Disability in the media

The depiction of disability in the media plays a major role in molding the public perception of disability. Perceptions portrayed in the media directly influence the way people with disabilities are treated in current society. " edia platformshave been cited as a key site for the reinforcement of negative images and ideas in regard to people with disabilities."

As a direct response, there have been increasing examples worldwide of people with disabilities pursuing their own media projects, such as creating film series centered on disability issues, radio programs and podcasts designed around and marketed towards those with disabilities, and so on.

Common depictions

The media generally depicts people with disabilities according to common stereotypes such as pity and heroism.
Disability advocates often call this type of societal situation the "pity/heroism trap" or "pity/heroism dichotomy" and call instead for its supporters to "Piss On Pity" and push forward with inclusion instead.

When reports are about the "plight of the disabled" they rely on the pity or medical model of disability. Telethons are an example of this, such as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon which has been heavily criticised and sometimes even physically protested by disability rights advocates.

Negative day-to-day reporting may occur chiefly by depicting a given person or people with a disability as a burden or drain on society.

The "super-crip" model, in which subjects are portrayed as heroically overcoming their conditions, is also often used when reporting on people with disabilities.

The social model tends to be used for reporting on the activities of disability rights activists if the report is positive.

The term "inspiration porn" was coined in 2012 by disability rights activist Stella Young in an editorial in Australian Broadcasting Corporation's webzine ''Ramp Up''. The term describes when people with disabilities are called ''inspirational'' solely or in part on the basis of their disability.

Researchers note that information is prioritized for people with disabilities, with communication as a hard distinct second and entertainment is framed as a luxury

Stereotypes and Tropes

Stereotypical depictions of disability that originate in the arts, film, literature, television, and other mass media fiction works, are frequently normalized through repetition to the general audience. Once such a stereotype is absorbed and accepted by the mainstream public, it continues to be repeated in the media, in many slightly varied forms, but staying close to the stereotype. Many media stereotypes about disability have been identified. They are sometimes referred to as " tropes", meaning a recurring image or representation in the mainstream culture that is widely recognizable. Tropes repeated in works of fiction have an influence on how society at large perceives people with disabilities. Other forms of media, in turn, then portray people with disabilities in ways that conform with tropes and repeat them.

Some of these disability tropes that have been identified in popular culture include:
* "Little People are Surreal"
::Examples of this include the character Tattoo on the television series ''Fantasy Island''; a recurring use of a dwarf as a motif in American film director David Lynch's works, such as ''Mulholland Drive''; and a dwarf actor who appears as a prominent cast extra in the film ''The Eyes of Laura Mars''.
* "Single Episode Disability"
::This is where a regular character on a television series obtains a temporary disability, learns a moral lesson, and makes a rapid, full recovery. Examples include an episode of ''M*A*S*H'' where Hawkeye is temporarily blinded, and an episode of '' Law and Order: SVU'' where Detective Stabler is temporarily blind.
* "Disability Superpower"
::This is where fate removes one ability, it enhances another, so that a disabled character has one superpower. This has resulted in the creation of several subtypes of this disability trope, such as Blind Seer, Blind Weapon Master, Genius Cripple and Super Wheel Chair.

Sometimes, characters that are given a disability are only seen as their disability. Through the medical model, their disability is explained and narrated in a WebMD style. This disability stereotype or myth as Jay Dolmage describes it can be known as the "Disability as Pathology" myth. It is a common stereotype that proves to be harmful because it feeds society the idea that disabled people are their disability first before a person.

Other disability stereotypes that have been identified in popular culture include:
* The object of pity
::With this, disability is commonly associated with an illness or disease.
::See inspiration porn
* Sinister or evil

::Characters who are portrayed as having physical disabilities are cast as the anti-hero, such as in the films Ant-Man and the Wasp (the character Ghost) and Split.
* Eternal innocence
::Paired with people with intellectual disabilities, such as in the films ''Forrest Gump'', ''I Am Sam'' and ''Rain Man''.
* The victim of violence
* Asexual, undesirable, or incapable of sexual or romantic interactions:
::Examples include adolescent coming-of-age storylines such as Artie Abrams on '' Glee'', and "teen sick-lit" such as '' The Fault in our Stars''.

* Disability con:
::The "disability con" or "disability faker" is not disabled but pretends to have a disability for profit or personal gain. Examples include the character Verbal Kint in the film ''The Usual Suspects'', who fakes a limp in order to take advantage of others, and is shown at the end walking out of the police station scot-free, and without the limp.

While there are con artists who fake a disability such as Belle Gibson, they are rare, while people with genuine disabilities are relatively common. Media, and especially current affairs reporting, that focuses on the few fraudulent fake-disabled people while ignoring or systematically under-representing the many genuinely disabled people creates a misperception of disabled people which encourages negative stereotyping. This is especially problematic for people with hidden disabilities, who may be disbelieved and abused by members of the public for "faking it," as they believe that disability fakers are more common than genuine disabilities. One example is wheelchair users not being able to walk.

The existence of disability tropes in mass media is related to other stereotypes, or tropes, that have developed when other marginalized groups in society are depicted, such as the Magical Negro trope identified, and criticized, by film director Spike Lee. The mocking names often given to these tropes when they are identified indicates a rejection of the harmful stereotypes that they propagate.

Stereotypes may endure in a culture for several reasons: they are constantly reinforced in the culture, which mass media does easily and effectively; they reflect a common human need to organize people and categorize them; they reinforce discrimination that allows one group of society to exploit and marginalize another group. Several studies of mass media in Britain and the United States have identified common stereotypes, such as "noble warrior", "charity cripple", "curio", "freak", and "Pollyanna", where the researchers identified a position of "disapproval", on the part of the media, of some aspect of the disability. It has been shown that media portrayals of disability became more normalizing and accepting in the years immediately after World War II, when returning veterans with war-related disabilities were being reintegrated into society. A backlash of intolerance towards disability followed during the mid-20th century, with some researchers speculating that this may have been related to society's reaction against any identifiable "difference" as a result of Cold War tensions. Depictions of disability in media soon reverted to emphasizing the "freakish" nature of disability.

Broadcast media programming for disabled audiences

Broadcast media has in recent years begun to recognize the large audience of people with disabilities that it reaches. Programming dedicated to disability issues is increasing.

In 1990, the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became the first news story on disability issues to become a lead story on cable news broadcaster CNN. News Director Ed Turner contacted the Washington bureau of CNN to have the signing of the ADA by President Bush broadcast live. The next day, the signing of the ADA was covered as the top headline in ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and every other major U.S. newspaper. Disability rights activist Lex Frieden has stated, "That was the first time that millions of people were exposed to disability rights as the number one story". These milestones were a major change in reducing exclusion and invisibility for people with disabilities.

''Ouch!'' by the British Broadcasting Corporation
...