Today we hear from Emily Ladau - a writer and owner of Social Justice Media Services. She talks about how movie, television - even written media - can often rely on stereotypes when casting disabled persons.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I'm Emily Ladau, a writer, and owner of Social Justice Media Services . Let's talk about the four main ways disabled people are portrayed in mainstream media and why this needs to change.
First, there's inspiration, often called "inspiration porn." An example would be a news story gushing about a disabled person going to prom, just like their non-disabled peers.
Then, there's pity. The media often paints disability in a negative light...such as by sharing stories about how sad and difficult living with a disability must be.
And, when it comes to villains in the media, their evil status is often indicated by the fact that the character has some sort of visible physical disability. Think Captain Hook. Disability is also used to indicate someone's heroic status. Think Professor X.
But, what disabled people really want is to be portrayed just like any other people. Disability shouldn't need to have a symbolic meaning to be shown in the media. Mainstream media should help eliminate - rather than perpetuate - inaccurate social stigma.
