Disability Representation in Media: More than just the Character
Abstract
The representation of disability in creative media is problematic. There have been several tests proposed that analyse disability representation within a media text, in an attempt to determine if a media text represents disability appropriately. In this thesis, I discuss several existing tests of disability representation within media texts, identifying problems in each. I propose a new test for disability representation to address these problems. I then apply the test described in this thesis to media texts within the spheres of film, television, fictional literature, comics and games. Using the qualitative method of autoethnography combined with discourse analysis, I will talk about my disabilities and early life as a subject of media. I also discuss discourse that is common amongst a small sector of gamers, centring around anti-inclusion. I also identify a problem within the video games industry that is the result of an apparent lack of mobility-impaired developers, and the effect this lack has on representation in the game development industry, and characters in video games.