In the second lesson of the Disability in Cinema series, Professor Dolmage explains how films perpetuate the image of disabled people as an underrepresented “other.” He examines how films capitalize on disabilities to evoke emotions such as pity, inspiring the audience to be thankful for their own able-bodiedness rather than helping them experience empathy or inspiring action. Professor Dolmage suggests we move away from the typical “charity response,” where the audience feels pity for a character, donates money to a charity for disabled people, and consequently distances itself from the emotional investment required by empathy. Instead, he argues that we as a society must learn to transform the momentum of pity into something more useful, such as an awareness of disability rights and culture beyond the limited scope of cinematic representation.
In the first lesson of the Disability in Cinema series, Professor Dolmage discusses the ways disabled...
