Stereotypes of Disability in media

Dominant notions of disability: the individual model

The societal view of disability generally conforms to the individual or overcoming or medical model of disability. This holds that disability is inherent in the individual, whose responsibility it is to ‘overcome’ her or his ‘tragic’ disability.

Often this ‘overcoming’ is achieved through medical intervention, such as attempts at ‘cures’. For example, top wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced as a child to wear heavy leg callipers which gave her blisters, rather than being offered the simple and practical option of using a wheelchair.

This approach to disability aims for the normalisation of disabled people, often through the medicalization of their condition.

The social model of disability:

This distinguishes between impairment (the physical or mental 'problem') and disability (the way society views it as being a negative). It holds that impairments are not inherently disabling, but that disability is caused by society which fails to provide for people with impairments, and which puts obstacles in their way.

Examples include access: the built environment often does not allow access for people with mobility problems. Discriminatory attitudes are also disabling: for example, the idea that disability is a personal tragedy for the ‘sufferer’ impinges upon disabled people in a variety of negative ways, from their social relationships to their ability to get jobs.

"Disability is produced in different forms, and in different proportions, in different cultures" (Oliver, 1996).

Difference:

It has been argued that dominant notions of ‘normality’ and beauty do not allow for the natural range of difference in human form. These notions are not only prejudicial to the acceptance of disabled people, but also increasingly impact on non-disabled people. Charlotte Cooper, for example, applies the social model to obesity, and concludes that there are some important categories through which obesity can be defined as a disability:

• A slender body is ‘normal’

• Fatness is a deviation from the norm.

• Fat and disabled people share low social status.

• Fatness is medicalised (e.g. jaw-wiring and stomach-stapling).

• Fat people are blamed for their greed and lack of control over their bodies.

Consider why it is that fat people or disabled people are rarely portrayed as sexually attractive.

By portraying disabled characters according to stereotypes, the media are perpetuating (continuing) out-dated ideas about disability.  The media itself is arguably responsible for misconceptions about ability and disability, by regurgitating portrayals of disabled characters that fit stereotypical ideas about disability.  Paul Hunt, in his 1991 study states:

Stereotype assumptions about people with impairments are based on superstition, myths and beliefs from earlier less enlightened times. They are inherent to our culture and persist partly because they are constantly reproduced through the communications media; books, films, television, newspapers and advertising.


Shakespeare (1999) presents a potential reason behind the use of one of these stereotypes:


"The use of disability as character trait, plot device, or as atmosphere is a lazy short-cut. These representations are not accurate or fair reflections of the actual experience of disabled people. Such stereotypes reinforce negative attitudes towards disabled people, and ignorance about the nature of disability"

In other words, the disability itself is often used as a hook by writers and film-makers to draw audiences into the story. These one-dimensional stereotypes are often distanced from the audience - where characters are only viewed through their impairment, and not valued as people.

Shakespeare (1999) continues:

"Above all, the dominant images [of disabled people] are crude, one-dimensional and simplistic."

The stereotypes:

In his 1991 study, Paul Hunt found that there are 10 stereotypes of disabled people, used in the media:

1. The disabled person as pitiable or pathetic
2. An object of curiosity or violence
3. Sinister or evil
4. The super cripple
5. As atmosphere
6. Laughable
7. His/her own worst enemy
8. As a burden
9. As Non-sexual
10. Being unable to participate in daily life

Examples of the disabled areas that are stereotyped in TV:

here is an example of the sixth out of the 10 points because they consistently make jokes about a disabled character and how the fact that because he is disabled he wouldn't be able to climb a tree.
here is a clip from Narnia: Prince Caspian where in this fight scene numbers 2 and 5 are used as the smaller people are used commonly in medieval fight scenes to create atmosphere.
here is a scene from the film Dodgeball where number 4 is used as he uses a cloth to blind himself but wins and make the antagonist look laughable.
here is a clip taken from the film Kingsman, in this clip the antagonist, being played by Samuel L Jackson, has a speech impediment and kills one of the antagonists, meaning that this is an example of number 3.