We've talked about race, gender, sexuality, religion and class. We haven't talked too much about representation of people with disabilities in media,
I tried to rack my brain for people that I saw in media who were disabled while I was growing up. I remembered Stevie from "Malcolm in the Middle" who was an African American whiz kid, Dr. Charles Xavier from "X-Men" a white male mutant, Jimmy in Degrassi, who was black, and Lt Dan from "Forest Gump". I was unable to think of any others that left an impression on me.
I think this is an issue that should also be talked about in the context of this class. I can't think of any Disney movies that represent people with physical disabilities. Children and people with these disabilities don't see people like them in everyday media.
This brings me to Kylie Jenner and fashion's use of disabilities to sell their products....I think the tweet below says it all.
Below is a disabled model's response to the ad Kylie Jenner was featured in.
Physical disabilities should not be exploited for gain.
More recently, I can still only think of a few physically disabled characters in media. Maggie from "The Mindy Project", John Locke from "Lost"and Walter Jr from "Breaking Bad". What I do appreciate about these characters, is that they exist in these shows as very normal people. Maggie is sexually active, and always has a witty quip. Walter Jr's condition is addressed in "Breaking Bad", but he is shown having a wide variety of emotions, taking his driver's test, defending his mom from physical abuse, ect. These are well rounded characters that are a positive step towards more inclusive programming.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/kylie-jenners-wheelchair-photos-are-slammed-for-being-ableis?utm_term=.hczqNVlL3#.by389lRDx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3362220/Disabled-model-poses-PVC-corset-response-Kylie-Jenner-s-hypocritical-wheelchair-shoot.html