Date of Award
Summer 2020
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Communication
Committee Chair
Christopher Campbell
Committee Chair School
Communication
Committee Member 2
David Davies
Committee Member 2 School
Communication
Committee Member 3
Fei Xue
Committee Member 3 School
Communication
Committee Member 4
Vanessa Murphree
Committee Member 4 School
Communication
Committee Member 5
Cheryl Jenkins
Committee Member 5 School
Communication
Abstract
This dissertation is a discourse analysis of three television series, Speechless, Atypical, and Breaking Bad. A close reading of those series was performed to analyze the representations of disability in those television series and whether those representations enforced classic stereotypes or differed from those classic stereotypes for disabilities. The representations were also analyzed to see if those representations enforced the medical or social model of disability.
All three series had instances of stereotypical representations as well as representations that were not stereotypical. All three series representations identified with the medical and social model of disabilities. Series that used an outside expert consultant and more disabled characters represented by disabled actors had more textured representations.
Copyright
Wilbur Martin, 2020
Recommended Citation
Martin, Wilbur, "Watching Disability: A Discourse Analysis of Representations of Disabled Characters in Scripted Television Programs" (2020). Dissertations. 1819.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1819