Representation - Dr Cages

TASK - Choose any one of DR CAGES, and list the stereotypes. Choose three media texts about that and find one countertypical argument for it.

DISABILITY - Typically, people with some kind of disability are sometimes assigned a lesser role, and sometimes forced to endure a second-class life, despite what many people are trying to do to make disability less of a segregating issue.

Media 1 - Television
Within television, disability is presented in a wide range of lights. There are a number of programmes on television which centre themselves around disability, and how it affects the daily life of the people involved. One example is 'The Undatables' on Channel Four, which can be viewed in a positive or a negative viewpoint, depending on who is watching it. The preferred view is that the program brings to life issues which people facing different disabilities face whilst dating, and bring positive awareness of it, but some could see this as offensive. Many television programmes are broadcast with subtitles and sign language for death and hard of hearing persons, as well as audio description.

Media 2 - News
Disability in the news is also used in a wide range of applications. Depending on the story, disability could be shown in a positive or a negative light. Newspapers are a good example, where broadsheet newspapers are going to tend to present disability as a serious issue and treat it with formal respect, whereas tabloid newspapers would tend to point it out as something to laugh at and consistently target.

Media 3 - Film
Disability in film is also highlighted in several ways, with the most common being a positive representation, such as a film where a person in a wheelchair could be the main protagonist of the whole movie, stating that people can actually do things.

COUNTER-VIEWPOINTS
I would particularly like to highlight the Paralympic coverage of Channel Four. The Paralympics tend to offer olympic class sport to athletes with physical disabilities, and in some cases, Channel Four's coverage of this is actually better than the BBC. The amount of significance that C4 places on the Paralympic Games, such as custom-produed trailers and identification screens show that they are placing a large positive and diverse viewpoint. Channel Four has been known to be very diverse and open about many disabilities however...