The problem with using disabled people for entertainment
Pou Tiaki reporter and wheelchair user
Ihave a problem with TV shows that use disabled people for entertainment. Season two of TVNZ’s Unbreakable premieres next week. It features 12 disabled people ‘‘as they shoot for the moon, their ambitions are huge but so are the obstacles’’, the show synopsis says.
But as a disabled person, I have concerns that shows like this overlook the systemic issues that disabled people face in society.
TV shows like this one are good for awareness and visibility. They have the potential to pave the way for other content that will create change.
And the current media landscape has a lack of opportunities for disabled people to be in the media, so I can understand why some disabled people would take this opportunity to use it as a platform.
But when a show hinges on a disability and overplays it as the only plot point in a narrative, then it often reinforces negative stereotypes about disabled people being pitied and it screams inspirational porn.
(The term ‘‘inspiration porn’’ is explained really well in a Ted Talk by late disabled comedian and journalist Stella Young.)
Once disabled people sign up to the show, the editing and storyline framing is left to the producers. While the credits of Unbreakable indicate there are two disabled script consultants, the soundtrack and narration sounds patronising sometimes and includes the regular use of ‘‘sad piano music’’.
It’s a shiny sticking plaster that glosses over the deep, infected wound of systemic disability discrimination.
Much like when Minister for Disability Issues Poto Williams said ‘‘encouraging people to do the right thing and being positive’’ is enough to improve accessibility for disabled people, rather than enforcing legislation that will make a tangible difference.
Channel 4 in the United Kingdom recently launched a Disability Code of Portrayal, which aims to ‘‘ensure authentic, nuanced and original disability portrayal’’.
It covers 10 principles the network is committed to when it comes to narratives about disabled people across all of its programming.
One of these included removing the ‘‘able gaze’’. ‘‘We avoid assumptions and projections about the disabled experience in our content, always checking for any non-disabled bias, privilege or lack of knowledge and experience,’’ the code states.
Even as a disabled person going about my business in the supermarket and wandering along the street, I’m so used to the ‘‘able gaze’’ from non-disabled people. I don’t need it reinforced on television, too.
I think every media organisation and network should follow a code like this that elevates the voice of disabled people in an authentic way.
Despite
Unbreakable’s title, for me I am breakable. But that’s because I’m human.
Saying otherwise is like saying my disability is my only identity, and it actually does me and other disabled people a disservice.
It’s not my disability that breaks me, it’s the systemic barriers and negative attitudes that do that.
I break over the frustration of having to prove my disability to the police officer who told me off for parking in a mobility spot before noticing my permit and wheelchair.
I break when the health system that is meant to fund my support makes me go through multiple hoops and hurdles to get basic healthcare.
I break over every rejected job letter from an employer telling me their office space isn’t wheelchair-accessible.
Maybe a couple of years ago, I would have watched Unbreakable and enjoyed it. Heck, I might have even found it inspirational myself.
But my perspective on things has really changed around how we tell stories about disabled people because we mustn’t overlook the systemic issues created by those in positions of power – especially after covering the Royal Commission’s Abuse in Care disability hearing.
You can’t come away from covering something like that and be unchanged.
I’m still undecided if shows like this are a small step in the right direction to make more space for programmes that address systemic issues, or just reinforce negative stereotypes.
I can only watch this from a perspective of knowing the disabled experience is much more complex than a 60-minute TV show.
But if some disabled people do feel seen for the first time because of this show, then that’s a good start. I just think there’s a missed opportunity here for disabled people – we are more than just inspirational archetypes.
This role is Public Interest Journalism funded by New Zealand on Air.