SECOND SECTION

A Critical Analysis of Media Representations of the Disabled People 

  It is true to say that the media is an extremely important part of our everyday life and as an industry has been critical in the dissemination of information to the mass population. However the influence that the media holds over society has not always been used to society's benefit, particularly in relation to disability, where the media has continued to add to the discrimination of disabled people. The media's contribution to disabled people's discrimination will be discussed through the following areas:
 -The media reinforcement of impairment and the use of the medical model of disability
 -The media's creation and underpinning use of disabled stereotypes
-The role of media influences: media organisations and their employees, political agendas, the intended audience and current societal trends.
-The use of images, language and terminology related to disability.
-The under-representation of disabled people in the media.
-The effect of media on disabled people.  

Use of Disabled Stereotypes

The media continue to enforce disability stereotypes portraying disabled individuals in a negative un-empowering way.

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

In 2006, the British Film Institute breaks down this list into a series of film character examples for each stereotype, from the 1920s up to the present day. The BFI's examples include:
 -The character of Colin from the Secret Garden - a character who falls into the stereotype of "Pitiable and pathetic; sweet and innocent; a miracle cure".
-The "sinister or evil" Dr No, with his two false hands, from the Bond film of the same name.
-Ron Kovic, the disabled war veteran in Born on the Fourth of July, who is portrayed as "non-sexual or incapable of a worthwhile relationship" .


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

jDisability Movement in America

In America a group of students at Berkeley in California started to hold demonstrations about rights for disabled people early in the 1970s. They also

did some very practical things, like building their own ramps out of concrete to make buildings accessible. Joined by newly disabled soldiers at the end of theVietnam War, they put a lot of pressure on the government. In 1990, the US government passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. This Act gives disabled people real and enforceable rights, unlike our own Disability Discrimination Act which still allows people to treat us unequally in certain circumstances.  

Statement

• "I wish abled people put same amount of effort and enthusiasm into making sure we have equal access to everything as they put into trying to 'cure' us.

  They have fundraisers and marathons to raise money for research for finding cures the conditions that may never be successfully cured, but not a single activity to fight for accomodations or non-discrimination or accessibility, things that could become realities in a matter of months if the effort was made" 

    

   

ABOUT

MEMBERS OF SUPPORTTHE-DISABLED :

HANDY TANUWIJAYA

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NADIRA ROSANTI

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Welcome to the support-the-disabled.blogspot.com. Support-thedisabled is a that website has been developed to look at the Media's relationship with disability. It is hoped that this site will give the reader a critical understanding of the complexities that surround this relationship and to spread awareness of the traditional misconceptions about disability and disabled people in the media.

FIRST SECTION

ISSUE OF MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY

What is disability?

Most commonly, we tend to think of disability as being unable to do something. It is associated with the body (physical), mind (learning, mental). The idea of disability may seem natural, however Tom Shakespeare takes the view it is socially constructed. It is one difference that society treats as being a significant characteristic of a group of people. Shakespeare prefers the use of the word impairment, as the term disability has negative connotations. He believes that disabled people are actually by society.

How disabled sociologists see representation of disability in media

Disabled sociologists see disability as a social construct; that disabled people are actually disabled by society & its attitudes & practices. General research findings indicate that the media present stereotypical & stigmatised representations of disabled people. Barnes believes the media is partly responsible for the dissemination of negative stereotypes & portrayals of disabled people.

Cumberbatch & Negrine found disabled people were predominantly seen as figures we should pity.

Roper agrees with this in relation to media representations of the disabled via telethons which often feature ‘cute kids’. She found these telethons enable the public to alleviate their guilt & relief that they are not disabled by donating money. Telethons act to keep the audience in the position of givers & disabled recipients as grateful & dependent. Consequently, these media representations affect the audience by backing up prejudices about the disabled – that they are dependent on the help of able-bodied people

Roper (2003) suggests that mass media representations of disability on telethons can create problems for people with disabilities and suggests that telethons over-rely on ‘cute’ children who are not that representative of the range of people with disabilities in Britain. Roper argues that telethons are primarily aimed at encouraging the general public to alleviate their guilt and their relief that they are not disabled, by giving money rather than informing the general public of the facts about disability.

Karpf (1988) suggests that there is a need for charities, but that telethons act to keep the audience in the position of givers and to keep recipients in their place as grateful and dependent. Karpf notes that telethons are about entertaining the public, rather than helping us to understand the everyday realities of what it is like to have a disability. Consequently, these media representations merely confirm social prejudices about people with disabilities, e.g. that they are dependent on the help of able-bodied people

It is quite obvious that the media represents disabled people in a negative, stereotypical way.

It is also important to note that the disabled do not appear in the media very often.

Why is it important to spread awareness of the negative assumption of disabled people by the media

Much of this is attributable to the persistence of traditional misconceptions

about disability and disabled people. 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. Moreover, in the same

way those racist or sexist attitudes, whether implicit or explicit, are

acquired through the 'normal' learning process, so too are negative

assumptions about disabled people. 

While the media alone cannot be held responsible for this alarming

situation its impact cannot be overlooked. Official figures show that 98 per

cent of British homes have a television, and on average we spend at least 24

and three quarter hours a week watching it. Sixty five per cent of the

population read a daily newspaper, 72 per cent a Sunday newspaper, 9 per

cent read magazines, and 81 per cent of the 26 per cent who use public

libraries borrow books

 In Conclusion,

Images and stories in the media can deeply influence public opinion and establish societal norms. Persons with disabilities are seldom covered in the media, and when they are featured, they are often negatively stereotyped and not appropriately represented. It is not uncommon to see persons with disabilities treated as objects of pity, charity or medical treatment that have to overcome a tragic and disabling condition or conversely, presented as superheroes who have accomplished great feats, so as to inspire the non-disabled.

The media can be a vital instrument in raising awareness, countering stigma and misinformation. It can be a powerful force to change societal misconceptions and present persons with disabilities as individuals that are a part of human diversity. By increasing the awareness and understanding of disability issues and the diversity of persons with disabilities and their situations, the media can actively contribute to an effective and successful integration of persons with disabilities in all aspects of societal life.

Attention should be drawn to the image of disability in the media with a view to an accurate and balanced portrayal of disability as a part of everyday life. The media can play an important role in presenting disability issues in a way that could dispel negative stereotypes and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, options should be developed on how to present persons with disabilities in various media.