February 26, 2004
Make 'Em Laugh
I've been thinking about the way disability is portrayed in the media. This may surprise you, but I think comedy series do the best job of portraying people with disabilities in an honest and sincere manner. South Park is a good example. Timmy and Jimmy, the show's two characters with disabilities, are two kids who are definitely not angelic innocents. They swear; they get in fights. In one episode, the two of them get into a knockdown, drag-out fight that left me in tears. It was so funny because it reminded me of the countless school yard fights that I had witnessed involving some of own friends with disabilities. It's funny because it's true. Curb Your Enthusiasm is another comedy that frequently features characters with disabilities. And like South Park, they're depicted as real people. Some are jerks, some are decent people. I think comedies do a better job with disability themes because they're such a self-reflective medium. Comedy works because it points out our flaws, our skewed perceptions of reality. And disability is one area of human experience that is subject to all kinds of skewed perceptions.
I received in the mail today my settlement check from the record industry. All thirteen dollars and eighty-six cents of it. Isn't the American legal system the shiznit? Time for another iTunes spree.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at February 26, 2004 08:08 PM
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Comments
CRIPPLE FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: janice at February 26, 2004 09:21 PM
You are right. Humor helps to remove barriers between people of all types. Humor has gotten me through some awkward moments. And I've had plenty of those.
Posted by: Bruce R at February 27, 2004 10:18 AM
Well said - I love those shows. At my previous college in Miami, the "Cripple Fight" episode of South Park was shown as a "horrible example" of how to treat people with disabilities at this educational forum I went to. When it was over I spent most of the hour defending South Park, and since I was the only person there in a wheelchair nobody really argued with me. What I respected about that episode (besides it being hilarious) was that it treated the characters with disabilities as equals. Nobody is spared mockery on South Park. What I hate is when people with disabilities are portrayed as heroic or pathetic - I'd prefer that we can be as ordinary as possible. Timmy and Jimmy are not stared at or avoided or treated like freaks, but are part of the dysfunctional gang and are even allowed to brawl. I also like how they mocked Jimmy's overtly-pc language, like "handi-capable".
Posted by: Susan at February 27, 2004 06:05 PM
I particularly loved the nurse with her dead baby twin attached to her face yelling at all of the town to treat her as crappily as they all treat each other. Heh.
In other news, you actually got a check from the record industry? *faint* Dayum. Guess I get to watch my mailbox for a change.
Posted by: Jennifer at February 27, 2004 06:13 PM