Emily Cote

SED 101
Lance Neeper
11/29/13
Media Reflection Paper
In current society, media plays a significant role in how we are educated regarding
perception. Beauty standards, sexuality and orientation, and mental or physical differences are all
promoted by media in different ways, whether it be movies, magazines, or news articles, and it
has been proven that we are heavily influence by what is fed to us through media. Disability is
no exception in this case, and by analyzing media examples, it is apparent that there are both
good and bad interpretations of disability in media. Investigating these examples led to the
understanding of how stigmas are perpetuated and the changes that are being made to eliminate
prejudice.
As a whole, media examples I found in childrens movies and current news articles
tended to be largely positive it surprised me that many of the animated videos I had access to as
a child had underlying examples of disability within them. Films such as The Hunchback of
Notre Dame and Finding Nemo put a child-like spin on overcoming disadvantages when you are
born different. These types of examples are supposed to foster the idea of acceptance and
inclusion within kids at a young age; unfortunately, cute animated characters do not generate the
same feeling as meeting a person with a disability in reality. These movies also perpetuate the
idea that a majority of disabilities are physical, when learning disabilities are rarely apparent
when you first meet a person.

Negative film examples such as Batman Begins and 300 also emphasize the idea that
disability is generally a physical defect, when in fact, most of the experts in our textbook are
fully functioning regarding motor skills, and have a learning disability instead. The idea that
people born with a physical disability have a hatred for the world because it has cast them aside,
and therefore feel the need to become evil or seek revenge, is an overdramatized and completely
inaccurate way of looking at kids with disabilities. Media examples such as these increase the
stigma and segregation that appears in alternative education programs in schools. Believing that
we need to be protected from individuals who are emotionally unstable is a mindset stemmed
from the idea that these insecurities come from birth; on the contrary, anyone who is excluded or
made fun of would harbor feelings of animosity and self-consciousness.
When researching examples of disability in media through current news articles, I was
surprised at the awareness that was being generated through inspiring stories. In class weve
been learning about the history of special education through examples such as Willowbrook
and stories in our text book, which have led me to believe that we still have a long journey ahead
of us in terms of reaching full inclusion and supplying the proper accommodations children need
in order to learn at their own pace. Reading about the teamwork of the Little Chute Mustangs
football team when giving their water boy the chance to score a winning touch down restored
some faith in the idea that there are students out there willing to accept and include individuals
that have disabilities. The interaction between Ace and her new brother, Archie, gave a similar
sense of hopefulness. Although their family received negative reactions from their peers, the two
siblings made a video that gave the idea that kids can interact without prejudice after all.
In one of the fist articles we read, People First Language by Kathie Snow, I was
provoked by a quote in her paper: this largest minority group is the only one that any person

can join at any time: at birth or later through an accident, illness, or the aging process. These
words struck me again when viewing the photo collection by David Jay of injured war veterans.
Some had wounds that were extremely physical, apparent from the pictures, but other men
looked fine physically. What struck me was the idea that mental disability such as PTSD could
be a reality for any of these soldiers. The photographs gave the idea that whether or not these
men had acquired a disability, they demanded the utmost respect for what they could do, before
and after their time over seas. If these thoughts can be evoked by a media interpretation of war
veterans, why not students going to school with similar mental and physical disabilities? Despite
the fact that intellectual and physical capability vary from person to person within a school
system, we seem to forget the idea that we are all individuals that deserve a high amount of
respect from our peers.
Media portrays disability with both positive and negative points through many filters,
such as kids movies, articles, photographs, and movies for those who are older. These
interpretations, when paired with information from sources such us Willowbrook or our textbook
give us the idea that our society is progressing slowly but surely when it comes to giving more
rights, inclusion, and accessibility to individuals with disabilities. Although we have a long way
to go, and stigma and prejudice can never be purged from a society entirely, if we take steps
forward in awareness and education, well make the world an accepting place.