How Media Shapes the Way the World Sees Amputees

Jeniffer Hoydicz has an excellent article in the newest issue of O&P Business News that looks at images of amputation in the media, particularly Hollywood. Here are some of her fascinating conclusions, interacting with Raphael Raphael, MA, a professor of film studies at the University of Oregon, and David Serlin, PhD, associate professor of communication and science studies at the University of California at San Diego.

This will hopefully pique your interest in the whole article.

“The disabled body seems to be perceived as a challenge to … independence and self-sufficiency, especially challenging our – largely mythological – notions of masculinity,” he said.

To overcome these perceptions, the public needs to be challenged to evaluate its own prejudices and value systems, Serlin explained. Additionally, more attention needs to be paid to “ordinary” people with amputations rather than individuals who are often identified critically as “super crips” by the disability rights advocates.

“Why does someone have to exhibit super abilities in order to be recognized as productive or ‘normal’? That I think is frustrating,” Serlin said. “Part of the goal for those within the disability rights community or people who work with orthotics or prosthetics organizations should be able to make non-disabled people aware that disability can be an ordinary phenomenon that does not define who a person is. People who use prosthetic devices or deal with amputation should not have to be superheroes in order to get respect.”