Inspiring Characters
The inspirational disabled character relies on able-bodied people being inspired by a person with a disability who perseveres through hardship and challenges, sporting a “can do” attitude despite their disability.
This problematic stereotype reinforces the notion that people with disabilities are striving to be able-bodied.
Every task accomplished represents progress toward that goal. The polar opposite disabled character stereotype is the self-pitying person that needs guidance from able-bodied characters to accept themselves.
This stereotype emphasizes the burden a disabled person represents due to their special needs.
“Burdens” can also morph into background characters, centering the focus on the caretaker and how noble they are for dealing with the disabled person.
An example is the film The Upside, where Kevin Hart’s character is shown growing as a man, and the focus remains mostly on him. In the film, Kevin Hart plays an ex-convict looking for a job.” (Campos, 43)
Philip Laccase, played by Bryan Cranston, is presented as a billionaire quadriplegic searching for a caretaker who focuses less on how inspirational he is for doing the basic necessities. Applicants are shown talking about how much they want to help Philip do more in his life by being his caretaker.
They are focused on Philip’s special needs instead of treating him like “everyone else.” Hart’s character is an attractive candidate because he doesn’t care about Philip’s disability but takes the job to pay child support and avoid jail time.
Shortly after Hart’s character Dell Scott is hired, Philip asks him:“ Have you ever taken care of anyone?” Dell’s response is, “yes, myself.”
For Dell’s development, Philip must present a burden in need of “tough love” to learn how it feels to be treated like everyone else.
“The implication of the burden stereotype is that a disabled person is reliant on the charity of others to survive. Jay Dolmage asserts that ‘much of the language of disability relies on a semiotics of pity: myths of powerlessness that demand to be answered with charity’” (Campos, 40).
This stereotype extends beyond feeling sorry for, or wanting to help the disabled, to a belief that disabled people are incapable of taking care of themselves regardless of the severity of their disability.“ (Campos, 41)
The Upside is based on a true story, and Philip’s disability provides a visual cue for the audience to see Philip as a burden. As a quadriplegic, he has more need for others to take care of him than some other disabilities require.
“the ideal disabled person is someone who doesn’t want or require any assistance or accommodation, particularly not social services, someone who does not want to be treated any differently than someone able-bodied.” (Holtmier & Park-Primiano, 6)
Philip doesn’t want assistance, but he requires it. He also doesn’t know that he needs Dell to show him the joys of everyday life.
Sources
Campos, B. (2021). Who Am I Now? The Value of Métis in the Construction of the Disabled Identity. Middle Tennessee State University, 1-212. https://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/38942409-a101-426c-bc7e-63d0d5fa56e4/content
Holtmeier, Matthew, and Sueyoung Park-Primiano. “Ableism in Avatar: The Transhuman, Postcolonial Rapprochement to Bioregionalism.” Studies in the Humanities, vol. 46, no. 1-2, Mar. 2020, pp. 135+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673944097/AONE? u=nysl_oweb&sid=googleScholar&xid=036924f3. Accessed 17 July 2022.