A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

My intention in watching this episode with Ali, Ash, Sarah and Surinder was to try and
explore their reactions to cultural representations of disabled people that might be
experienced in the course of everyday life. This is the sort of cultural material that anybody,
disabled or non-disabled, might sit down to enjoy of an afternoon, or on one of the many
repeats on different channels (Channel 4+1, More 4) and will generally be viewed
uncritically. As Sarah notes:
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...the vast majority of people sitting watching this won‟t be thinking that‟s
annoying... they‟ll be thinking it‟s good... (l.3:383ff.)
Her perception is that it is likely that this episode of Deal Or No Deal will have been
watched positively and regarded as a good example of greater inclusion of disabled people in
TV programming. Yet, at the same time, it is possible to hear caution being expressed. For
example, Ash states that:
It‟s good that he‟s on... it‟s good that the chap‟s on... it‟s more important that he‟s on
than that he‟s no... I think anybody would agree with that... to show people...
(l.3:223ff.)
Sarah is torn. She feels instinctively that increased representation of disabled people on TV
is desirable, but is concerned about the message being put out:
Any representation, I suppose, is good... but I would hate to think that people would
like look at that and think that every disabled person is like that and should be
thinking like that... to be honest, Deal Or No Deal‟s probably the most
representative in terms of disability... so I think Deal Or No Deal‟s probably better
than most... in terms of the amount... but whether it‟s the right kind of representation
I don‟t know... (l.3:192ff.)
While it is true that disabled people have long argued for greater representation in
mainstream media, it is also true that popular culture has a way of assimilating challenges to
its ongoing flow by incorporating them and offering them back for public consumption in a
form in which they are likely to cause little disruption or offence (Chambers, 1993).
The confusion and oppression experienced by many disabled people in relation to feeling
comfortable in their own bodies is expressed by Sarah, referring here to Rhys:
It‟s only ever either one way or the other... there‟s sort of the timid... like him... or
there‟s the angry... like I‟m thinking back to Beyond Boundaries... where there‟s