This unit plan introduces students to the various stereotypes and misconceptions related to the disability community in the media. Introductory lessons provide a firm background concerning the history of how disability has been viewed and treated, as well as the stereotypes typically associated with this marginalized group. Subsequent lessons than focus on specific stereotypes and demonstrate how they are perpetuated in the media, as well as its social implications. Critical media literacy is highlighted throughout the unit, and students gain an understanding of how the media shapes our perceptions about others and the world around us.
I envision that this unit plan shall be most appropriate for the postsecondary level, specifically, what is known as CEGEP in the Quebec educational system. Upon completion of high school (grade 11), Quebec students advance to CEGEP, where they can follow one of two streams: Those interested in university studies complete a 2-year pre-university diploma, whereas those seeking imminent employment pursue a 3-year trades program.
This mythical school is a public English CEGEP located in the downtown area, thus ensuring its convenience to those who rely on public transportation. As such, and also due to the fact that it offers a wide array of academic programs, it attracts a large number of students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. It serves roughly 2000 students, but ensures that class sizes are small and individualized learning is central to the overall curriculum. It attracts an amalgamation of those recently completing high school, and those who are returning to their studies after an interruption. A majority of students, however, attend the school directly after high school, and are consequently between the ages of 16 and 18.
All students have demonstrated fluency in the English language (by means of an entrance examination), and there are no programs offered in the French language (other than those to increase French proficiency). As such, most students have attended English high schools and are Anglophone learners. Most students derive from middle-class families, and there is an equal representation of both male and female students.
The school is particularly unique because it boasts an impressive service for students with disabilities. The corresponding office provides a range of services (e.g. alternative formats, course modifications and personal attendants where necessary), so that students can benefit from all aspects of their education. This attracts numerous students with disabilities (most of whom have learning disabilities), however, disabled students are naturally still underrepresented in comparison to the overall student body. As such, initiatives from the Disability Office, student-run organizations, and those faculty members interested in disability studies have attempted to better educate the general population about disability issues and better represent this often misunderstood cohort.
The school places a great emphasis on student-centered learning and critical thinking. Furthermore, gender studies, ethnic studies, disability studies and other multidisciplinary themes are purposefully integrated in all subjects, with the belief that this will develop an awareness of a range of issues and provide a more all-encompassing instruction. Additionally, the recognition that media and technology impacts all aspects of society has led the school to integrate critical media literacy and technology throughout the curriculum. Wherever possible, students are encouraged to create media representations of their own, critically analyze the role of the media in society, and use a range of technologies to better enhance the learning experience.
This unit plan stems from the school’s above mentioned values, and is a component of the English department. In addition to reinforcing traditional literary skills, the department accentuates other forms of literacy as well, including media literacy, and this course is a component of the department’s “cultural studies and communications” stream.
The class that is piloting this course is typical of the overall institution. There are roughly 20 students in the class. None have disclosed a disability, thus it is assumed that they lack prior knowledge of the issues that will be raised throughout the course. There are 11 females and 9 males, likely because females tend to more historically be drawn to English studies. Academic performance of this class is also typical of the overall student body: Most perform at an average to above average level, and most plan to attend university upon completion of CEGEP. This course aims to thus equip them with a more in depth understanding of relevant theemes.
The class meets twice a week for 55 minutes, and the entire unit thus
runs for 5 weeks. A considerable amount of time is spent outside of the
classroom, completing assignments and engaging in other forms of experiential,
hands-on learning.
Individuals are socialized from a very young age, by different powerful forces, to adopt certain notions about the world around them as standard. Individuals are not born with notions of what is acceptable or deviant, or what characteristics to associate with different groups (such as males and females). It becomes evident later in life that these beliefs and attitudes differ greatly among diverse societies, but we are socialized to take certain ideas for granted without uncertainty or questioning.
The mass media is undoubtedly the most powerful social agent that molds and manipulates our ideas about ourselves, others and the world as a whole, and it has become that much more pervasive in the digital age. Children who are born today are considered to be “digital natives” because they are propelled into the world of media and technology from the day they are born, and thus often do not realize its powerful ability to influence their own beliefs, attitudes and perceptions. The mass media infiltrates our lives on a daily basis, and as such, transmits some very strong messages about specific social groups. For example, if one were to monitor the roles played by people with disabilities (insomuch as they are shown) in movies, television shows and advertisements, certain patterns will be noticed. These patterns, if perpetuated enough, come to normalize the often inaccurate characteristics associated with this social group.
