Disablity in the Media

 This is a continuation of the conversation I felt I needed to start around the way disability is seen and written about in the media. There are several issues that I have been made aware of that I see that this is a very complex issue and that there is no easy answer to it. 

• It can be very hard to not have it contrived as simply a way to move a storyline forward 

So in moving a storyline forward in episodic TV and this is the major topic I see that there is little awareness of, it can be hard to follow several character arcs and if it doesn't fit the narrative it won't work long term. 

This is why having a character with disabilities in a high school setting does work well, yet having a disabled person in a work setting you are limiting it to what stories can be told. 

• It can be hard to find a story that lives on its own merit 

So in living on its own merit what does this look like in people with disabilities if it's not really a story from real life it can be seen as forced again. 

• It can also be seen as forced diversity, and if the storyline doesn't really match up it can be seen as a way to push relevance around issues that don't match up with the overall story arc. 

It can be hard in an environment that has pushed disability to the side or has seen it through rose-colored glasses as some cases around disability don't have a happy ending they are tough issues to face and facing them means acknowledging that these issues exist. 

• However there is a growing awareness about the issues that people with disabilities face and how they rise to the challenges of being different in a world that wasn't built for them.