Week III Media Images of Disability and Notre Dame de Paris

8/3/2019 Week III Media Images of Disability and Notre Dame de Paris

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I. Media images of disability

II. How to analyze media images

a. Disability as metaphor

i. Body as metaphor1. head for top or beginning; the brow and shoulders of a

hill; the eyes of needles and of potatoes; mouth for any

opening; the lip of a cup or pitcher; the teeth of a rake, a

saw, a comb; the beard of wheat; the tongue of a shoe;the gorge of a river; a neck of land; an arm of the sea;

the hands of a clock; heart for centre (the Latins usedumbilicus, navel, in this sense); the belly of a sail; foot

for end or bottom; the flesh of fruits; a vein of rock or

mineral; the blood of grapes for wine; the bowels of the

earth. Heaven or the sea smiles, the wind whistles, thewaves murmur; a body groans under a great weight

2. twisted in body and mind ; emotional cripple ; blindedby love ; deaf to his entreaties ; retard ; etc.

b. Barnes article.

i. The Barnes article has a civil rights perspective.

ii. What are the stereotypes ? Or, more accurately, the type -- the

type is any character constructed through the use of a few immediately

recognizable and defining traits, which do not change or develop

through the course of the narrative and which point to general

recurrent features of the human world rather than individuality. Theopposite of the type is the novelistic character, defined by a

multiplicity of traits which are only gradually revealed to us through

the course of the narrative, a narrative which is hinged on the growth or

development of the character and is thus centred upon the latter in his

or her unique individuality rather than pointing outwards to a world.

Dyer reading for IC.

1. Disabled person as object of pity

a. Pitiable, endearing, suffering, passive, dependent, tragic

b. Roles in story :

i. to show another characters goodness, altruism

ii. to demonstrate that disabled peoples well-beingdepends on non-disabled people, care, rescue or

cure

c. Discursive practices :

i. Vocabulary : plucky, brave, courageous,

unfortunate, victims, the disabled or the

handicapped

ii. Person-referencing practices: use of first name

by journalists

d. Color : somber, black and white

e. Dichotomies created : beauty (beautiful model) vs

impairment

f. Examples :


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i. Tiny Tim

ii. Porgy in Porgy and Bess

iii. Elephant Man

2. Disabled person as victim, object of violence

a. Victim, helpless

b. Related to the history of violence against the disabled,but perpetuating it

i. Abandoned, left to die

ii. Eugenics

iii. Abortion

c. Statistically, when disabled charactered are included in

programmes they are more than three times more likely

to be dead, through violence, suicide, etc.

d. Examples

i. Woman in a Cage

ii. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane

iii. Wait until Darkiv. Blazing Saddles

3. Disabled person as sinister and evil

a. Obsessed by revenge, twisted in body and mind

b. Role in the story : villain

c. Dichotomies : straight, handsome and virtuous vs

hunched ugly and mid

d. Examples

i. Richard the III

ii. Moby Dick

iii. Treasure Island, pirates missing fingers and

limbs

iv. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

v. Dr Strangelove

vi. Dirty Harry, the Sting, (limping)

vii. The Fugitive

viii. Twin Peaks, the dwarf

4. Disabled person as atmosphere, exotica, freak

a. Frankenstein : a hunchback (added in the film, ends up

responsble for the creatures evil ; this seems to me to

distort Mary Shellys original idea)

b. Role in the story : atmosphere, voyeuristic pleasure5. Disabled person as super cripple

a. Super human or magical abilities ; or, excessive praise

for ordinary achievements ; will power

b. Often disabled person played by an able-bodied actor

c. Role in story : often depend on goodness of others ;

focus only on the extraordinary

d. Examples

i. My Left Foot

ii. Children of a Lesser God

iii. Longstreet

iv. Ironside6. Disabled person as object of ridicule


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a. Examples

i. Mr Magoo

ii. Harpo Marx

iii. Monty Python

7. Disabled Person as their own worst enemy

a. Somehow responsible for their impairments (eg HIV)b. Saved by heterosexual relationships

c. Examples

i. Coming Home

ii. Born on the Fourth of July

8. Disabled person as burden

a. The able-bodied driven to catastrophy by the disabled

person

b. Examples

i. Keeping Tom Nice

ii. La guerre est dclare

9. Disabled person as sexually abnormala. Man sexually crippled or impotent, woman sexless

b. Examples for male stereotype

i. The Obyssey

ii. Lady Chatterleys Lover

iii. Whose Life is it Anyway

c. Examples for female stereotype

i. Marylin Frenchs Bleeding Heart

ii. The Hunchback of Notre Dame but is his

description accurate ? No. Rejected, isolated

and ridiculed by French society the hunchback,

Quasimodo, develops an unhealthy lust for the

virginal Esmarelda this is so untrue.

d. Sometimes male with slight impairment is seen as brave

and sexy.

i. Bronte : Jane Eyre

10. Disabled person as incapable of participating in community

a. Stereotype of ommissino : absent

11. Disabled person as Normal

a. Often in American productions ; pressure from disability

activitsts

b. Played by disabled actors, which is goodc. Marginal

d. Is this normalization ?

e. Doesnt critique disabling society

III. Example : Notre Dame de Paris

a. Versions :

i. Original Book. Victor Hugo.

1. Set in 15th century.

2. Pierre Gringoire, author, his play is disrupted by the Fete des

fous, the begger ClopinTrouillefou who are electing a king.

a. La fte des fous. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F

%C3%AAte_des_Fous3. Quasimodo is named king of the fools.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_Foushttp://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_Foushttp://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_Foushttp://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_Fous


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4. Gringoire follows the beautiful bohmienne Esmeralda, who is

abducted by Quasimodo, who is acting for Claude Frollo,

archdeacon of notre dame.

5. Esmeralda is saved by Phoebus, captain of the garde.

6. Frollo only loves two beings : his dissapate brother, and

Quasimodo, whom he raised.7. Quasimodo is judged for kidnapping ; he is deaf, the judge is

deaf. Esmeralda brings him water on the square.

8. Some old ladies are telling a story of an adorable baby who was

kidnapped by gypsies and replaced by a hunchback ; the

hunchback was then abandonned. The old lady who lost her

daughter now hates all gypsies.

9. Phoebus is supposed to marry Fleur de Lys ; Esmeralda has

fallen in love with Phoebus, tho. Phoebus wants to just take

advantage of Esmeralda.

10. Frollo badly wounds the captain. Esmeralda is blamed and also

accused of sorcery.11. Esmeralda is imprisoned. Phoebus doesnt go to see her because

it would be bad for his future marriage. She despairs.

12. Quasimodo drags her into the church to save her. He tells her

that physcial appearance isnt everything so Phoebus isnt so

great but she doesnt listen. Quasimodo now has more loyalty to

Esmeralda than to Frollo.

13. The band of beggars come to save Esmeralda. In the midst of all

this she goes to the gypsy-hating old lady and it turns out it is

her mother. However, Esmeralda is caught and hung.

14. Quasimodo throws Frollo over the edge of the cathedral and

then goes to the corpse of Esmeralda, they are united for all

eternity.

ii. 1956 version. Anthony Quinn, Gina Lollabridgida. Jacques Prevert.

iii. Disney version.

Week III Media Images of Disability and Notre Dame de Paris

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