After the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, films started to pay attention to disability representation.
This is particularly illustrated in early 2000s children’s movies. Finding Nemo (2003) is a popular film that subtly focuses on disability.
With any civil rights movement comes a paradigm shift. Media depictions of minority groups slowly change.
Generation Gaps
Photo By Rajiv Perera from Unsplash
Generations of people are shaped by the “politically correct” ways to address topics such as disability.
There is a latency between social acceptance and civil rights movements.
Generations of people become complacent in what was considered the status quo when they were coming- of- age.
It’s hard for some to accept that our language and behavior is or was harmful to others.
Everyone Performs Society a Little
Being physically disabled and Asian-American from birth, I often felt like a visual education tool for acceptance.
I grew up in a predominantly white school district and, in general, have met very few people who use forearm crutches as I do.
I admit I had a distinctive look, but that’s nothing to stare at.
As Stella Young said,
“For me, in some ways, my whole life is a bit performative,
and always has been- because I’m stared at and looked at everywhere I go.”
Everyone performs for society a little. Think of gender roles or gender expression.
In literature,” the incessant representation of the unseen Starer is psychosocially problematical for two reasons.First, because it can perpetuate a sense of curiosity among people with unimpaired vision; and second, because it can invoke an idea that in itself has the potential to affect the behavior of people with impaired vision” (Bolt, 2005, 3)
Unseen Stare
Bolt is specifically looking at people and characterization of visually impaired people, but the concept applies more broadly to the disabled community because the
unseen stare is
“the stare is a ‘specific form of social oppression’ for disabled people” [Thomson, 1997b, p. 300] (Bolt, 2005, 3)
The unseen stare is a phenomenon that develops from the social hierarchy combined with curiosity.
People are taught not to stare as children. But it is a common reaction the disability community faces.
The crux of the issue is the pressure to perform and educate.
Even though what is “politically correct” is becoming more inclusive, the unspoken “unseen stare” is still there.
Sources
Bolt, D. (2005). Looking Back at Literature: A Critical Reading of the Unseen Stare in Depictions of People with Impaired Vision. Disability & Society, 20(7), 735-747. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687590500335741
Thomson, R. G. (1997b) Integrating Disability Studies into the Existing Curriculum: The Example of “Women and Literature” at Howard University, in: L. J. Davis (Ed) The Disability Studies Reader (New York & London, Routledge), 295-306.