In the media, different ages and disabilities are often presented, but it is often in a negative light. Certain age groups have trouble understanding others and lean on the negative aspects portrayed by a fraction of the population in that age range. At times, a hidden cause may be the reason behind certain behaviours, but the truth is too often ignored or overlooked, and an entire group of people end up suffering because of this.

 

 

There are also some problems with age representation in fantasy. Here are some examples and their positive and negative connotations.

 

 

Wizards, witches, warlocks, shamans and more, all represent the older age group or the elderly. In fantasy, these types of characters can be seen a lot, and they are often powerful and wise, guiding the heroes and sending them on their quests. They are often relied on for wisdom and advice, seen as trustworthy, strong and stable, and these are all positive traits. However, negative traits sometimes peek out as well, sometimes seen as feeble, overly-cautious, resistant to change, frail and even senile!

 

 

Based on my experiences, little children aren’t seen a lot in fantasy, but they are beginning to come into their own. Young characters who are caught in the middle of wars or experience trauma because of something that occurred early in their lives are forced to grow up quickly and are shaped differently in life. We see them as little warriors, brave and cunning, often swift because of their size and energy, and usually, they train for revenge, or to be as good as their older role models and help with their quests. They are often portrayed as trying to prove themselves, undoubtedly loyal, but also kind. Some negative connotations are that they can be too curious, and this gets them into trouble, and their inexperience hinders the group. We also see them as unprepared, clumsy and sometimes dimwitted. Some of these negative traits are simply because of their age, but others are heavily exaggerated and can make viewers annoyed, and therefore influence their opinions about young children slightly.

 

 

A largely represented age group in fantasy is the teenage group. There are hundreds of shows, films and other forms of story-telling that have a group of heroes or one of two protagonists that are teenagers, and this is probably because teens love fantasy and they relate to the heroes more if they are their own age. A lot of positive representations come from this, like the fact that young warriors, witches and adventurers are insanely loyal to their friends, and would do anything to protect the ones they love. They are trustworthy, friendly and love to explore and try out new things. They are also at the perfect age to harbour new skills, grown stronger, and discover themselves. However, having characters who are at this age and are so great and strong, can often place unrealistic expectations into teens’ heads, making them doubt and compare themselves. Furthermore, there are a lot of negative stereotypes that make the characters stumble, like being too immature or uncontrollable, breaking rules and getting themselves into dangerous situations.

Characters cannot be perfect, and negative traits are needed to make balanced, realistic and relatable characters. But often, age is too great a factor in this, and harmful stereotypes that are associated with a certain age range are wrongly placed upon a character, or blown up to the point where it’s unkind and irrelevant.

Let’s take a look at disability and how it is represented in the media as well.

Here are five stereotypes of disability, and characters who are disabled often fit one or more of these roles in the story, which makes harmful representation of disability something far too common in media.

 

Villanous Disability

 

 

Many of the villains we see in films and shows are disabled characters, often because of the idea that a disability makes them look more sinister and intimidating. Prominent examples include Darth Vader and Captain Hook, who like many others, have emphasized and exaggerated disabilities, drawing the idea that disabled bodies are broken, deformed, or less human. This is exemplified by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s description of Darth Vader as “more machine now than man, twisted and evil.” Another version of villainous disability is the “mentally ill” villain used so often in comics, horror, and thrillers, like Batman’s famous nemesis the Joker. Here, mental illness becomes a tool that makes the villain seem more unpredictable and threatening, promoting the myth that people with divergent brains are inherently dangerous. It is important to recognize that people with disabilities are overrepresented as villains. We have to make sure that there are non-villainous disabled characters present, and if there is a disabled villain, it should be thought out what role their disability plays in the story. Their disability should affect them, but it should be neither the cause of their evil nor a symbol of it. Don’t give a villain a mental illness to explain unusual decision-making – show the audience that this is the fact they live with instead of using it to represent their evil nature.

