PORTRAYAL OF DISABILITY IN FILM - The Study Stream

PORTRAYAL OF DISABILITY IN FILM 

Tom Dembski 

Film Studies 

R2D2 Center 

Friday, June 3, 2011


Victimized/Patronized 

Demonized 

Marginalized 

Sensationalized 

Normalized 



“Burden, childlike or incompetent; the role of the person 


with a disability is meant for the viewer to feel sorry for by 

creating the “those poor people” effect. Often portrayed as 

unable to live a normal, successful life. Seldom shown in 

situations evolving positive social interactions, rather a strain to 

other people, or the person cannot bear the disability. Most 

cases the person needs to learn to become accustomed to the 

disability, if that “lesson” is not learned the person often seeks 

death over life.” 


Demonized 

“Sinister, evil, mournful; the person is portrayed as a 


criminal or less than human due to a disability or deformity, 

often seeking revenge or to punish able-body people. Most 

likely the person is portrayed as bitter and an outcast from the 

rest of the characters and there is a group effort to destroy the 

person rather than helping.” 


Marginalized 

“Humiliate, demean; a person is portrayed in a 


condescending way and cannot live a normal life due to other 

people keeping the individual down. Often the person, due to a 

disability, cannot fit into society without proving that they are 

just as able as everyone else. Although the disability is apparent, 

that is not the focus, rather it is on how the individual must 

overcome society and stereotypes that prevent people with 

disabilities to live life to its fullest.” 



“Super Crip, heroic, superstar; a person is portrayed as 


overcoming their disability do to extraordinary measures or 

unusual talent, that separates them from the rest of the disability 

population. Although the film focuses on the disability, it is 

portrayed as something that needs overcoming to prove to the 

main character or other character life’s worth.” 


Normalized 

“Rational, accustomed, familiar; the disability of not the 


focus of the film and little attention is brought to the disability, 

but it is apparent that the character has a disability. The Person 

is shown living a life very similar to the rest of the characters 

dealing with the same struggles and triumphs, not disabilities.” 



• Portrayal 

• Appearance and charter of a person 

• Dramatic representation 

• AT 

• Assitive technology. Anything that aids people 


Prior to Film 


Disability as entertainment: 

• Literature 

• Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831) 

• Christmas Carol (1843) 

• Moby Dick (1851) 

• Sideshows/Freak shows 


Prior to Film 



• “Freak shows” became a popular profession for 

citizens with physical disabilities 


Prior to Film 



• “Freak shows” became a popular profession for 

citizens with physical disabilities 

• Around the 1920’s Freak shows would see a decline 

• Science 

• Law 

• Film 


Invention of Film 


Film as entertainment: 

• Film attracted many spectators to a new form of 

entertainment 

• The invention of film allowed pioneers to bring the world 

to every city with a theater 

• Film became the main form of entertainment by the 1920’s 


1920-30’s 


Spectacle and Grotesque: 

• The “monster-cycle” of Universal studios from 1923-1960 

• Focused on the fantastic and gruesome. Often physical 

deformities focuses created the horror 

Films included: 

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) 

• Frankenstein (1931) 

• Freaks (1932) 

Other films: 

• West of Zanzibar (1928) 

• Moby Dick (1930) 


1920-30’s 



Freaks (1932) 

• In attempts to cash in on Universal Studios success, MGM 

hired Universal Studios Dracula director Tod Browning to 

head “monster” film. 

• The film did not do well in theaters and other studios 

took it as a warning to stick to less “controversial” 

material during the depression 


1920-30’s 



Freaks (1932) 


1940’s 


War time: 

• Following every other industry in America, Hollywood 

helped with the war effort by producing war time films, 

documentaries, and propaganda films. 

• Many important directors and actors of the time 

participated 

• Did so well doing their part in war efforts, that by not 

participating looked anti-America and a career killer 


1940’s 


War time: 

• Following the end of the war, many films depicted 

characters with disabilities resulting from the war. 

• These portrayals were some of the first to show people 

with disabilities as “true to life” 

Films included: 

• Pride of the Marines (1945) 

• Till the End of Time (1946) 

• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 


1940’s 


War time: 

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 

• A film that dealt with current struggles of men returning 

to civilian life following WWII 

• The film includes physical disabilities, alcoholism, and 

depression 

• Important that the film did not only focus on disability, nor 

was the man with the prostheses the only returning vet in 

the film to encounter problems 


1950’s 


Consumerism: 

• 

• 


1960’s 


Civil rights and Vietnam War: 

• Just as America went through major changes, so did 

Hollywood. 

• Hollywood saw a shift from once popular forms of cinema 

to now competing with T.V., foreign films, and independent 

cinema. 

• Disability wise, films were both positive and negative, the 

negative out weighing the positive 


1960’s 



Negative 

• James Bond Dr. No (1962) 

• The Miracle Worker (1962) 

• Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) 

• Dr. Strangelove (1963) 

• Wait until Dark (1967) 

• Charly (1968) 

Positive 

• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968) 


1960’s 



Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) 

• Another horror/thriller film that included physical disability 

• The film was not projected to do as well as it did, gaining 

both critical and commercial success. 

• A film that incorporated many things; mental instability, 

physical disability 

• After an accident leaving Blanche paralyzed from the waist down her 

acting career is over. Her sister is the only one left to take care of her 

but resenting the fact that Blanche is the only remembered Hudson, 

despite Blanches (Joan Crawford) departure from acting for several 

years, Baby Jane (Bette Davis) keeps Blanche secluded in their house 

controlling her life. Blanche accepts this, presumably because of Jane’s 

alcoholism and mental instability. 


