Disability as a Social Issue - Essay Example

Disability as a Social Issue and its Linkage With 'Seeing is Believing' in Terms of Visual Portrayed in the Media 2007 Disability as a Social Issue and its Linkage With 'Seeing is Believing' in Terms of Visual Portrayed in the Media Disability is a matter which is considered as being an incredibly significant social issue, and there is a certain linkage with the 'seeing is believing' idea in terms of the visuals that are portrayed in the media in regards to this issue, and at the present time, there are many different images that are taken on disability in the British media, and this is for many separate yet equally important reasons, one of the most major being the fact that TV and press news images of injuries associated with the war in Iraq have been snowballing, thus transforming the issue of disability into one of more notoriety and perhaps even importance. In order to better understand the matter of disability as a social issue, there are many different matters that need to be thoroughly addressed and discussed, namely that of what the visuals portrayed in the media and other forms of media as well work to influence the way that disability is looked upon, not only as a social issue, but as a classification in general. The aim of this paper is to bring this matter to light, as well as any and all other key and related issues. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The term disability is considered as being "a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or their group. The term is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment or mental health issue" (Wikipedia, 2007). However, as well there is the matter of the social aspect of the term disability, which is in fact quite different from this, as "By contrast, a human rights or social model focuses on functioning as an interaction between a person and their environment, highlighting the role of society in labeling, causing or maintaining disability within that society, including through attitudes or accessibility favoring the majority" (Wikipedia, 2007). The social model of disability is one of incredible importance and significance, particularly so now, when the war in Iraq is still taking place, as the issue of disability has never before been put so much into the spotlight. The media, not only in Britain but across the world as well, has truly pulled the matter of disability into being a major one in the media universally, and thus this explains why the term disability as well as the social model of disability itself is presently in so much question and controversy. This social model of disability sees the issue in general as being mainly and primarily as being a result of a socially created problem, and basically thus as well a matter of the full integration of individuals into society. "Disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence the management of the problem requires social action, and it is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life" (Barnes, Mercer & Shakespeare, 1999). The social model of disability basically distinguishes between the matters of impairment and disability, impairment referring to the concrete mental or physical state, and disability referring to the socio-cultural construct. This goes to say then that impairments are in fact not considered as being inherently disabling, but rather that disability is caused by a society which fails to provide for those people who do have impairments, and that there are obstacles which are unnecessarily and wrongly put in their way. The ways in which disability is viewed socially is not only incredibly significant in itself as an issue but as well has great influence on factors surrounding it and issues in the world in general, such as religion and capitalism for example. "Some religions will see epilepsy as a possession by God and therefore a gift, whereas in capitalist western societies where medicine is powerful, disability acts as evidence of the failure of medicine and is thus treated negatively" (Barnes, Mercer & Shakespeare, 1999). The way in which the media portrays the issue of disability, then, is obviously of the utmost importance, as this is what results in the viewpoints and opinions that are taken by the general population. This is particularly so in regards to more industrialized nations, such as North America and Britain, and there are many different powerful examples which can be used to prove this. For example, if we were to look at the newspaper photographs that we are shown daily, we can see quite clearly how much of an impact the issue of disability has, particularly now, during the war in Iraq, where we constantly see articles and photographs that show and discuss the horrific acts that are taking place in Iraq, one in particular which was quite recent and which was shown in The Daily Mail, where a Muslim cleric had his hands blown off in Afghanistan, and he was pictured with his hands which had hooks put on them on prominent display, and which were described in the article as being 'metal claws'. "The article aimed to expose the supposed glut of 'bogus asylum seekers' who are also 'terrorists' and who are claiming social security benefits funded by taxpayers in Britain. It thus combined iconic images of Muslim fundamentalist masculinity with disability in order to create and to maximize the fear of 'foreignness' associated with post 9/11 society" (Roper, 2003). This is certainly not the only example in this regards, as for the most part every single newspaper across the world has at least one of these types of articles in it each and every day. We can also then look at the issue of television, which is absolutely another major issue in this regards, as television in general is by far one of the most - if not the most - influential forum of media in the world. There are so many different forms of disability which are portrayed on television, and this includes much more than simply issues about the war in Iraq. For instance, we tend to