DISABILITY IN MEDIA
By Melissa Perkins
Introduction:
The disabled body has always been stared at, and made out to be some sort of display. Garland-Thomson describes the way that staring becomes apparent in disability studies. "Disabled people have variously been objects of awe, scorn, terror, delight, inspiration, pity, laughter, or fascination-but they have always been stared at" (Garland-Thomson 56). When this staring is transformed into new media, Garland-Thomson discusses the permanent stare that it creates, especially in photography. “Photography authorizes staring. Photos are made to be looked at. With the actual disabled body absent, photography stylizes staring, exaggerating and fixing the conventions of display and eliminating the possibility for interaction or spontaneity between viewer and viewed” (Garland-Thomson 58).
Theory:
But what about in new media? Where photography created a permanent stare—film creates whole stories with continuous images. In film we see many of the disability myths that Jay Dolmage discusses in his book Disability Rhetoric. In film, the stereotypes of disabled characters become even more apparent. Dolmage’s myths have almost become a sort of line, which is drawn and tested by new media. If a film displays one of the stereotypical characters Dolmage describes—then it does not reflect the reality of disability. New media culture needs to be held to some sort of standard. Especially since new media has mostly continued the societal pressure discussed in the social model. Hollywood normally keeps disabled characters molded into their stereotypes and never seeks to transform its obsession with perfection. Christopher Shinn’s article “Disability Is Not Just a Metaphor”, discusses this issue within the lens of Hollywood. Hollywood loves to portray disabled characters as three of Dolmage’s myths: Overcoming or Compensation, Disability as an Object of Pity and/or Charity, and Disability as an Ethical Test. These representations of disability mimic the feelings of Shinn’s discussion of the disabled person as a metaphor in Hollywood. "Pop culture’s more interested in disability as a metaphor than in disability as something that happens to real people" (Shinn). Hollywood films would prefer to show disability as some sort of “metaphor” for human existence than confront actual disability. Shinn also notes that popular culture “loves disabled characters, but not disabled actors” (Shinn). The metaphor that the actor who plays a disabled character is not actual disabled allows people watching the film to breathe a sigh of relief—there is not actual pain in the film. Shinn discusses the way that actors often receive Oscars for their portrayal of disabled characters, and us watching them stand, walk-up, and accept the award unfortunately allows the audience to completely detach itself from the disabled story. Lately though, disability representation has been changing in new media. In the examples displayed on the "new media" page of this site, you will see the way that digital media and technology are changing the disabled myth.
Conclusion:
Many forms of new media: films, television, commercials, and music videos are now working to break from the disabled myths that Dolmage categorized. As society moves more towards the social model of disability, many in popular culture are noting that the cultural is slowly progressing in new media’s displays of the disabled body. As time new media continues to show the disabled body as “normal”, the more this becomes our view of society. Many people are affected by the way society in portrayed in new media, and the more that we enhance this view the more society begins to open their minds to the truth behind the social model. The next page shows examples of these new media and how they are changing the representation of disability.
