Disabled people in Media

I chose people with disabilities simply because I have several family members that have disabilities. I did a lot of research online and found that the United States is a lot more reserved than places like the United Kingdom. People as a whole, I think, stereotype disabled persons as being useless or a burden on society as explained by people I interviewed.

There are many things that contribute to being “disabled.” They can be obviously impaired on one way or another suck as needing the use of a wheelchair or mentally impaired such as having a form of mental retardation. Many things, such as birth defects, injuries, age, chemical addiction, or medical conditions, can cause both of these examples of disabilities.

In his 1991 study, Paul Hunt identified 10 stereotypes that the media use to portray disabled people: 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

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