1960’s 



Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) 


1970’s 


Post-Vietnam War: 

• As with WWII, the Vietnam War brought home many disabled 

vets. 

• Since the war was so unpopular, many filmmakers used 

disability as a way to prove the war wrong (early 1970’s). 

Others used disability to tell new stories seldom depicted in 

film. 

• These films were mostly positive, depicting the 

independent life 


1970’s 



• Tell Me that You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)* 

• Johnny Got his Gun (1971) 

• A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1971) 

• Butterflies are Free (1972)* 

• One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest (1975)* 

• Coming Home (1978)* 

• Best Boy (1979)* 

• Apocalypse Now (1979) 


1970’s 



Johnny Got his Gun (1971) 

• Negative portrayal of disability 

• A soldier hit by an artillery shell is left severely disabled and disfigured. 

Losing control of both arms and legs, Joe is confined to a hospital bed. 

Because of the explosion Joe has also lost his sight, his nose, his ears, and 

mouth. Unable to communicate with anyone, the movie depicts Joe trapped 

in his own body, prisoner like. From then on Joe goes in and out of 

fantasies, mostly memories of when he was able-bodied. Joe hates his life, so 

much that he wishes to die, but is unable to tell anyone. A nurse that has 

been taken care of him from the start feels sorry for Joe and tries to 

euthanize him but is stopped before Joe dies. Awarded Grand Prix at Cannes 

Film Festival. 


1970’s 



Johnny Got his Gun (1971) 


1970’s 



Coming Home (1978) 

• Positive portrayal of disability 

• A married women volunteers at a local veterans hospital where she meets 

Luke, a man left bitter, angry, and paralyzed by The Vietnam War. The two 

know each other from high school and start to reacquaint with one another 

while Luke is at the hospital. After being released from the hospital and his 

many conversations with Sally, his outlook on life is more positive and he 

pursues a more personal relationship. The two start have many happy times, 

eventually falling in love. Won three Academy Awards including best actor (Jon 

Voigt) and best writing. 


1970’s 



Coming Home (1978) 


1980’s 


High-concept: 

• The 80’s produced many diverse films pertaining to disability. 

• Elephant Man (1980) 

• Who’s Life is it Anyways (1981) 

• If You Could See What I Hear (1982) 

• Children of a Lesser God (1986) 

• Monkey Shines (1988) 

• Born on the Fourth of July (1989) 

• Driving Miss Daisy (1989) 


1980’s 


High-concept: 

• Following the success of the 1970’s ‘Blockbusters”, the 80’s 

expanded this, making film for a wider audience. 

• Many movies could be summed up in two sentences, and were 

made with less thinking/more action 

• Often these films used futuristic technology, many involving 

disabilities. 

• Empire Strikes Back (1980) 

• Return of the Jedi (1983) 

• Robocop (1987) 

• Evil Dead II (1987) 


1980’s 


High-concept: 

High Tech Assistive Technology 


1990’s 


Mainstream and Indie Film: 

• High-concept and Blockbuster film formulas were used to create 

the hugely popular and high grossing “mainstream” film. 

• The 90’s also allowed for independent filmmakers to break into 

the market with low budgets due to video recording, digital 

editing, digital soundtracks, and the Internet. 


1990’s 


Mainstream and “Indie” Film: 

• America also saw a hugh import of foreign films that broke into 

the mainstream audience 

• Due to the contrast of movie production, many different types of 

movies involving disabilities were made, from the feel goods, to 

more realistic depictions, to negative portrayals. 


1990’s 


Mainstream 

Mainstream and “Indie” Film: 

• Sent of a Woman (1992) 

• Forest Gump (1994) 

• Toy Story (1995) 

• Gattaca (1997) 

• Bone Collector (1999) 

• Wild, Wild West (1999) 

Indie 

• The Water Dance (1992) 

• Passion Fish (1992) 

• Boxing Helena (1993) 

• The Theory of Flight (1998) 

Foreign 

• The Piano (1993) New Zealand 

• Rumble in the Bronx (1995) Hong Kong 

• Breaking Waves (1996) Denmark 

• Live Flesh (1997) Spain 

• Dance me to My Song (1998) Australia 

• The Color of Paradise (1999) Iran 


2000’s and Today 


Digital and Alternative: 

• Digital production and distribution lead to more people watching 

movies than ever before. 

• Digital effects had more movie power than stars 

• each studio tried outdoing each other in effects 

• Still have the mainstream formula and independent film makers, 

but a hybrid of the two formed to create a more popular form 

of alternative cinema. 





• With many studios trying to out do each other with digital 

effects, many mainstream films did not focus on story or original 

screen plays. 

• This left independent and alternative films to focus more on 

simple, yet effective movies. 

• However, in both categories, a more normalized trend took hold 

in cinema overall 





• Training Day (2001) 

• X-men (2001) 

• Rory O’Shea was Here (2004) 

• Saved (2004) 

• Inside Man (2006) 

• How to Train Your Dragon (2010) 


Children Movies 


What children movies have you seen 


Demonized 

Marginalized 


Normalized 


Children Movies 


• Since the introduction of full-length children movies there has 

been disabilities. 

• Most of the disabilities portrayed have been negative

PORTRAYAL OF DISABILITY IN FILM - The Study Stream

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