History of Disability in the Media

disability is not just…

a medical condition

disability and WHO

an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.

restricts a person’s participation in an individual’s involvement in life situations

(is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a personʼs body and interactions within their social environment)

impairment and WHO

problem in body function or structure that limits activities and/or makes it difficult to execute a task or action

disability is most often associated with…

a physical impairment (crutches, wheelchair). but sensory-based disabilities exist too like blind and deaf (technically, having to wear glasses is a disability, but it is not viewed that way because many people have them and it is normalized). cognitive disabilities exist as well (ID, mental disorders, developmental disabilities)

disability is dynamic

People born with impairments, acquire them, or have them from time-to-time

If we live long enough, we will ALL experience disability

what has the WHO and ADA achieved?

For individuals with disabilities in the US, our concern has moved from how much will it cost to “maintain” a person with disabilities to an effort of finding effective ways to ensure that people with disabilities can participate in and contribute to society in all spheres of life

judging others

Many people judge disabled individuals as incompetent and unable to live a “normal” everyday life compared to nondisabled persons.

ableism

discrimination or prejudice against people who have disabilities

can take the form of ideas and assumptions, stereotypes, attitudes and practices, physical barriers in the environment, or larger scale oppression.

oftentimes unintentional and most people are completely unaware of the impact of their words or actions.

ableism example

nurses just grabbing wheelchairs and wheeling them down the hall if they are going too slow (assuming they need your help or not even asking before helping or even waiting for an affirmative response)

the thought that PWD are dependent and require the care and support of someone else

theme of disabilities in media: pitiable and pathetic

– Most common stereotype

– Shown to be deserving of pity when faced with difficulty or prejudice

– Charity appeals have often used this representation

– TV dramas still use it as a shortcut

– Ex: Forrest Gump

theme of disabilities in media: object of curiosity or violence

– Presenting people as unusual

– Disability is something to be viewed / observed

– Difference is highlighted and made a spectacle

– Puts disabled and nondisabled people in binary opposition when they are not

– ex: PT Barnum true story (made a spectacle of PWD and of other races to make money)

theme of disabilities in media: super cripple or “super crip”

– Position of admiration despite disability

– Patronizing in some ways – e.g. admiring attitude of people with disabilities

– ex: “oh it is so brave of you to ___”; paralympic athlete media

(PWD named this stereotype)

theme of disabilities in media: humor

Pleasure in the misfortune of others

Humor based on disability or humor despite of it

(not really used anymore)

theme of disabilities in media: sinister or evil

– Scarring and disability as short cut for evil

– Scarring and disability often used to signify violence or anger

– Mental illnesses (stigmatization of bipolar, schizophrenia, multiple personalities)

– Joker / Freddy Krueger

the media

is an extremely important part of everyone’s everyday lives and is the main source of relaying information to a mass population of the public

people’s first or only exposure of a disability is through the media

Paul Hunt and stereotypes in media

pitiable/pathetic, object of curiosity, sinister/evil, super cripple, as atmosphere, laughable, his/her worst enemy, as a burden, as non-sexual (never a love interest or even a main character), being unable to participate in daily life

media is paramount for awareness-raising

• If disability is not just medical or psychological, but also a mix of these with the person’s social environment, then at the center is the media.

• The influence that media holds over society adds to the discrimination of disabled people.

seen as a person

Rarely is a person with a disability seen as a “person” without being viewed as their “disability”.

If a movie does use a character with a disability, it is rarely played by an actor WITH the disability (we are getting better at this, but still not great. ex: if some people want to be viewed as an amazing actor, they play a character with a disability)

media can have a positive influence

• Experiment was performed to study the way watching movies affects the attitudes and perception of nondisabled and disabled people.

• 480 participants, ½ were nondisabled and ½ were disabled.

• Survey taken before and after watching a film that featured a police officer with paraplegia.

• The nondisabled subject’s ratings of eligibility of employment for someone that is paraplegic increased after watching the film.

• The film had no effect on the ratings given by people with disabilities.

how do we work towards accessible environments

• Raising awareness and challenging negative attitudes

• Eliminating negative imagery and language

• Removing stereotypes and stigma

• Depicting character’s with disabilities as people