Disability representation in film is an evolving area of research, especially with attitudes surrounding disabilities constantly changing.

  • Stereotyped Portrayals

  • Underrepresentation

  • Consequences

There is a large body of research and literature, which directly examines films and the portrayal of disability. Disabilities are often viewed in a negative light with marked stereotypes. Hayes and Black (2003) explore the discourse of pity and find that it persists throughout Hollywood films about disability. The overall argument is that in addition to being confined and denied opportunity, disabled characters often have to go above and beyond to fit in. Taking a more metaphorical approach, Hladki (2020) examines the science fiction films “DeadPool” and “The Thing”. She notes that they both have implications for disability and white masculinity. Through a futuristic perspective, the films separate bodies that “qualify” and “disqualify” as well as those that are “defective” and “inferior”. In turn, the authors’ central argument is that both films perpetuate harmful stereotypes regarding disability and illness. On the flip side, there are some films that break stereotypes regarding disabilities. “My Left Foot” portrays a character with Cerebral Palsy that has immense intellect and a sense of humor, therefore breaking the stereotype that disabled people are always dependent (Padilla 2018).

French literature details efforts by the industry to portray authentic stories of people with disabilities. Jacques Audiard has a habit of portraying those who lack representation (not only disability). In his movies, he is not only portraying the physical difficulties but also what it means to live in our society with these disabilities. In the movie “The Intouchables”, the disabled character (Phillipe) is trying to find a daily help (played by Driss). It is interesting because he is not trying to change him, they are both trying to communicate via comic dialogue which makes them equal to the stigmas they are facing in society. Driss is going to help Phillipe overcome his disabilities and learn how to live with them without seeing them as limitations. (Pele, A) 2018

There are efforts to make the French film industry more inclusive. An article on the French website “Le Figaro” details how the French minister of culture is setting up aid for the integration of people with disabilities (Richard Thompson). This is so that employers in the film industry are getting financial help to adapt to disabled people.

Collectively, there are some parallels and differences between the American and French movie industry. Given the first hand experiences offered by each of our members we wanted to compare disability, perception, and representation across the French and American movie industries using data obtained from three qualitative industries, a survey questionnaire, and data scraping.

Our Research question is as follows: How does disability representation and perception compare across the French and American film industries?

Citations: 

  1. Hayes, M., & Black, R. (2003). Troubling signs: Disability, Hollywood movies and the construction of a discourse of pity. Disability Studies Quarterly, 23(2).
     https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v23i2.419
  2. Hladki, J. (2020). Hazardous futures and damned embodiments: Disability and White Masculinization in science fiction film. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, 14(4), 453–467.
     https://doi.org/10.3828/jlcds.2020.30 
  3. Kitchen, R. (2016). The disabled body and disability in the cinema of Jacques Audiard. Studies in French Cinema, 16(3), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/14715880.2016.1238172
  4. Pele, A. (2018). Humour et subjectivités: Retour critique sur le film intouchables. [Humour and subjectivities: critical comments on the movie The Intouchables Humor e subjetividades: comentários críticos sobre o filme Os Intocáveis] Tempo Social, 30(3), 271-288. doi:https://doi.org/10.11606/0103-2070.ts.2018.127032
  5. Richard Thompson, julien. ““Pour Une Meilleure Intégration Des Artistes Handicapés Dans Le Cinéma et L’audiovisuel.”” Le Figaro, 18 Nov. 2021, www.lefigaro.fr/vox/culture/pour-une-meilleure-integration-des-artistes-handicapes-dans-le-cinema-et-l-audiovisuel-20211118. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
  6. Sunrise medical. (2018, January). Portrayal of wheelchair users in Cinema: Live Quickie: Sunrise medical. Live Quickie | Sunrise Medical. https://www.sunrisemedical.com/livequickie/blog/january-2018/portrayal-of-wheelchair-users-in-cinema