Disablity and media - Continuing the conversation

  

This is a topic that I never thought would get so much traction, yet it has generated over on Quora a lot of discussion about how people are represented in the Media. It really does seem that representation of people with a disability is the last frontier, we are represented but not in a positive light.  

In fantasy and young adult shows it is shown as something that needs to be overcome or if it is a world that has magic as a part of it, something to be healed, by magic this adds to the shame that people with disabilities feel because they don't fit into society in a normal way or even have what is considered  a normal life path of

•  School
•  University/ Tafe,
•  Work
• Dating
• Family of their own. 

there is also the issue of being different in a society that still sees disability as something to be ashamed of this is where representation matters to people. To see themselves on a screen, we have seen major leaps around 

• Diverse casting
• Diverse screenwriting 
• Having different styles of committed relationships shown on screen

Yet people with disabilities are having our story's told and at times in a more accurate way but we are still lagging behind in working in the arts sectors. So this is being in writers' rooms, and on screens, I know that there are some real and valid issues around being able to work in the arts sector, especially because of the nature of the beast that is acting. 

There is a push to have disabled actors play the disabled role, yet as I have said well does this work on a project time fame, that has tight time margins and needs a person to work on little sleep. This is a complex conversation as the current debate around actors playing queer roles, the representation of queer relationships, and the way intimacy is shown on screens. 

So I would ask how do we move the conversation forward around the portrayal of disabilities and the struggles we face each day as it really doesn't make for great viewing unless it is how someone can overcome their disability yet, most people with disabilities aren't able to overcome it they just simply learn to live with it and accept family and community support.