Image Description: Grey image of a broken old television set in a vast, dusty wasteland.
I think one of the reasons people are so uncomprehending of disability and the lives disabled people lead is the lack of real (or real enough) stories depicted in film and television. Humans are visual creatures. So much of what we learn about each other is through entertainment exposure, not just the interpersonal experiences of daily life.
News coverage of disability has been improving and it’s great to see this happen. But, if anything, in recent years television and film depictions of disability have grown even scarcer — not that we were ever rolling in numerous accurate depictions. There were a few shows with a disabled character and some corny storylines about disability (look at the disabled person go to prom!), but at least they were present in some way. Now I can’t think of any existing show with a disabled character, as they have all been cancelled and faded out of view.
Erasure Takes Effort, But Creates Boring Content
If we learn about different people through the screen, then we really are leaving out 20% of the population by excluding disabled stories. That has to take some effort! This means production companies aren’t picking up scripts with disability stories, nor fielding actors with disabilities, nor enlisting creatives with disability experience. If one takes video as a representation of the world, disability does not exist. No one is blind or deaf. No one uses a wheelchair or mobility aid. No one has autism or ADHD or depression or anxiety. It’s a pretty bland and boring world without disabilities.
It’s really bizarre because disability stories are so fascinating and chock full of drama. How will the wheelchair user go to dinner at the inaccessible restaurant? How will the blind person pick out the right can of soup on the supermarket shelf? How will the deaf person tell the potential employer discriminating against them in a job interview to knock it the hell off?
I mean — disability is literally constant drama, creativity, and humor! It could not be a better natural fit for interesting story content.
Fear and Loathing of Disability Stories
Why go to the effort to exclude disabled stories other than fear and ableism? So many disability stories equate to hours of great watching and subscription fees. I get bored of watching the “average person” succeeding easily and getting the bad guys and telling jokes we’ve already heard a million times. I feel like we’ve watched everything interesting and there’s not much left.
It’s all because they won’t incorporate the fascinating disability stories. Are they too real? Too scary? Too imperfect, and therefore taboo? Can we not handle the reality of disability life? The fact that disabled people face adversity every day, run into brick walls, and keep on going — is that too much to handle? Too big for the big screen (or small screen, as it were)?
Maybe it’s because the video makers don’t have the answers and can’t find nice pat solutions to fit in the time slot. I keep wondering why there are never wheelchair users searching for homes on House Hunters. And then I realized they wouldn’t be able to find homes to show them! There are literally not enough accessible homes adding up to three for filming a half hour reality program. So bam! No “crips seeking cribs” — a show that I would definitely watch!
Disability Stories Are Fascinating
Seriously, I think it’s the fear of no easy answers and that disability is lifelong and not curable and fixable. Depicting actual complexity and interest without resolution is hard for people used to peddling pretty perfection. Television and film may be largely boring as hell nowadays and now we know why — fear of being interesting.
Life is more complicated than the familiar and comfortable. It’s more hilarious and challenging as well. When we’re ready to explore these aspects of living, the intricacies of life with disability, and how it can create a beautiful life, we’ll have some pretty great and interesting video to watch. Until then, I’m back into reading books as I’ve run out of good things to watch.
Thanks for reading Rolling With It! If you are enjoying the newsletter, please “like” it to let others know it is worth checking out. If you really like the newsletter, please click the share button below to send it to others. Thanks so much for your support!
Amen. I know growing up if I had seen anyone even remotely like me on television or in movies, I would have felt so much less alone and very likely had more confidence.