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Prime Time Disability
by Erica Boynton It’s becoming more common to see people with disabilities on primetime television. Unfortunately, the Hollywood standard of able-bodied actors playing these parts is still ever pervasive (and downright infuriating), and disabled characters are all-too frequently given second billing, but coverage of the disability community in mainstream media is improving according to Disaboom, the largest online community for people with disabilities. The series Ed nailed it with the comic portrayal of a paraplegic bowling manager (artfully played by real life roller Darryl Mitchell) for its full four season run. Everyone cheered when Eli scored a dance with Lindsay in the homecoming episode of Freaks & Geeks (which spoke in volumes alone for all outsiders in the high school microcosm). The public swooned at the one-two-punch of the alluring Marlee Matlin in both The L Word and My Name is Earl. People fell for Peter Dinklage after seeing him highlight the fourth season of Nip/Tuck. Animated characters that push the envelope, however, are where American writers really hit a homerun.
Joe Swanson is the macho, barrel-chested neighbor of the Griffin family on Fox's animated series The Family Guy. While he might have anger issues and a few badly concealed prejudices, it is not his overzealous portrayal that makes him a great character with a disability. It's how the other characters of the show interact with him. Nothing is sacred on The Family Guy and practically every discernable social standard is broken through deliberate satire. No one is spared, including Joe. Joe regains the use of his legs in several hilarious episodes, only to be injured once again to return to his wheelchair. Joe choreographs community theater musicals and has a successful career as one of the Quahog police force's best officers. He enjoys a healthy sex life (as shown by his perpetually pregnant wife, Bonnie, and angst-y teenage son, Kevin) and hits homeruns on the baseball diamond. He might appear to be a super-crip, but further observation reveals he can be a trigger-happy guy who throws temper tantrums and gets mind-numbingly drunk like the rest of his buddies. In short, he's every bit as messed up as the rest of the cast on Spooner Street. Which brings us to another one of the fantastically dysfunctional (and perhaps most revered) animated characters: Timmy. Timmy is a welcomed member of the South Park crew, teased, tormented and adored even by the ill-tempered bully, Cartman. Timmy isn't just a happy go lucky kid, but has a playfully maniacal side. Upon introduction to South Park's newest crip, Jimmy (a shaggy-haired charmer on crutches that wins the gang over with his stand-up comedy act) in the episode "Cripple Fight", Timmy becomes noticeably jealous and even plots to have Jimmy killed. A knock-down, drag-out fight ensues between the boys as yet another example of just how far Parker and Stone are willing to go. However, the episode resolves with the boys joining forces to become allies. The duo even becomes accepted by the street gang, the Crips, in a later episode titled "Krazy Kripples."
Part of the appeal of characters like Timmy is that they give people the opportunity to start a dialogue about what's acceptable and what's just downright offensive. Learn more about the prevalence of actors/characters with disabilities in the mainstream media by visiting disaboom.com. Since its launch in 2007, Disaboom is dedicated to enabling people with disabilities to live forward.
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This intel was contributed by eskcsg
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May, 2012
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