Comedian Calls Out Big Issue With Hollywood's Disabled Characters
A panel at last week’s New York Comic Con tackled issues relating to the way people with disabilities are treated in the film and television industry.
Called Crip Culture and the Media – Perceptions of Disability in Film and Television, the panel featured activists, actors, filmmakers and comedians discussing the underrepresentation, and often poor representation, of people with disabilities in front of the camera. They addressed how time and time again abled-bodied actors are chosen to portray people with disabilities rather than real people with disabilities, such as Lieutenant Dan in “Forrest Gump,” and the character of Artie on the show “Glee.”
“We’re not fully defined by the disabilities,” Comedian Maysoon Zayid said during the panel, “and I think what we do see in media is very one dimensional super pathetic or super ‘crip’ image of what disability is.”
Check out the video below for more from the panel:
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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