A Touch Of Frost- Disability Representation

In this extract, the way the disabled character Billy is represented is quite stereotypical. This could be because the show the clip is from 'a touch of frost' is generally targeted at an older audience; primarily middle aged males and females. The way that Billy is represented shows how people of this age e.g. frost, or older usually talk to people with disabilities. When frost says 'yes we know' in a very slow and calm voice, it almost seems as if he is trying to get Billy to stop repeating himself because he is making himself look silly, when really you could relate to Billy's repetition because of the fear he is under.

In the beginning when the police spot Billy in the forest, the camera is filming from next to where Billy is standing so that you can see all of the flashlights turn towards him at the same time. What makes this interesting is that they are also standing on higher ground than him. You know that even when he runs, he has no chance because he is outnumbered. This creates sympathy for him and the camera angle which is looking up at all of these police men helps to show how helpless Billy is in this situation. This links to the fact that he is disabled because you can physically see the deformation of his face which indicates his downs syndrome. If we didn't see his face, then we probably wouldn't feel as sorry for him.

Another camera angles used, the over the shoulder shot, helps the audience focus on one character at a time so you can see their facial expressions properly and their reactions to each other. This also highlights their differences, both in speech, expression and physical appearance. For example, the fact that Frost is dressed smart and looks clean and well is a contrast to how vulnerable Billy looks with his simple clothing and wounds from when the police hit him. He is made to look 'simple' physically which also makes him seem simple minded.