non – disabled” people Billy becomes angry and bad tempered showing his true emotions this is rather like in the elephant man when he is surrounded by swarming people.

In the penultimate scene we see through shot reverse shot the tense and disturbed atmosphere around the room. The close up of Billy astonished look when Mr Frost tells Billy of his evidence is jaw dropping we see his fear and tries to shout at Mr Frost in a way of pleading innocent, this shouting through diegetics “I DIDN’T SEE HERE” elapsed with the silence in the background creates a disrupting scene this shows the viewer’s how when under pressure Billy can’t handle it. Throughout the scene Billy is shown in numerous close ups proving that he is the main culprit. We see that the director uses the closes ups to show Billys disabilities this creates a sense of pity and compassion towards Billy as the viewers will feel sorry for him. This combined with the low key lighting and silence used for an eerie effect creates a perfect scene for interrogation.