1.  What representations of the disabled have you
seen in the media?
 Make a list / brainstorm of all the different
portrayals.
A victim
Ugly Disability
5 minutes

3.  Disability is often represented in a
negative stereotypical way in many
TV Dramas.
 There are a number of ways the
disabled are portrayed in the
media, some positive but most
have negative connotations.

4.  The OED defines Disability as a physical or
mental condition that limits a person’s
movements, senses, or activities
 The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a
disabled person as someone who has a physical or
mental impairment that has a substantial and
long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to
carry out normal day-to-day activities.

5.  There are over 10 million disabled people in
Britain, of whom 5 million are over state pension
age.
 There are over 6.9 million disabled people of
working age which represents 19% of the
working population.
 Nearly one in five people of working age (7
million, or 18%)
 There are 770,00 disabled children under the age
of 16 in the UK. That equates to 1 child in 20.

6. Very few make it onto TV….
 A 2004 Ofcom report discovered that fewer than
1 person/character in 100 in the (sampled)
programmes had a disability.
 In pairs make a list of all the characters with
disabilities from TV dramas and comedies you
can think of

7.  In his 1991 study, Paul Hunt identified 10
stereotypes that the media use to portray
disabled people:
 The disabled person as pitiable or pathetic
 An object of curiosity or violence
 Sinister or evil
 The super cripple
 As atmosphere
 Laughable
 His/her own worst enemy
 As a burden
 As Non-sexual
 Being unable to participate in daily life

8. • A broad range of current social and cultural
representations of disability in our society
reinforce that people with disabilities are seen
to be:
Undesirable
Tragic or super human.
Asexual.
Dependent.
In need of 'normalisation'.
Lower in intelligence.
Unemployable.
Different.

9. Ricky Gervais  David Cameron

10.  Minority groups will tend to be stereotyped by
the dominant group in any society.
 These stereotypes tend to be negative, reflecting
the balance of power between social groups.
 But – remember that all stereotypes are
assumptions about social groups and all
representations are constructed so that we see
these groups in certain ways

11.  Although there have some characters lately who
have challenged that such as Jake Sully (Avatar)
and Adam Best (Eastenders).

12. But there are also more positive representations;
Sherlock Holmes is depicted as brilliant and has
many of the characteristics associated with
Aspergers Syndrome. Dr Watson is a disabled ex-
soldier who regularly helps Sherlock save the
world (maybe, just the UK).

14. Lizzie; Emerdale (deaf).

18.  Who is disabled/able in the clip?
 Are the disabled shown as different to
others, either by what they do (interests) or
how they act (personality and attitude)?
 Are they stereotypically shown as
abnormal, weak or pathetic, and if so how?

19.  Are the able bodied stereotypically shown as
being normal, better, more powerful, and if so
how?
 How do all the different characters treat each
other?
 What message is the clip trying to show about
disability.

20. Watch the clip and fill in the table with notes that
would help you answer this question:
Discuss the ways in which the extract
constructs the representation of disability
using the following:
 Camera shots, angles, movement and
composition
 Editing
 Sound
 Mise en scene