In Disability, Media, and Representations (Other Bodies), Jacob Johanssen and Diana Garrisi investigate the research on the development of new media and the self-representational practices of disabled people to examine the intersection analysis between disability and media studies. The book delves into the portrayal of bodies as ‘other’ in contemporary media and goes beyond the issues of disability representation by contextualising within cultural, political, and commercial contexts. The research in this book explores the significant impact of digital media on the self-empowerment of marginalised and silenced communities, whilst also having the potential to create environments conducive to discrimination, threats, hatred, trolling, and online silencing. This book comprehensively provides a theoretical and practical examination of how society discriminates against people with disabilities through media discourse and cultural products such as films or photographs. The edited volume consists of ten chapters that examine representational practices of disability. The research also investigates how social media is used for advocacy and digital activism by disabled people while also being used for commercial purposes. The primary strength of this book lies in its comprehensive and systematic approach to examining disability within the context of media studies.
The first chapter highlights the key themes, theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches discussed in the book. The next chapter is written by Leah Burch who provides a critical analysis of disablism and ableism, examining how representations of disabled individuals in media influence societal narratives. She argues that the non-disabled imaginary often implies that living with a disability means living without purpose, leading to support for euthanasia, eugenics, abortion, and sterilization. This chapter also delves into how societal anxieties projected onto disabled individuals fuel harmful online representations mediated on Reddit as a communication platform that reinforced these narratives. Then, Maria Bee Christensen-Strynø and Camilla Bruun Eriksen (Chapter 3) explore the intersection analysis of commodification and advocacy on social media through the story of Madeline Stuart, a disability advocate with Down syndrome. This study argues that Stuart’s self-commodification exemplifies how a disability identity can be transformed into a valuable personal brand by aligning it with mainstream narratives of ideal body images. This chapter makes it possible to map important mechanisms of disability self-representation and advocacy on social media as a process of affective revaluation based on an economic analytical framework.
The next two chapters focused on the health narrative regarding disability in different mediums. In Chapter 4, Samira Rajabi discusses online narratives on brain tumour sufferers and the right to die, involved in Twitter’s digital community through analysing the hashtags #btsm (Brain Tumour Social Media), #braintumorthursday, and #BrittanyManyard on the Youtube and Twitter platforms. She argues that these narratives serve as a crucial coping mechanism for traumatised bodies and create their value. Her research explores how digital interactions enhance a collective narrative of shared experiences and trauma among individuals facing chronic illness, challenging traditional narratives and offering new understandings of resilience and agency. Therefore, digital space is a ‘third space’ for creating meaning, narratives, and advocacy in shaping identities in the context of illness and disability. In the other context, Rachel Velody (Chapter 5) reflects on her experience with breast cancer by applying autoethnography to explore the sensory and emotional aspects of her journey, including diagnosis, treatment, and reconstructive surgery. Through comedic autoethnography, the study aims to debunk the myth of disability as an extraordinary experience and explores the range of expressive possibilities in media and academia to represent disability. Autoethnography enables the author to monumentalise each step of her therapy and mitigate her fear of horror diagnosis, prognosis, and medical intervention.
Chapters 6 and 7 explore how a gender perspective is used in analysing the discourse of disability representation in media reports and TV products. Micky Lee (Chapter 6) examines the visual and textual presentation of disabled bodies in Western news coverage of North Korean defectors and soldiers. This study analyses masculinity in connection with disability and body and gender expression in North Korea. This research analyses how images of the body reinforce or contradict the government’s ideology and how disabled bodies are stigmatised and seen as weak. He argues that The North Korean government utilises abled bodies to portray a powerful image of the country’s strength. On the other side, they show how Western journalists exploit the disabled bodies of defectors to emphasise the brutality of the country and its failure to take care of its citizens. In the seventh chapter, Anne-Lise Mithout studies the representation of disabled females characters in contemporary Japanese television dramas. This chapter explains that these portrayals challenge the traditional taboos of disabled females in romantic relationships. They argue that the four television dramas all present disabled female characters with romantic and sexual relationships, either with disabled or non-disabled men, in striking contrast to the image of passive sexualisation that hardly occurs for disabled women. By applying the concept of social participation, their research demonstrates the ambivalent representations of disabled female in the dramas. The authors conclude that the characters are shown to have disabled female social participation, but the portrayal also reflects traditional gender norms and societal constraints faced by women in Japan. This research reveals that disability is used as a metaphor for the female condition rather than promoting a new vision of disability itself.
In Chapter 8, Elizabeth Walton and Judith McKenzie argue that news articles about children with disabilities in South Africa perpetuate negative stereotypes and fail to address systemic issues and historical context. The authors examine fifteen education news articles and conclude that news reports highlight the government’s failure to provide inclusive education. They show how articles perpetuate stereotypes and portray children with disabilities as deficient and helpless. Their research demonstrates that the representation evokes a sense of shock and sympathy but fails to confront the discrimination and oppression faced by people with disabilities. The authors emphasise that it is essential for news coverage to shift towards examining the education of children with disabilities without framing specialised schools and regular schools as opposites. In addition, this chapter focuses on the importance of understanding the historical roots of deprivation in South Africa, particularly in the context of apartheid. On the other hand, Ingo Bosse and Annegret Haage (Chapter 9) compare media access for individuals with disabilities in Germany and the United Kingdom. This chapter finds that different political frameworks and levels of awareness of broadcasting stations are linked to the accessibility and usability of mass media and diversity in mass media. Their study also discusses the prioritisation of information over entertainment for people with disabilities, the increasing importance of internet television, and the need for inclusive media education to foster diversity in editorial offices.
Overall, this book is a crucial reference for researchers, academics, journalists, activists, and media practitioners to understand disabled people’s position in society. One of the strengths of this collection lies in its explanation regarding the representation of disabled people or individuals in different contexts, such as online platforms, social media, television dramas, and news reports. This book has a systematic analysis of the intersection of media and disability studies in the realm of economy, education, health, sociocultural, and politics. The research will create a holistic understanding of the term ‘disability’ and how the media becomes a medium to represent self and group identity.
The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Dewi Lestari Natalia
University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
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Yuditha Franciska Ullyana
University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to LPDP - Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency as our scholarship funding which has aided us in pursuing graduate degrees, so we can produce this book review under our respective universities.