Physical Disability and Physical Activity Involvement Portrayal in the Media

Abstract

Disability media studies articulates the formation of a new field of study, based in the rich traditions of media, cultural, and disability. Television, film, current periodicals, and other mass media are a part of our everyday lives. Attitudes regarding a variety of issues can be affected by these media, not the least of which are attitudes toward disability. Media is a significant part of contemporary society and culture and is subsequently crucial to our understanding of disability. The representation of disability in the media in the last ten years is pretty much the same as it has always been: clichéd, stereotyped, and archetypal. Media representation of and for the disabled has been recharged in recent years with the expansion of new media worldwide. Interactive digital communications [such as the Internet, new varieties of voice and text telephones, social media, and digital broadcasting] have created a need to explore the constructs of media and the media relationship with disability. To explore this topic, we asked the same questions posed by scholars, how exactly does the media interact with disability and vice versa? Does the media adequately reflect the lives of people with disabilities?