Disablity in the Media - Shadowhunter's

 

So I started off a series of posts both here and on Quora, around disability and the media, particularly on a series that I have come to love and the more I watch it, and read about it I see it as a product before it's time.  It forces people to think about issues that have existed for years but don't have any easy answers. 

This is the Shadowhunter series, it generally is marketed at young adults and unfortunately was axed due to funding issues. It has been written about in academic circles, but not really discussed in independent sources.  Several character arcs have very different journeys. That tackles real-world issues, in a way that isn't in your face. 

One is a disability and how to deal with the issues that come with being different, several characters go through massive changes in their story arcs, including a vampire that has others jealous because he can walk in the sun and therefore is labeled problematic, but people don't realize the issues this can come with. He thinks he has a chance to live a normal life until he faces some challenges that being a vampire comes with.  Like how to obtain blood ethically, this also starts to talk about how being normal in a fantasy world can be just as difficult as being different.  So having this ability puts a target on his back, like in many cases of disability where the person can live a normal life but is in the disability community this can be a challenge in the first place. 

The other major topic running through most of the series that is talked about more openly than ever before is mental health, issues, and taking time for yourself in a world that is about protecting others' " mundane's" ( people who can't see the shadow world a world where demons exist) 

   Several episodes deal directly with the mental health of a diverse range of the character's from the main character, Alexander who in the first series is a very closed-off person, we learn that this is because he is gay and ashamed of it, therefore struggles with being different.  There is a warlock that sees this and guides him towards being a more open person, yet most people with disabilities seem to struggle with this topic of being fundamentally different and growing up different. Also, there has been a lot written about how the show portrays a same-sex relationship as the healthiest one on the show.  This clip explains it well. 

Shadowhunters | Season 2, Episode 6: Alec Wants to Know Magnus's Number | Freeform - YouTube

(accessed on the 25/01/22) 

However it is seen in a later clip that Alec is a very complex person, and because of his environment as Magnus says is despite being an adult, he is very innocent,  This is very true of people with disabilities in particular with intellectual disabilities, thing's like mild brain damage, ADHD or even Autism, not being able to navigate intimate relationship's. Or think that they are doing the right thing but they aren't because they can't really read social cues. 

This is something that in the progress of Alec and Magnus's relationship is discussed in Magnus not being able to change his nature due to being immortal.  The line stop acting like a child is an interesting one, as it shows how far Alec has come yet the fact that he struggles with the fact that, his current love interest is immortal.  This is discussed in the show that it is considered normal as they don't really have a lot of options in the shadow world, yet having this dynamic shows that there is a slight imbalance of power and how is that dealt with in the way that is very realistic of either a romantic relationship or even a care relationship. 

Magnus And Alec Argue About The Box Again! - Shadowhunter 3x6 'I'm Not A Child!' - YouTube

( accessed on the 25/01/22)