Disability

How are disabled characters stereotypically portrayed? 

Disabled characters in TV genres tend to seem more useless and powerless, than the typical character you would see. Programs like Family Guy, or Eastenders have disabled characters in them and you can see that the story line is specifically aimed at them and their disability, when there are featured in the scene. Disabled people are the outcast, and are specifically portrayed as useless and that they're not the same as the typical person you would see.

Does gender of the character impact the representation? 

Disabled people in general are stereotyped, no matter what the gender. They are treated completely different, and lower that the normal person you'd meet. They are treated more like animals, and that they're are not important in society.








JESSICA EVANS (1998), Drawing on the works Frued and other psychoanalysis states:
"Disabled people are seen as childish, dependent and underdeveloped and regarded as other, and are punished by being excluded from ordinary life. Thus popular images and rhetoric of disabled people around which comfort us with people who are imperfect, helpless, unattractive, disgusting, shitty and dribbling."

As Cumberbatch and Negrine (1992), Barnes (1992) and Longmore (1987)
point out studies of the representation show that disabled people are screened out of television fiction or else occur in a limited number of roles.

As Jordanova stated in 1989:
"The idea of otherness is complicated, but certain themes are common: the treatment of others are more like an object, something to be managed and possessed, and as dangerous, wild, threatening. At the same time the other becomes an entity whose very separateness inspires curiosity, invites inquiring knowledge. "

Medhurst argued that in terms of power relations and the constitutions of stereotypes, "they are awful because they are not like us." (Medhurst 1997)

JESSICA EVANS (1998)
"Old people in our culture are also segregated and treated as though they are waiting to die. There are close associations between dependency, illness, dying and death. It seems that increasingly in our culture there are pressures that encourage a reversion to infantile feelings which have to be madly defended against."


Essay Practice: Secret diaries of a Call Girl

Immediately in this extract there is non-digetic music playing, and a mid shot of a woman who's dressed in very sexualised clothes, supporting Mulvey's theory of women being seen as "erotic objects." Shortly after that, the call girl continues to open the door, the non-diegetic sexualised music cuts out, as the camera tilts down, showing a disabled man. This shows the difference in power, and that the disabled character isn't the same as the call girl. This supports Jessica Evan's theory, stating that disabled people are seen as "unattractive," and "disgusting." The shot then reverses showing the call girls face, as she is surprised there is another gentlemen there. The camera tilts upwards again, as it goes from the disabled man, to a much more able, and stronger gentlemen. This shows the difference between the characters, as it specifically is aimed at the disabled man as he is not the same. This supports Medhurst's theory in 1997 when he stated "they are awful because they're not like us."

 There is then a long shot as the characters enter the living room. The camera is specifically aimed to show the disabled man, as well as the stronger, more able characters. This shows the power between the characters again, and supports Medhurst's theory still. The shot makes the disabled character look weak, and feeble. The scene then shows dialogue between the characters, using one-two shot. The scene then continues and shows how dependent the disabled character is, as it shows his dad having to grab his things from the bag. This supports the stereotypical views on disabled people, that they are useless, but also Jessica Evans theory stating that disabled people are seen as "helpless" and "imperfect."

Continuing on into the extract, we can see again that the disabled person is completely dependent on his dad, the dad is looking around, but the disabled son has to ask him for help. This shows how vulnerable the disabled character is and is still supporting Mulvey's theory as well as Jessica Evans'. The dad has to take his son onto the bed, it creates awkward tension between them, as it shows a long shot and mid shot of the scene. The extract continues showing one two shot, between the dad and call girl, it creates more awkwardness between the characters as they continue to have a conversation, and makes the disabled character look even more week and feeble. The next scene shows how the disabled character, gets nervous and panics when he is left alone, as the call girl locks the door. Parallel editing is then used as the scene continues with the disabled boy making out and the dad waiting in the van.