The media is especially powerful because its influence often remains unnoticed. 98.3% of all American households own at least one television set. Furthermore, critics have argued that since ‘media’ (in all its forms) is largely owned and controlled by a select few, the information that it provides and the positions it takes are biased. For those marginalized groups such as persons with disabilities that have typically not been provided with a voice of their own in society, the media tends to perpetuate their subordinate status. While the media is not alone in reinforcing misconceptions about people with disabilities, it promotes and normalizes these negative stereotypes. Particularly for those who may not know a person with a disability, this may be the only information they receive, and that information is often portrayed in a way that garners an unnecessary amount of pity, as viewers imagine how “horrific” a life with a disability must necessarily be like.
Among these stereotypes is the notion that having a disability is necessarily a burden and something we must pity. This directly correlates with debates about eugenics, assisted suicide and judgments about what lives are worthy and which are not. The Latimer case, in which a father killed his severely disabled daughter through carbon monoxide poisoning, is an example of an instance where this debate came to the forefront. Latimer was ultimately convicted on criminal charges; but, only a few years later, he is once again living in the community.
This case was highly publicized in the media, and even if the media did not specifically comment on whether his actions were right or wrong, its otherwise negative portrayal of disability as a burden works to say that Latimer was justified. The idea of disability as something to be pitied is perpetuated by focusing on the disability, rather than on any other aspect of the individuals’ identity. Persons with disabilities are rarely shown participating in sports, dating or in business interactions, thus perpetuating the notion that they cannot be self-sufficient or lead productive lives
On the other extreme, persons with disabilities are often presented as heroes by hype, and placed on a pedestal for simply “being able to live the way they do.” Daytime talk shows such as Maury that air entire episodes on the oddity of people with physical anomalies, for example, portray people with disabilities as spectacles, much like the ‘freak shows’ of the 1800s. So many negative portrayals of people with disabilities exist, but they are normalized so frequently through the media that we often do not recognize them.
In many movies, villains are portrayed as somehow physically defective or unappealing. Few can identify a show with a person with a disability, where the disability is not mentioned and is thus inconsequential. We do not see people with disabilities in role of a parent or significant other; often, their role is to fortify the role of another character who must care for them. This is not, in fact, the reality for most people with disabilities, but few would think so with these portrayals. Most individuals are expected to experience declining health or disability in old age, and the media is essentially breeding fear within society that is harmful.
These negative misconceptions and stereotypes have implications for educators and parents. Parents of children with disabilities may automatically assume that they will not amount to anything, and this can severely limit a child’s ability to gain independence or even develop a sense of self-worth. These negative portrayals may also create a sense of self-helplessness among people with disabilities themselves. Currently, approximately half (49.5%) of working-age adults with disabilities in Canada are unemployed or not in the labour force (compared to 24.5% of the non-disabled population), and their average income is $31,688 (compared to $39,951 in the general population). It is noteworthy that some 46% of persons with disabilities report an annual income of less than $18,000 per year (compared with 36% for the non-disabled population). (These figures are derived from Statistics Canada’s 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey.)
This does not imply that they are not qualified, but rather, employers are still hesitant to provide them with opportunities, and these media portrayals are certainly one reason. We need critical media literacy to question how the media perpetuates negative stereotypes about this cohort, the impact of these portrayals on people with disabilities, and how we can bring about social change by challenging the “status quo” that is presented in the media. Rather than accepting any master narrative, critical media literacy is essential to recognizing the fallacies that exist about people with disabilities in the media.
I am assuming that this unit plan is a smaller component of a larger course, dealing with how the media portrays different marginalized groups (women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities) and the implications that these have. The topic of people with disabilities in the media, however, could be a course on its own if the themes introduced in this unit plan were expanded upon.
The first four lessons will provide the background students require to critically engage with the content of the rest of the unit. Lesson 1 will define stereotyping and have students begin to think about how stereotypes can be perpetuated through different social structures in the media. Lesson 2 and 4 will provide students with the ability to blog and create PowerPoint assignments to complete components of their assessments. Lesson three will provide a brief history of how disability has been treated over the centuries, to help students understand where most of the disability stereotypes they see in the media may have originated. Once this basis has been provided, we will then move to a different stereotype in the media each lesson, and discuss the implications those particular stereotypes have. The last two lessons will show students how members of the disability community have responded to these misconceptions and stereotypes through activism, and discuss how members of the larger community – media producers, educations and members of the public – can challenge these misconceptions.