Disability Trope or Nope?

Disability Trope or Nope is an ongoing DH project, where I evaluate popular culture figures from comics, movies, video games, and television shows. These evaluations play with expectations around the representation of disability in cultural narratives.

disabilitytropeornope

Today’s feature: Aida El-Kashef as Aliya Kamal i

Today’s feature: Aida El-Kashef as Aliya Kamal in Ship of Theseus!

Tropes: Tragic Beauty, Fix It With Surgery, Non-Disabled Actor, Inspirational

Nopes: Agency with Caregiver, Collaborative Creation, Refuse Overcoming, Valuable Disabled Experience, Demonstration of Embodied Knowledge, Activist Actor

Final Score: 3.7/10! That’s a nope!

Image Description: A woman with light brown skin and black hair looks off to the left. She holds a camera that points to the right. Around her is an urban scene filled with items for sale and brown-skinned pedestrians walking around.

#cinema #disabilitytropeornope #nope #shipoftheseus #movieswothextendedphilosophicalmetaphors #film #dramabutinagoodway

Today’s feature: Justina Machado as Penelope Alv

Today’s feature: Justina Machado as Penelope Alvarez in One Day at a Time!

Tropes: Disabled Vet, Conflating Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Value of support, Woes Dealing with VA, Emotional Processing, Handling of Intermittent Disability, Nuanced Conversation Around Medication, Autonomy, and Stigma

Final Score: 2.1/10! Nope!

Image Description: A Latina woman with brown hair sits on a couch in a denim jacket over a black polka-dot top. She holds study materials for nursing school.

#tropeornope #nope #disabilitystudies #disability #popularculture #television #onedayatatime

Today’s feature is Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag

Today’s feature is Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag in Repo! The Genetic Opera!

Tropes: Technology as Cure, Non-Disabled Actor, Narrative Prosthesis, Blindness as Metaphor

Nopes: Chooses Blindness Over Moral Dubiousness, Part of Larger Conversation Around Exploitative Medical Practices

Final Score: 8.8/10! Trope!

Image Description: Closeup of a pale white woman with black hair. Her eyes glow a mechanical blue.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #scifi #musical #opera #popularculture #movies #repo #repothegeneticopera #blindmag #blind #forprofitmedicine

Today’s feature: a unit from the game Borderland

Today’s feature: a unit from the game Borderlands called a <slur for dwarf> <slur for a cognitively disabled person>. Tropes: Slur, Ableism, Disability as Joke, Villainizing Disability, Disability as Enemy

Nopes: <none>

Final Score: 11/10! Disgusting ableism!

Image Description: A muscular short person wearing a mask stands ready to fight, carrying a saw-axe.

#tropeornope #disgustingableism #ableism #disability #disabilitystudies #scifi #itgoesto11 #noredeemingfeatures #popularculture #videogame #borderlands

Today we have Jacob Tremblay as “Auggie” Pullm

Today we have Jacob Tremblay as “Auggie” Pullman in Wonder.

Tropes: Disability as Domestic (Private) Matter, Overcoming, Feel-Good, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Central Figure

Final Score: 9.7/10! Trope!

Image Description: A close-up shot of a young boy’s face. He has brown hair and surgical scars.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #popularculture #film #wonder #movies

Next up, not so much a character as a story: “Th

Next up, not so much a character as a story: “The Revolt of the Pedestrians” from the 1928 pulp, Amazing Stories!

Tropes: Disability as Monstrosity, Eugenic Overtones, Cure Narrative, Disability as Marker of Villainy

Nopes: Disabled Lesbian Lust, Literally Biting the Jugular of the Figurative Patriarchy, Queer/Crip Pride (likely not intended)

Final Score: 7.8/10! Trope!

Image Description: A tall, muscular white man stands over the bodies of fat people crawling or using a 1928-imagined version of a power scooter.

For more info on the project this comes from, check out the link in my bio, or visit behives.org

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disabilitypride #disability #scifi #popularculture #pulps #amazingstories #HIVES #research

Thinking through some recent work: Robert David Ha

Thinking through some recent work: Robert David Hall as the recruiting sergeant in Starship Troopers!

Tropes: Disabled Vet, Disability as a Gag, Disability as Spectacle, Disability as Warning

Nopes: Disabled and Proud, Disabled Actor, Not-A-Sob-Story

Final Score: 6.4! Trope!

Image Description: an older man in a grey and black uniform sits at a desk moving papers with a prosthetic hand.

#tropeornope #trope #scifi #disabilitystudies #disability #movies #popularculture #starshiptroopers #robertdavidhall #rebootingrebootedreboots

Emelia Clarke as Marianna from Futurama! Tropes:

Emelia Clarke as Marianna from Futurama!

Tropes: Science Fiction as Cure, Cure Narrative, Tragic Backstory, Narrative Prosthesis, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Non-Apparent Disability, Disabled Love

Final Score: 7.3/10! Trope!

Image Description: An animated woman with strawberry blonde hair kisses the face tentacles of a crab-person.

#tropeornope #trope #disability #disabilitystudies #emiliaclarke #popularculture #scifi #television #futurama #zoidberg

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister (no spoil

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister (no spoilers) from Game of Thrones!

Tropes: Tragic Wound, Everyone Points it Out, Fall from Grace, Narrative Prosthesis

Nopes: Acquired Disability, Character Development, Solid Gold Prosthetic

Final Score: 8.9/10! Trope!

Image description: a blonde man looks down at a golden hand, his mouth agape and his eyes bulging.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #fantasy #popularculture #GoT #gameofthrones #nospoilers #songoficeandfire #relevantpost #television #endofanera #NikolajCosterWaldau

By request and a couple days ahead of the GoT fina

By request and a couple days ahead of the GoT finale: Isaac Hempstead Wright as Brandon Stark!

