Representation of Disability - The Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Representation of Disability

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl

The clip begins with an appearance of the main character. Her character at first gives the impression that she is formal due to her clothing and also warming because of the condition of the flat. The red coloured walls and the tidiness of the room suggests warmth and comfort of the character.  However, it is later discovered that the term ‘call girl’ means sex worker. So this impression of comfort and warmth can be seen as aspects to draw in men and express elements of pleasure through sexual intercourse. In the first seconds of the clip, the audience is introduced to the disabled character. It is clear to see that he is physically unable to move and the evidence to support this is the fact that the character is presented in a wheelchair. This character is wearing a black t-shirt which suggests that it is worn to shown how frail and weak, in terms of physicality, the character is. Additionally, there is more evidence to support the weakness of the male character as he is accompanied by his father. The clip shows that the male disabled character has difficulties to function in daily life without the support of a relative to provide for him and take care of him. The father figure appears to be a decorator or a painter due to the dungarees that the character is wearing. Also, he appears wearing a similar t-shirt to his son which shows emphasis on the closeness and the bond that they both share.

As the characters enter the apartment, the audience can get the impression of the comfort and the warmth in the atmosphere through the condition and the appearance of the apartment. The apartment is easily lit up due to the large window which is shown later on in the clip, this emphasises how it can draw in men as well as being presented as homely. Diegetic sound in this section include “So shall we get the formalities over with” which suggests that the female character is cautious of the disabled male character as she does not want to harm him in any way. The father character appears to be caring as he accompanies his disabled son and completes the tasks that he is unable to do. Such as retrieving a letter that is out of the young male characters reach. However he does appear to be clueless as he wonders around the apartment with a parted mouth. It is not until his son asks for him, for the father to react with a response. This response was to pick up the disabled character and place him on a comfortable bed. The character is placed down gently to ensure that he is again not harmed and is further comforted by adjusting his leg positioning and fluffing pillows for him. This again refers to Paul Hunt representation of disability as the disabled character in this clip is viewed as pitiable because he is needing attention more often to do things in life in which the audience and the characters feel apologetic for the disabled character due to the numbers of inabilities that he now has compared to an able bodied person.  The father does exactly what his son asks such as when he asks to untie his dungarees so that they do not look similar in order to try and raise the popularity of the character. The bed in which Blake is resting upon is large, wooden and pink which suggests comfort, gracefulness and pleasure. All aspects of pleasing men that appear on the female character’s doorsteps. As the female character appears in the frame once again, she stops and smiles. This suggests that she admires the closeness between the two male characters. An over the shoulder shot is used to show the conversation between the two male characters. The father assures his son that he will not be far away and then kisses him to express the bond that they share.

As the character departs from the apartment, the female character firmly shuts the door and attempts to lock it. This can suggest that she may be taking advantage of the disabled character by preventing the possibility of the male’s father returning. However it is not until the female character looks at the disabled character for her to realise that he may need attention from his father, so she unlocks the door and approaches the disabled character. She approaches the other character whilst rubbing her hands together which suggests that she is preparing for sexual intercourse or is uncomfortable being around the character. After the female character’s speech about the ‘nice’ relationship between the two male characters, the disabled character appears to be very uncomfortable around her as his facial expression appears blank and occasionally looks in a different direction to the female character. When he asked for whether he wants a drink, there is no vocal response from the character but a head nodding gesture which furthermore supports the discomfort of the character. It is not until the female character has left the room for him to speak about the relationship between him and his father. He mentions ‘gigs’ which focuses on the clothing that the characters were wearing in the clip thus further emphasising the closeness of the characters. When the female character approaches the male character with the drink, she pauses as if she doesn’t understand what to do. In response, she acts like a mother figure by assisting the male character with drinking as he may have a difficulty doing so as well as watching over him to prevent anything from happening to him that may affect him.

The following scene follows with a close up of the father entering his vehicle and then a long shot of the building of which his son and the female character are inside. Diegetic sound in this scene includes music played on the vehicle radio which is classical to ensure that the character is calm and is not worried about his son. This allows the character to pass the time by thinking that his son is not harmed. Eventually, the radio is turned off and the character plays with functions of the vehicle further prevent the character from worrying and also to pass the time. However, the pace in which the functions emphasise that the father is concerned about his son. This is supported by the father character occasionally looking at the building to express his concern. Jump cuts are used throughout this scene to emphasise the anxiety of the character.

The concluding scene opens with the female character touching the disabled male character intimately using a close up as well as a panning shot to capture this. The closed eyes and facial expressions of the disabled character whilst the female character touching him express the uncomfortable position that he is in. A mid shot is included at the end of the intimate touching to show the female character’s realism of the discomfort of the male character. Diegetic sound here is ‘I’m not used to being touched’. This is related to Paul Hunt’s representation of disability because disabled people are viewed as non-sexual in which there is no sexual intimacy. Referring back to the clip, the disabled character is uncomfortable because he has not been touched intimately before. Regardless of this, the female character maintains here composure by continuing to smile at the other character to exert her confidence. The female character asks to take off the disabled character’s shirt, this then allows the disabled character to experience more sexual intimacy that may progress to sexual intercourse. The female character assists with the male character’s movement and taking off the clothing in not an intimate way, but again a motherly way. The soundtrack does not emphasise sexual intimacy but calm and caring moving. As she assists with lying the male character back down on the bed once again, she is positioned on top of him in a sexual position. This may show that she is taking advantage of him or allowing him to experience sexual intimacy. The clip concludes with this scene.