Sunday, January 29, 2017
Is it always societies fault?
In a world where disabilities are put under the spotlight in media, "normality" seems... normal. In reality, most people have some sort of condition in which they deviate from this category, and we might be shocked when we see proof of this in our daily interactions as we have been shunned from the truth our entire lives. This can be seen in the video we viewed in class in which public bystanders were shocked yet mesmerized by the imperfect yet realistic mannequins. Their attention was immediately grabbed by these mannequins due to their abnormality as if they had never seen anything like it in their entire lives. This phenomenon can be explained through Mairs's essay in which the local advertiser "didn't include disabled people in his spots" because "'we don't want to give people the idea that our product is just for the handicapped."' In media and pop culture, people with disabilities are instantly labeled as aliens. The unrelatibility between the two parties creates a fissure in which they are now seen as weird. As in the Mairs example, "normal" people don't identify with disabled as if they're not human and would even think that the advertised product wasn't for them given that a disabled person was portrayed. I believe that even though there is certainly an injustice happening in society, that there will unfortunately be no resolution. To incorporate disabilities into mainstream society would come with major backlash - backlash that would cost money and credibility - something no big company or organization would be willing to do. In the end, it really boils down to human nature in which ideals are used to entice or monetize sales in this capitalistic world. Since disabilities come with an obvious negative connotation, it wouldn't be wise to use disabled people as a way to acquire success. Because of this, I don't believe that it's the fault of the media, nor the social construct of societal values, but is just innate in human nature.
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