Disability in TV drama

Disability in TV drama

There are multiple stereotypes of disabled people throughout TV drama.  Paul Hunt identified 10 of these stereotypes:

• ·      Pitiable or pathetic
• ·      Object of curiosity or violence
• ·      Sinister or evil
• ·      The super cripple
• ·      As atmosphere
• ·      Laughable
• ·      His/her own worst enemy
• ·      Burden
• ·      Non-sexual
• ·      Unable to participate in daily life

The most common of these stereotypes is the pitiable or pathetic disabled character. These characters are usually shown to be deserving of pity when faced with difficulty or prejudice.  An example of this is the quick yet memorable appearance of the disabled girl in the Inbertweeners episode titled ‘Bunk Off’ in which Will accidently hits a girl in a wheel chair with a Frisbee. This girl is represent as helpless and pathetic.  The way in which she is presented makes the viewer feel bad for the girl, especially because of her disability.

 A counter type to this is the laughable disabled character. This is a character that is purposely created and used for humour purposes. This may be due to the fact that some people find pleasure in the misfortune of others. As well as this, disabled people have been used as a source of humour since the ancient Greeks. An example of a character that is used for humour purposes is Joe Swanson from Family guy. He is often displayed as a source of comedy and his disability is repeatedly mocked for the viewer’s entertainment.

Another stereotype of disabled people is a character that is sinister or evil. This attitude may either be simply encrypted in the characters personality or they may adopt this attitude due to their disability that has negatively affected their life therefore negatively affecting their personality. An example of this type of disabled character is Donna Yates (played by Lisa Hammond) from EastEnders.  She is one of the market traders who came equipped with a negative attitude since her first appearance on the show.  She is constantly agitated and rude to the other market traders and is always attempting too steal customers. 

 A sort of countertype to this stereotype is the ‘super cripple’. The super cripple is the type of disabled character that is in apposition of admiration despite the disability they possess. However the actual admiration that is achieved by this character is often seen as patronising since it appears that the character is admired due to the fact that they have a disability and not the actual achievement.  A very common example of this is the Paralympics, which are the global Olympics specifically for those who are disabled.

   

 4 Areas of textual analysis:

• ·      Camera shots: The use of various camera shots can be used to represent the power of a disabled character in a particular circumstance surrounded by other characters. This can be one through the use of camera angels and movements. An example of this would be a high angled shot of a disabled character, most likely in a wheel chair. This represents that the disabled has less power than other characters.
• ·      Sound: Sound can be used to create a number of moods and atmospheres. In terms of disability, the most common example of sound creating an atmosphere in terms of disability is when an awkward atmosphere is created. This can be achieved in a number of ways but the most common is actually the use of no sound at all. This means that the viewer is a able to ‘feel’ the tension and negative atmosphere between the characters.
• ·      Editing: The use of quick and short jump cuts can be used to shown a action pact or awkward scene where as a scene that doesn’t consist of many cuts is able to create a much calmer situation.
• ·      Mise-en-Scène: Most disabled characters in TV drama are represented as ‘normal’ and to a certain degree, ‘fit-in’ with all other characters. An example of this is via their clothing, which is mostly normal everyday clothing.

6 areas of representation:

• ·      Age: Disabled characters are represented in TV drama can be of any age. However, the age of a disabled character often effects how the character is presented. For example, a younger disabled character may be represented as a much more pitiable or pathetic whereas an older disabled character may be represented as a bit more sinister or evil. This may be due to the fact that they have most likely had to have to live with their disability for a long period of their life and this has had a negative on their personality.
• ·      Gender: The gender of disabled character can sometimes have an affect on the personality and actions of the character. For some reason, a female disabled character is often pitied more than male disabled characters.
• ·      Sexuality: One of Paul Hunt’s 10 stereotypes of disabled characters is the non-sexual character. However, a person’s disability in theory doesn’t really have an effect on a person’s sexuality. An example of a character that possesses a disability but is in a relationship is Charlie (played by David Proud) from Siblings.
• ·      Class and status: In terms of everyday society, the social class and status of a person doesn’t really effect if they have a disability or not. However, within TV drama disabled characters most commonly belong to the middle or lower class.
• ·      Ethnicity: A person’s ethnicity has no reel effect on if a person is psychically abled or disabled, including within TV drama. However saying this, white disabled characters are more common within TV drama than any other character of a different ethnicity.
• ·      Regional identity: This does not really have a direct impact on the physical ability of a person. Within TV drama there is never really a clear link between someone’s regional identity and whether they are disabled.