Geri Jewell – mamasmunchkin

What ideas get the most publicity in the media? As most people know, advertisements and the media give us an idea of the current climate in society about a particular topic or trend. It’s no different when contemplating how people with disabilities are portrayed in the media. It’s been this way throughout history. This post highlights some of the changes that stand out, and what they mean for the way disability is evolving in the public eye.

The idea of people with disabilities in the media has a long and tumultuous reputation that can be classified as non-existent at best. In the last thirty years, while there’s still massive debate on people with disabilities in roles portraying people with disabilities, it still doesn’t happen very often at all. More recently, what piqued my interest on writing this post is that a network channel is airing a show with a disabled character in the principal role. This demonstrates progression of how people with disabilities are viewed in society. Many years ago, characters like Geri Jewell got small walk on roles that would last a relatively short time. At least she was a person with a disability playing a person with a disability. She was the first regular cast member with a disability on a television show.

Sadly, it’s still not commonplace that a person with a disability play a role where they’re portraying a person with a disability. This is yet another layer of the debate that’s a thorn in the side of many people. Despite the debate on both sides, the state of actors and characters with disabilities has slowly improved. However, it’s noteworthy that disability has been more visible in things like commercials and store advertisements. When the show “The Good Doctor” aired, it made me think of where people with disabilities as a population have come from in the eyes of different media outlets. Even when “Speechless” aired, also on the same network, it seemed like a natural progression to the direction in which society was headed, no matter how slow the progress. Finally, the idea that people with disabilities can make positive contributions in many aspects was being broadcasted into people’s living rooms for everyone to see. We were no longer in the shadows like something shameful that needed to be hidden away.

The latest development of people with disabilities in the media is the first Gerber baby with Down Syndrome. Here’s an additional layer of the onion being peeled off. This milestone reaches the demographic of parents who have a child diagnosed with a disability. Parents whose children are diagnosed with a disability feel a mix of emotions at first. They aren’t sure what to expect, or even what the next step might be for their family. This change in advertising might be one way to shift those parents’ outlook of their child’s potential for the future. The message being, it doesn’t have to be as grim as it maybe once would’ve been.

The varying dimensions of the integration of people with disabilities into popular culture have numerous benefits. It helps orchestrate increased acceptance of disability in society. Slowly, the layers of negative stereotypes that have plagued us as a community for so long are deteriorating in front of our eyes. Seeing different media outlets give positive representation and exposure to people with disabilities is a refreshing change in many ways. We’re beginning to be people who can help others, not people constantly in need. This allows for the opportunity of open dialog on a varying number of topics that make people with disabilities more real and vital to contemporary subjects. It’s also broadening society’s ideas on the capabilities people with disabilities possess no matter what their limitations. In the future, it will be interesting to see how the subject of disabled actors evolves with Executives in Hollywood and how the debate is ultimately resolved.

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Geri Jewell clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryXN-FyNMUw

Gerber baby clip:

https://www.today.com/parents/2018-gerber-baby-first-gerber-baby-down-syndrome-t122258

Something that has always been interesting to me is seeing disabled characters being portrayed on t.v. I am not sure if it is because I remember seeing Geri Jewell on “The Facts of Life” and thinking… there’s someone else with C.P. Then I started thinking about how disabled characters have “matured” over time. What I mean by that is I feel like with each character that is shown on t.v., the characters are made stronger and more independent with the passage of time.

Though the list I am about to share is a small one, I feel like it is representative of how disability has “grown up” in the media’s eyes. I am also going to say, and others will probably agree, that people who are disabled are still very under represented on television and hopefully, in the future, that will change.

Here is my list of people who have brought disability into living rooms everywhere and made the topic more relatable to others:

1. Geri Jewell– She was on the “Facts of Life” and played Blair’s cousin. This was probably one of the first portrayals of disability on t.v. that showed a disabled person being just like everyone else.

2. Marlee Matlin– Most recently, she was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” but, to me, Marlee Matlin has had many other memorable roles. I know she was in “Children of a Lesser God” and won an Academy Award for her performance in the movie. To me, the fact that she is a person with a disability who has won such a prestigious award, speaks volumes about overcoming society’s stereotypes and everyday barriers in general. My favorite portrayal of hers was in a show called “Picket Fences” where she played a bank robber and then, later, was the mayor. It was a fun role that, again, showed someone with a disability in an everyday kind of person manner.

3. Chris Burke – He played Corky on “Life Goes On”. This is someone with Down Syndrome who was dealing with everyday problems on television. I feel like he helped people realize that people with different types of disabilities could live their life just like anyone else. It also showed that they went through the same things as everyone else even though they live with a disability. When I saw this show, I really felt like people who live with Down Syndrome were being portrayed in a very honest manner.

4. Laura Innes– She was one of the doctors on “ER”. This was the first time I had ever seen a person with a disability actually being a doctor on television. Though I am very aware that there are doctors with disabilities in the “real” world, I felt like this was the first time a disabled character had a position of power.

5. Jim Byrnes– If you have ever caught “Highlander: The Series” in the 90’s, you will remember this character. He was Duncan McLeod’s “watcher”. Though his disability was not the main focus of his character, and it shouldn’t have been, it was very refreshing to see him in a helping capacity.

6. Andrea Friedman– She has been on “Life Goes On” and some other shows as well but, I picked to put her on my list for her role as Katie on “Law and Order: SVU”. Until now, this has to be my favorite character. Not because she was a victim, though I felt like that part of the show could also open the door for some good dialogue about the subject, but because she was pregnant and wanted to be a mom to her baby. I was very happy that her character gave people the opportunity to think of people who are disabled as perspective parents too, something you definitely don’t see too often on television.

The following was certainly a small list but, it is evidence of the wide range of roles that have been developed to show people with a disability on television. What have you learned from seeing people with disabilities being portrayed on television?

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Tag: Geri Jewell

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