 

Cosmetic Disability

 

 

All too often, a disabled character gains some sort of magic or technology that gives them the same abilities as an able-bodied person, like Luke Skywalker’s bio-mechanical hand in Star Wars, which upon gaining, the disability no longer has a significant impact on their life.  At its extreme, this pattern can result in disability being treated as a cosmetic choice that has no impact on the story, in which a character is given magical or mechanical body parts just to make them look more hard-core. In real life, people with a disability face daily struggles and often have to choose how to spend their energy, or encounter accessibility barriers and other limitation. Designing a character’s magic or technology so it “makes up for” their disability also places a limitation on the abilities of disabled characters that able-bodied characters don’t have. A message is put forward that disabled people are incapable of accomplishing things on their own, that disability is a terrible thing that defines their entire life, and that becoming able-bodied is an essential goal in every disabled person’s life.

Here, I have directly copied in advice on how to avoid this problem. This is more so for my benefit than to show research I have found so that I know and understand how to think about potentially giving any disabled characters a ‘solution’ to their disability.

 

“The challenge here is finding a balance where disability affects the life of the character without overshadowing everything else. If magic or technology is available to the character, it makes sense for them to use it to address their access needs. There is nothing wrong with a character having a prosthetic or assistive device. The way to make these feel real, rather than just be a way to turn a disabled character into an able-bodied character, is to figure out the basics of how the device works so that its benefits and limitations are clear.

For example, giving a blind character a generic device that “lets them see” is erasing that character’s disability. However, giving a blind character a specific sonar device with limits and benefits associated with sonar is a more realistic and balanced way to portray disability. A device of this type could have a half-mile distance limit inside cities, be blocked by windows, and be unable to read text on flat surfaces while being able to detect objects in low visibility conditions such as darkness, fog, and falling snow.

Specifics like these also make it easier to be consistent with what the character can do when they encounter new situations. Good questions to ask might include:

• How does this device work?
• What are its benefits and limitations?
• Does it have any side effects?
• How about hidden costs? Does it require maintenance or charging?
• Can the character use it constantly, or do they need to remove it at times?

Don’t make disability the focus of the character’s powers and abilities. In a story where most characters don’t have extraordinary abilities, don’t give a character a superpower just to make up for the fact that they are disabled. Disabled characters don’t need special powers to accomplish their goals or to give them value. In stories that are about characters having extraordinary abilities, don’t choose an ability for your character that is designed to perfectly make up for their disability. Instead, give them an interesting ability that fits the story or their personality.

Once the character has their special ability, then it is time to figure out how the character addresses their access needs. Just as with devices, think through what the character can and can’t do with their abilities. Maybe they can use their power in a clever way to assist themselves, or maybe they get what they need through ordinary abilities and training. For example, with training, real blind people can use sonar to perceive the world, and athletic paraplegic people can use their strength to go up and downstairs in a manual wheelchair. Research what real people can do, and don’t assume that every obstacle a disabled person encounters needs be addressed in a fictional way through special powers.

Also, keep in mind that it is okay for characters to encounter obstacles that can’t be directly overcome. This is a real thing that disabled people experience. Not every building is wheelchair accessible. It is okay for disabled characters to have limits—all characters have limits. What matters is portraying those limits realistically without making the character helpless.”

 

Helplessness 

 

 

Disability is associated with charity almost constantly in media, and it portrays characters who are disabled as pitiful, vulnerable and pathetic, like Tiny Tim, a character in A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately, this stereotype makes it easy to portray characters as helpless victims, with them often dying first. This manufactured helplessness may also be used to make a disabled character into a plot challenge for able-bodied characters, who are then tasked with transporting and protecting them. When this happens, the disabled character becomes an object or burden for the other characters. Knowing that violence happens to disabled characters more often, it is important to consider how much violence is directed towards them in the story, and what kind as well; depictions of completed suicides or mercy killings are especially bad. They send the message that it’s worse to be disabled than dead. The key is portraying disabled characters as people who are capable of actively responding when bad things happen to them. Not every action they take needs to be successful, but they should always be doing something to deal with the situation, and at least some of their actions need to have an effect on the story – giving their actions power is what prevents them from being helpless.