see a lot of wheelchairs on television as promoting the issue of disability, as they are considered as being an iconic and rather obvious sign of disability. This is because "The wheelchair allows the character to be obviously disabled, whilst still looking 'normal', and does not therefore present any major challenges for audience identification" (Roper, 2003). Thus the major reason for wheelchairs being used so often in order to portray disability is due to the fact that it makes that much less work for the viewer to have to do, and less for them to have to think about and figure out, as by seeing a wheelchair, we automatically associate it with the term disability. There are also many different television documentaries which have been created in the past which are used as images of disability, one in particular being Amputee Admirers (Five) which "purports to discuss Internet-based groups who run dating/social groups for amputees and those who are attracted to them. In this case, an academic who is also an amputee is questioned in order to give an element of political correctness to a programme which is essentially about voyeurism. However, the camerawork exposes the subtext by zooming in on the academic's stumps and scars as she speaks" (Roper, 2003). In regards to all these different issues of disability which have been displayed in the media over time and of which continue to be so, there have been many comments and opinions in regards to this made by persons who are actually disabled, and there was one study in particular, which was done by Karen Ross, who undertook a qualitative survey of disabled viewers and listeners and resulted in concluding that: Many of the changes that viewers and listeners would like to see take place in broadcasting can be described as 'respect' issues: respecting the diversity of disability and portraying those varied experiences; respecting the views of disabled people and consulting with them to provide more authentic and credible portraits; respecting the abilities of disabled people and actively involving disabled media professionals in all aspects of programme production across all genresCrucially, what disabled audiences want is an acknowledgement of the fact that disability is a part of daily life and for the media to reflect that reality, removing the insulting label of 'disabled' and making it ordinary. (Ross, 1997: 676). There have been many different movements that have taken place in regards to these types of requests, and the United Nations have been one of the most predominant organizations in this matter, as, for example, on December 13, 2006, they formally agreed on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century in fact, to protect and enhance the rights and opportunities for the approximated 650 million people across the world who are disabled, and furthermore, "Countries that sign up to the convention will be required to adopt national laws, and remove old ones, so that persons with disabilities would, for example, have equal rights to education, employment, and cultural life; the right to own and inherit property; not to be discriminated against in marriage, children, etc; not be unwilling subjects in medical experiments" (Wikipedia, 2007). The UK as well has been incredibly participatory in regards to this issue, and in particular, under the Disability Discrimination Act, which was created in 1995 and then extended in the year 2005, it is considered as being "unlawful for organizations to discriminate (treat a disabled person less favorably, for reasons related to the person's disability, without justification) in employment; access to goods, facilities, services; managing, buying or renting land or property; education. Businesses must make 'reasonable adjustments' to their policies or practices, or physical aspects of their premises, to avoid indirect discrimination" (Wikipedia, 2007). From this review, we can conclude a number of different things, several which are of particular importance and significance, and one of the most major being the fact that disability is not looked on or portrayed as it should be, and as proper as persons with actual disabilities would like it to be. As well we have been able to see what an incredible impact the media has on issues such as this, and how the images and articles that involve the matter of disability are only seeming to work negatively against the ideal of disability, and thus that there need to be solutions and actions taken immediately in regards to this. We have been able to understand about the relationship between media, self and society, particularly of course in regards to the issue of disability, how disability is viewed as a social issue and its linkage with the idea of 'seeing is believing' in terms of visual portrayal in the media. Disability is an incredibly important and relevant issue in the world today, there is much more to know on this issue than has been previously discussed, and only once the issue is taken seriously and severely enough will proper solutions and modifications be able to be made on this matter. There are many different and necessary steps that need to be taken in order for any proper light to be shed on this issue at all, and by using the research and statistical data that is presently available, as well as by providing more and bringing it to the table, there are many positive solutions which can be made in this regards in the future. References Barnes, C., Mercer, G., & Shakespeare, T (1999). Exploring Disability: A Sociological Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. Oliver, M (1996). Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. Roper, L (2003). Disability in Media, online article retrieved March 26, 2007, from http://www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/DisabilityinMedia.htm Ross, K (1997). 'Where's Me in it', Media Culture and Society, 19, 669-677. Wikipedia (2007). Disability, online article retrieved March 26, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability Read More