4. What do we know about
representation?
• The term representation refers to “the way
the media constructs aspects of real life”
• Point of view, messages and values often
underlie media representations.
• Representations often reveal the dominant
ideology of the culture which created them
• Representations change over time
5. • Victim or an object of violence
• Pitiable and pathetic; sweet and innocent; a miracle
cure
• Sinister or evil
• Laughable or the butt of jokes
• ‘Super-cripple’/ triumph over tragedy/noble warrior
• Atmosphere – curios or exotica in ‘freak shows’, and
in
• comics, horror movies and science fiction
• Having a chip on their shoulder/ aggressive avenger
• A burden/outcast
• Non-sexual or incapable of a worthwhile relationship
• Incapable of fully participating in everyday life
10 Stereotypes of disability in the media
6. Jenny Morris (1991) argues that cultural portrayals of
disability are usually about the feelings of non-disabled
people and their reactions to disability, rather than about
disability itself. Disability thus becomes: Many
impairments are ‘hidden’ (dyslexia, visual impairments,
deafness etc). ...a metaphor...for the message that the
non-disabled writer wishes to get across, in the same way
that ‘beauty’ is used. In doing this, the writer draws on
the prejudice, ignorance and fear that generally exist
towards disabled people, knowing that to portray a
character with a humped back, with a missing leg, with
facial scars, will evoke certain feelings in the reader or
audience. The more disability is used as a metaphor for
evil, or just to induce a sense of unease, the more the
cultural stereotype is confirmed (Morris, 1991:93)
7. What is the role of this disabled
character?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvTgvEzpSz
Q
10. Watch the following extract
Consider:
How is disability portrayed?
How is ability portrayed?
How is media language used to construct these
representations?
Remember, representations are complex and are not usually
over-simplified stereotypes. The question to consider is, does
the representation confirm or challenge typical notions of
disability/ gender/ age/ etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvNr5HknPAQ&list=PLbcK
c4f6zPhQYuGY1FJgITS6_DZzEDcFz
