"A Brief History of Tim"
After seeing a 15 minutes Short Film, we as the audience have gained an insight of "Tim". This is a really interesting piece with good insight because the producer and creator of the film was the main character himself; Tim. This is important because it tells the life of cerebral palsy through the experience of someone who has the disability himself- it isn't the perspective of an "outsider" looking at how they think it would be. Throughout the short film, Tim creates different jokes- such as pouring alcohol down himself through seeing someone "able" using the disabled toilet- as a way to effect that person. This can suggest Tim created this short film in order to show people, yes he has Cerebral Palsy but that subsequently makes him no different- people shouldn't be patronising him. Furthermore, this short film is a play on the stereotypes of disability because it includes someone who is disable and also including humour, although it isn't humour at him it was humour with him. The idea of "Tiny Tim" (from the film A Christmas Carol) use of disability is seen as something to be pitied, for sympathy, although Tim in this short film has fought against this.
Media Texts including disability:
Life's too short...
Me Before You...
Glee...
A Christmas Carol...
Fault In Our Stars...
Hush...
Disability defined... A physical or mental condition that limits a persons movements, sense or actives.
Common Stereotypes...
Super Cripple
Villain
Burden
Humour/ Ridicule
Branston and Stafford- Soaps rely on archetypal characters and stereotypes- ensure ready accessibility because stories have universal appeal about families and communities.
Stereotypes: depend on shared cultural knowledge- some part of the stereotype must ring true.
Paul Hunt(1966) "We are tired of being statistics, cases, wonderful lying courageous examples to the world, pitiable objects to stimulate funding"
Anne Karpf- Argues that there is a need for charities, but that telethons act to keep the audience in the position of givers, and to keep recipients in their place as grateful and dependent.
The disable personas pitiable and pathetic: Children In Need- "Begging bowls"- a spirt of pity and looking down on them.
- How are the disabled mediated?
Through the example of BBC Children In Need, the audience are shown the perspective of the presenters of the show as a form of gaining sympathy in order to raise money for the given children shown in these programmes. However, the main perspective if formed from those "looking down at them" and isn't through the perspective of them themselves.
- Is this representation useful or detrimental?
This representation in useful in the fact that it shows a small insight into the disability although we only see that person on that one day when they are filming, we don't see the whole insight of day to day life.
Through the argument of Anne Karpf, The BBCs Children In Need shows the millions of money which can be raised through the showing of these events- presenting the disabilities of these children in order for money to be raised. Karpf suggests there is a need for charities such as this one because otherwise the income for people presented would be very low, however, they keep the position of the givers and keep the recipients in their place as grateful and therefore dependent on these shows.
Disabled person as an Object of Violence;
Charles Darwin and "Survival of the fittest"- is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population.
Disabled people are helpless,
Pitiable
Unable to function without protection
Sinister and evil portrayal...
Larry Harvey; American Horror Story...
"Using facial disfigurement to provoke revulsion and promote the stereotype that disfigurement makes a person morally abnormal. It's lazy Film-making and particularly within the Bond Franchise itself".
Morris (1991)- Cultural portrayals of disability are usually about the feelings of non-disabled people and their reactions to disability, rather than about disability itself.
Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- Daredevil- off set the disability and now more capable than the most able person.
- Not realistic insight.
-Him standing on his shoulders to be able to see- humour.
- being a burden, Ricky Javas having to have him on his shoulders.
