Disabilities

Yancia, Henna
 How are disabled people
represented online?
• pessimistically
• Optimistically
• The under-representation of disabled
people in the media or the misleading
portrayal of disabled people has far
reaching consequences on the
disability community, not least when
they are portrayed as a "Superhero"
or "tragic Villain".
 The different types of
stereotypical representations
of disabled people in the
media are:
* Pitiable and pathetic
* Object of violence
* Sinister or evil
* As atmosphere
* Laughable
* Chip on shoulder
* Burden to others
* As non- sexual
• Being unable to do daily things

These options are simplistic and are reducing

complex issues.
 Are we scared by people with
learning difficulties?
• Well, many people may be scared of disabled people however
they may try to hide this feeling because they do not want to be
judged as being narrow minding and ignorant
• We have to see and treat everyone equally. People with learning
disabilities want the same things from life as everyone else.
Having friends to play with and people talk to is a vital part of
every child’s life and children with learning disabilities are no
different and therefore they should not be discriminated against.
Being picked on and being left out is just as upsetting for
children with learning disabilities as it is for any other child even
more so because they are getting segregated.
• In society the majority of people do not possess any disabilities
and are therefore dominating over the minority of people who
have disabilities or whom are overcoming disabilities.
(Hegemonic)
• The media will be able to stay in control if they show negative
representations and sensationalized representations of disabled
people because that is what that audience want is it not.
 People watch films with
unrealistic representations
and the films are successful
• Rain man 1988 Barry Levinson
• Bubble boy 2001 Blair Hayes
• The secret garden 1993
• My left foot 1989 Jim Sheridan
• Special children 2007 Justin Edgar
 The representation
• The film consists of a young boy who has a
physical disability: he can not stand up
without assistance and has confined
himself to a bed, also he is unable to be in
contact with the light and therefore lives in
the dark.
• Hegemonic - there was a stigma attached.
A disabled child is locked away. Its also
positive because the young boy eventually
look at the light and walk and run!
• http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=VrMahhudZvo

7
 The rain man
• Raymond is a very exaggerated stereotype. He has an extreme disability - he
is very rigidly bound by a schedule, he cannot do much without assistance,
he has serious communication difficulties. His mathematical gift is very
extreme. Most people with autism don't have genius-level intelligence or
specific skills, and while they have significant difficulties that affect them in
every aspect of day-to-day life, it doesn't completely disable them. Also, if
memory serves me correctly, he has no physical coordination problems. He
makes a poor model of a person with autism. This has now become the most
popular stereotype of a person with autism, so people assume that when
they meet a person with autism, they will be 'like Dustin Hoffman in Rain
Man'.