Editorial: Disabled people deserve more on-screen

Movies and television shows have a way of connecting the characters they portray with their audiences. The more relatable the characters, the more appealing the storyline — but what about characters with physical or mental disabilities? Can American audiences relate to them as easily?

The short answer: Yes, of course — disabled people are not any different from anyone else. They have friends, family, jobs and lives, just like those without disabilities.

Mental or physical disabilities do not make a person inherently different. So yes, definitely, characters in film and television with disabilities can be just as relatable as characters without — but that’s not what is at issue. Rather, the question should be, does Hollywood adequately portray said characters in such a light?

Today, Pittsburgh’s second annual ReelAbilities Film Festival commences. The festival, running through Oct. 30, aims to “promote awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities,” according to their website. This year’s festival will begin with an address from Angela Rockwood — the star of the progressive reality show, “Push Girls,” — an exhibit of fashion photography featuring models with disabilities and a screening of the acclaimed documentary “CinemAbility.”

“CinemAbility,” released in July 2013, examines the portrayals of those with disabilities in films and television shows. 

Keeping a critical eye on such portrayals and storylines about disabled people is especially pertinent because films and television shows have the ability to form public perception. 

“There’s no denying that people are influenced by what they see in media,” actor Gary Sinese says in “CinemAbility.”

Unfortunately, media storylines often showcase disabled people as characters that are, somehow, unnatural — thus, separating such characters into a less relatable category.

In movies like “Gigli,” or “The Ringer,” mentally disabled characters are used for comic relief, as a means to provide a few cheap laughs. In shows like “Family Guy,” the character Joe Swanson is in a wheelchair, something that all too often ends up as a mere punch line. Other television shows, like “American Horror Story,”  play on physical and mental disabilities in order to invoke fear.

Either way, using disabled characters to draw laughs or screams is extremely insensitive to those who actually have mental and physical disabilities. And seeing what all the disabled community actually does, it is a shame that the reality isn’t portrayed more in the media than the damning stereotypes.

Festivals like the ReelAbilities Film Festival are important. They highlight that groups outside of the declared norm exist, and celebrate their lives, stories and capabilities. So, like the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival that was recently in Pittsburgh, ReelAbilities can overcome the stereotypes and popular representations of the disabled community and highlight the real people within it.