Disability "Myths" Represented In Popular Culture

This world we live in unsurprisingly comprises billions upon billions of individuals with endless amounts of diversity and life experiences, but yet, people are always so quick to simplify or degrade those who differ from themselves. In the United States, our society has a distinct proneness of framing people belonging to any group other than the supposed "norm" through egregious stereotypes, which then become so embedded into the American psyche that they even begin to infiltrate our screens. Jay Dolmage, professor and prolific author of disability studies, exposes these various stereotypes or "myths" (as he calls them) when concerning the portrayal of those within the disabled community on the big screen and popular culture, in general. He additionally explains how these demeaning representations only spread harmful perceptions of disabled peoples' lives and what their roles are within society as a whole.

Many tropes about the disabled community within literature, films, and television shows are thoroughly analyzed by Dolmage's interchapter, "An Archive and Anatomy of Disability Myths," which is part of his book published in 2014, Disability Rhetoric. These range from the immediate need to medically describe one's disability, to the idea that one's physical disability is a metaphor for their "internal flaw" (p. 35), to even the idea that disabled people are punishment or manifestation of man's evil deeds (p. 44). Individuals with disabilities are used as a plot device, a way of furthering others in the story, an opportunity to improve more critical characters, but are ultimately left in the dust. Dolmage (2014) argues that the appearance of these stereotypes in popular culture comes the incredibly discriminatory notions that "disability [as a whole] is...something to be fixed or eradicated" (p. 37) as well as presses forward a superiority complex for non-disabled people. Conclusively, the author's discussion on over eleven individual "myths" work together to construct what normativity has determined to be undesirable or impermissible in society: disabled individuals being treated or even seen as equal to non-disabled people. However, Dolmage would rebut that the very concept of normal is a trope itself, as that term never has and never can be adequately defined on its own (p. 31). Instead, its single-use is to ostracize those outside society's view of optimum: marginalized groups.

In this case, specifically, we will be delving deeper into the mainstream stereotype that the author names, "Disability as Isolating and Individuated" (p. 43). Dolmage points out that according to numerous films and novels, the majority of people with disabilities live within institutions, possess very few genuine human connections, as well as are ultimately left alone (p. 43), almost as if they should be, considering the prevalence of this trope. The author even widens the effect of this "myth" to non-disabled individuals as well by proclaiming that it pushes us all to believe that one should endure hardship or weakness alone "lest we become a burden upon others" (p. 43). This stringent independence that Dolmage describes arguably comes from Western cultures' view on the individual as a whole. Americans are programmed and expected to take on the numerous battles of life on their lonesome, especially if they are seen as "other."

Despite the apparent effects of these detrimental concepts on our culture, there is hope for progressiveness in how society illustrates and perceives disabled people. Popular media is a reflection of the society it depicts, and the film, Wonder (2017), directed by Stephen Chbosky, proves that oppressive ideas, as well as discriminatory practices, can be reversed given time. This promising movie follows the story of Auggie Pullman, a fifth-grade boy who has been homeschooled up until this point due to a genetic facial deformity but is now forced to experience the social environment of public school. Unfortunately, he is met with fearful stares by most and is bullied by an entourage of troubled, ignorant children for a time. However, the ringleader of the bullies eventually gets removed from the school for his behavior, and by the end of the year, Auggie has an entire lunch table worth of accepting, compassionate friends as well as loving, supportive family members back home. Additionally, the protagonist does not go down this struggling path alone; his sister, father, as well as mother empower his confidence, and when Auggie inevitably experiences adversity, they are there to console him. Dolmage's assessment is entirely accurate when it comes to the ways disabled people have been represented in popular culture for centuries now, but Wonder (2017) displays a generational shift in how acceptance, understanding, and compassion are starting to become commonplace.

References

Dolmage, J. (2014). Disability rhetoric. Syracuse University Press. 35,37,43.

Chbosky, S. (Director), Lieberman, T. (Producer), Hoberman, D. (Producer). (2017). Wonder

[Motion picture].