Disability on drama TV: How attitudes about disability in the US relate to viewing frequency and identification with a character with a disability on “Glee”
From Firenze University Press Journal: Media Education — Studi, ricerche e buone pratiche
Emily P. Lorenz, University of Missouri
Cynthia M. Frisby, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
According to the World Health Organization (2020), over one billion people, about 15% of the world’s population, have a disability. Individuals with disability are not a homogenous group, with disabilities ranging from mental to physical and severe to moderate; nevertheless, they share one thing in common: under representation in the media. According to GLAAD, only 3.5% of characters on scripted series have a disability (Appelbaum, 2021). Relative lack of representation of disability in the media has coincided with little research about how exist-ing portrayals, or lack thereof for that matter, relate to attitudes about disability. Generations of researchers have explored how television effects the way that we look at the world, and the people who surround us, but there is a gap when it comes to disability.
It is important to look at this to understand how attitudes about people with disabilities can relate to how they are portrayed in the media. «Disability Representation in Film, TV, and Print Media” discusses the importance of representations of disability. “If marginalized groups are not sufficiently represented, they remain invisible to the masses. If they are not accurately and genuinely represented, the mass-es will continue to misunderstand them» said Jeffress (2021, p. 4). In a study published in that book, Zhang and Haller (2021) had participants watch a scene from “Speechless” that showed JJ, a character who is nonverbal and uses a wheelchair, standing up for his younger brother. The more likely that participants perceived the portrayal as positive, the more likely they were to identify with JJ, and this led to more positive attitudes about people with disability and willingness to interact with them.Previous research has also studied media effects related to disability, but studies have primarily focused on short-term viewing. Farnell and Smith (1999) found a relationship between viewing of media content related to disability and attitudes about disability, especially when first-hand experience was lacking. Research has demonstrated a relationship between viewing a film with a paraplegic character and increased ratings about employment eligibility (Reinhardt et al., 2014) as well as more positive attitudes about individuals with intellectual dis-ability after watching Paralympic coverage (Ferrara et al., 2015).
No known studies look at long-term viewing of content with a consistent portrayal of disability and its relationship to attitudes.However, other research has explored the impact of long-term viewing on various other groups including ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community and found that media exposure can relate to beliefs (Fujioka, 1999; Dong & Murrillo, 2005; Schiappa et al., 2006; Punyanunt-Carter, 2008).To consider if repeated viewing of a character with a disability relates to attitudes about disability, this research looked at the viewing of one show, “Glee,” a program that included a main character who used a wheelchair as well as many other characters who had physical as well as mental disabilities. The current study explores frequency of viewing through cultivation theory and identification to consider the relationship to viewers’ attitudes about individuals with disability.
1.1 Historical Background of Disability in the Media
While representation in the media is still much low-er than actual numbers of individuals with disabilities, progress has been made in the past century. Along with dramatic changes in awareness and rights of individuals with disabilities, there have also been varying portrayals of disability in the media. Beth Haller (2009) discusses the various models used to frame disability content.
The traditional models include the medical model, in which disability is presented as an illness in need of cure; the social pathology model, in which people with disabilities are in need of charity from society; and the supercrip model, in which individuals with disabilities are portrayed as superhuman (p. 7). Over the years the media has evolved in its portrayal of disability. Harris (2013) discusses four stages of the portrayal of minorities on television. The first was non-recognition, when the «minority group is simply excluded» (Harris, 2013, p. 93). A prominent example is U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt hiding his use of a wheel-chair. The next stage was ridicule, when «the dominant group bolsters its own self-image by putting down and stereotyping the minority» (Harris, 2013, p. 93). Characters with physical disabilities have often been used to portray evil and/or genius characters. Some examples include “Doctor Who” and “Doctor Strangelove.” In the regulation state, «minority groups appear as protectors of the existing order» (Harris, 2013, p. 93). Harris categorizes the final stage as respect, when «minority group appears in the same full range of roles» (Harris, 2013, p. 93). Recent media representation including the documentary “Crip Camp” and movie “CODA” as well as television programs including “Glee”, “Speechless,” “In The Dark,” and others have characters with disability. Although GLAAD estimates the percentage of characters with disability in the media is still low at around 3.5% of characters, is has increased from the less than 1% representation Harris noted in 2013.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/me-12641
Read Full Text: https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/med/article/view/12641
