#6: Disabilities Portrayed In the Media

     There are multiple forms of media that portray disabilities. Nancy Mairs, a woman with multiple sclerosis, discusses a certain TV drama following the storyline of a woman with a disability. Mairs exclaims, harshly, that the drama was derogatory, and it painted “the poor young woman" with MS in a bad light. “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease”. I agree with Mairs, and I have a few examples to back up my claim. 

    Let’s focus our attention to a famous TV show, “Breaking Bad”. Walter White’s son, Walt Jr., has Cerebral Palsy. Personally, the casting was impeccable for the role of Walt Jr. Actor, RJ Mitte, has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy himself, making the character’s symptoms more authentic.

    Now let's shift our focus to the remake of "The Witches". The film recieved tons of backlash due to their representation of three-fingered witches - which made people with ectrodactyly feel as if they "weren't human". Anne Hathaway, starring in the lead role of the film, has apologized multiple times in reaction to the negative response. 

    This doesn't mean that nobody can portray a disability without having it themselves. It just means that one must be very respectful of the disabled community before putting media like this on the internet.