By Yongjie Li
Rhonda S. Black and L. Pretes (2007) quoted Farnall and Smith that individuals have more positive attitudes towards real physical disabled people when they watch positive depictions of them through movies (p.79). It is more acceptable for young people who consider movies as a popular platform, thus, movies can be a tool to build right standards with unfamiliar experiences especially treating with disability people. In general, previous movies focus more on individual personalities and ignore causes, but to underline disabled people personalities is a stereotype. It is because disability defined by social conditions instead of themselves or medical certifications. The reason why people categorize disabled or ordinary people is that individuals regard disabled people as out of normal people type (Kidd, 2014, p.172). The trend which leads people feel blameless originally changes gradually emphasizing the social structure which calls for senses of guilty, especially the movie called Wonder.
“Disability is rarely depicted as part of the natural variation in the human condition (Black & Pretes, 2007, p.80).” According to Black and Pretes (2007), nine films of eighteen movies that they investigated are the type of “unable to live a successful life which the purpose is to earn the sympathy and charity from audience (p.77).” No matter community or relationship, it shows that disabled people are pitiful and cannot be succeed, but deemphasizing their unfair opportunity around other people undermines the importances of social justices. Moreover, since most movies depict their personalities as persistent and determined even in discrimination of society, the main point shifts to their individual personalities. As a result, audiences feel blameless even they have a negative attitude towards disability people. Even if the public are familiar with disability, the problem of discrimination is not solved, just as Kidd (2014) mentioned the concept of medical model of disability which regards disability as the outcome of physical and intellectual conditions (p.170).
The trend over time shifts to fight against discrimination. For example, Wonder is a 2017 film which tells about a boy, Auggie who is “mandibulofacial dysostosis” overcomes the struggle of making friends and being succeed in the middle school. Even in the movie, it still shows the main character personality. For instance, the mother said that “We all have marks on our faces, this the map shows where we are going (Palacio & Chbosky, 2017).” No matter if it is a physical disability or normal look, this proves our experience, thus, nothing is different or faces cannot prevent individuals to know them closely. More importantly, instead of only focusing on how the main character overcomes struggle, it pays attention to the relationship and community, either the mother and the teacher helps young kids to build moral standards. Simultaneously, Jack who is the only friend of Auggie at the first place changed from the sympathy to the perspective that he really wanted to be friend with him. The change really impresses audiences, because it states that disabled people have more impressive personality other than disability, and they are probably better if the community really knows them deeply. Finally, as one of the most popular movie in 2017, it receives a lot and needed awareness of disabled people. Positive depictions make me rethink profoundly whether I treat them negatively, so it is proved by other audiences hopefully.
Even though discrimination exists in real world, movies as a popular and accessible media platform establish an image about unfamiliar objects to the public especially young people. Although former movies focus more on unsuccessful and tragic lives of disabled people, nowadays it leads to the social justices, audience will have senses of blamed if they treat negatively. Fighting with social discrimination intrigues public attentions and applies it into daily life.
References
Kidd, Dustin. (2014). Handi-Capable: Disability Perspective. Pop culture freaks: identity, mass media, and society (165-191). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Palacio, R. J, & Chbosky Stephen. (2017). Wonder (Movies). America.
Word Count: 617
Yongjie,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine start. Your post takes up a recent example of Hollywood depictions of people with disabilities and draws on academic sources to explore the significance of this film in relation to previous media depictions of disability.
Moving forward, I offer the following suggestions to improve your writing, not only for this class, but across the curriculum.
1. Your opening paragraph is a bit confusing. That's not to say you shouldn't make use of secondary sources in your writing. But starting out this way isn't the most effective strategy.
Instead, tell us something about Wonder and why it merits attention. Then you can get to the scholarship.
2. The post doesn't conform to our "house style." Please consult the guidelines and work with your colleagues to make certain you are using the correct format/style.
3. Consult the Purdue OWL for help with APA citation style. Your use of punctuation in and around quotes is incorrect as are some of your references. Again, proof reading and collaborative work practices help ensure error-free writing.
4. Continue to make use of the Writing Center. You might bring a copy of this post, along with my comments, and get some assistance, especially in terms of your sentence construction.
In sum, you've written a fine post and made good use of the literature to address a recent example of media representation of disability. Moving forward, work on the clarity of your written expression and proper use of APA style.
25/30 pts.