 

Inspiration Disability

 

 

Sometimes, even positive quotes and videos can have a harmful message underneath, and like this, a damaging kind of inspiration frequently turns up in characters who are intended to be a positive representation of disability. Moves like Forest Gump for example, use unrealistic ideas about disability to create a heartwarming story, implying that disabled people create the obstacles in their own lives, that people with intellectual disabilities are eternally innocent, and that a positive attitude is the only thing that disabled people need in order to overcome barriers. The character’s humanity is often taken away as well, like Forest Gump, who is a caricature of eternal innocence who reacts to the people around him rather than having his own interests and desires. Instead of being fully characterized, he is intended to be a character the audience identifies with, and exists to expand the minds of the people around him, not to tell his own story. Disability should be portrayed in a realistic manner and present real challenges in the lives of the characters. But it should be clear that most of these come from society (such as a lack of sign language interpreters at events). A positive attitude will not solve these problems. As Stella Young so eloquently put it, “No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp.”

Again, I have found some excellent, detailed advice for what to do instead of making a disabled character helpless:

 

 

“Disabled characters should have accomplishments, and those accomplishments should be respected in the same way as an able-bodied person’s. They should not be defined by their disabilities or used as a comparison to others’ achievements. To do this, reflect on how the character’s achievement is being presented:

• Is their achievement being appreciated on its own merits, or is it being used to inspire able-bodied people?
• Are assumptions being made about this person’s disability and how it affected their ability to reach this goal?
• Is this person being treated as exceptional in a way that implies that disabled people aren’t usually capable of accomplishing things?
• Has disability become a defining part of their achievement without which their accomplishment wouldn’t have meaning?
• Is their disability being treated differently than other challenges in their life that also affected their ability to achieve this goal?

Avoid treating disabled people as if they are inherently inspirational for existing as a disabled person. Don’t fixate on the ways disabled people are different than the average able-bodied person. Don’t assume it takes bravery for a disabled person to get through an ordinary day. In addition, it is generally a good idea to avoid using the words “inspirational” and “brave” when talking about disabled people. While it is true that disabled people are capable of bravery and accomplishing inspirational things, these words have become so tainted by condescending misuse that many disabled people cringe whenever they hear them.

Finally, and most importantly, fully develop disabled characters. They should not just be there to teach lessons to the other characters; they should have their own stories and arcs. Be careful to not make the entirety of their stories about being disabled. Even if disability is an important thread that runs through their lives, they will have other meaningful interests and relationships.”

 

One-Dimensional Disability

 

 

A lot of stories about groups or teams even those focused on diversity, usually end up being predominantly white and predominantly male, with few, if any, queer, trans, and disabled characters. This is because of the tendency to treat privileged identities like white, straight, able-bodied, cisgender men (to name just a few privileged identities) as the norm and therefore the starting point for all characters. A few examples of this would be the casts of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, which all had multiple white men, multiple white women, and multiple men of colour, with maybe one woman of colour and one disabled character. Depictions of disabled people of colour and disabled queer folks are few and far between and most lists have more straight white men than everyone else combined. Additionally, there is a distinct deficiency of characters with complexly layered experiences of oppression, such as queer, disabled women of colour. The way to challenge this is to change who is positioned as normal and examine an entire cast of characters to see how many have two or more oppressed identities and how many of those are privileged.

 

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In the depiction of both fictional, and real people, stereotypes about disability and age are prevalent. This makes it easy for even the best-intentioned create to fall into some of these patterns. After learning about what kind of character portrayals there are, I am determined to take the advice and alternatives that I have learned, and apply them to one of my main characters, who have a disability, so that they are just as well-rounded as my other two protagonists.