Tropes: Non-Disabled Actor, Supercrip, Macguffin

Nopes: Acquired Disability

Final Score: 9.9/10! Trope!

Image description: a young man sits in a wheelchair, covered in furs.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #fantasy #gameofthrones #GoT #branstark #popularculture #television

This one is up for debate: Peter Dinklage as Dr. B

This one is up for debate: Peter Dinklage as Dr. Bolivar Trask in X-Men: Days of Future Past!

Tropes: Disabled Antagonist

Nopes: Central Figure, Questioning the Need to Keep Rebooted Characters “Normative,” Disabled Actor, Disability Not Part of Tragic Backstory

Final Score: 2.5/10! Nope!

Image Description: a man with a heavy 70s hairdo/shaded glasses combo stands in front of a dark background, adjusting a ring on his little finger.

#tropeornope #nope #disability #disabilitystudies #scifi #xmen #daysoffuturepast #peterdinklage #popularculture #movies #whenyouupdatescifiupdateit

Two for one! Richard Pryor as Wally and Gene Wilde

Two for one! Richard Pryor as Wally and Gene Wilder as Dave in See No Evil Hear No Evil!

Tropes: Non-Disabled Actor (x2), Narrative Prosthesis, Disability As Joke

Nopes: Central Figure, Nascent Conversation on Interdependence/Coalitional Work

Final score: 8.9! Trope!

Image Description: A Black man and a white man stand in the booking room of the NYPD; the white man is wearing a serial number that says NYC Police.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #seenoevilhearnoevil #richardpryor #genewilder #popularculture #movies

Sean Penn as Sam Dawson in i am sam! Tropes: Non-

Sean Penn as Sam Dawson in i am sam!

Tropes: Non-Disabled Actor, Charity Porn, Sentimental, Cripping Up (for an Academy Award nomination)

Nope: Real Issues, Some Roles Cast Disabled Actors

Final Score: 9.6! Trope!

Image description: Sean Penn stares forward, not making eye contact with the camera. He is seated in a diner with dark blue window blinds behind him.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #inspirationporn #charity #popularculture #movies #readitswkkipediaseriouslytgelanguageinthereisawful #iamsam

Axel, from the Twisted Metal video game series! T

Axel, from the Twisted Metal video game series!

Trope: Seeking Cure, Disability as Intersection with Race, Non-Disabled (voice) Actor, Sacrifice

Nope: Badass, Creative Accessibility Device
Final Score: 9.6! Trope!

Image description: A pixelated Black man between two monster truck wheels pilots himself-as-vehicle into video game violence with rocket launchers on his shoulders.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #scifi #disability #popularculture #axel #videogame #twistedmetal

We have... Dr. Strangelove! Tropes: Mastermind, L

We have... Dr. Strangelove!

Tropes: Mastermind, Literally a Nazi, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Adaptive Technology, Satire?

Final Score: 8.7/10! Trope!

Image description: A man sits, using a wheelchair, in front of a map of Russia. The scene is mostly in shadow, washing out a dark figure wearing dark glasses.

#tropeornope #trope #disabilitystudies #disability #scifi #drstrangelove #drstrangeloveorhowilearnedtostopworryingandlovethebomb #movies #popularculture #preciousbodilyfluids

Melanie, from the film version of The Girl with Al

Melanie, from the film version of The Girl with All the Gifts!

Tropes: Disability as Engagement with Other, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Intermittently Apparent Disability, Central Figure, Social Construction Conversation, Disabled Futurity, Material Metaphor

Final Score: 2.6! Nope!

Image description: a young black woman sits on a bench, her hands are cuffed and she wears a clear plastic bite-mask. She looks off-screen serenely.

#tropeornope #nope #disabilitystudies #disability #scifi #horror #movies #popularculture #girlwithallthegifts #fungusamongus #mycelium

Maddie, from the 2016 Home Invasion Horror movie,

Maddie, from the 2016 Home Invasion Horror movie, Hush!

Tropes: Disability as Normal, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Central Figure, Adaptive Devices, Not Narrative Prosthesis,
Final Score: 4.1! Nope, not entirely!

Image description: close-up of a young, white woman’s face; she stares intently offscreen.

#tropeornope #nope #disabilitystudies #disability #horror #hush #popularculture #movies #itscomplicated

By popular request (and frankly, necessity) LeVar

By popular request (and frankly, necessity) LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge.

Tropes: Sci-Fi as Cure, Non-Disabled Actor

Nopes: Refuses Cure (repeatedly), Adaptive Technology, Conversations about Disability

Final Score: 3.4/10! Nope!

Image description: Geordi La Forge sits, staring ahead with white eyes. The red dots where his VISOR connects to his head are visible, and he is handing his VISOR to a pair of white hands in the foreground.

#tropeornope #nope #scifi #disabilitystudies #disability #television #startrek #geordilaforge #mainengineering #nottodayq

Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Prince, AKA Mr. Glass!

Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Prince, AKA Mr. Glass!

We have: Adaptive Technology, Mastermind, Disability as Marker of Evil, and Disability as Drive to Do Evil!

Final Score: 8.8! Trope!

Image description: A Black man in a fantastic purple suit with monogrammed ascot uses a wheelchair; he is looking forward with curiosity.

#tropeornope #trope #disability #disabilitystudies #movies #unbreakable #mnightshyamalan #popularculture #fashion

RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr, from the series Break

RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr, from the series Breaking Bad!

We have: Protected Youth, Disabled Actor, Reason for Someone Else to Do Evil, and Adaptive Technology!

Final Score: 1.6! Nope!

Image description: a heavily tinted image shows a young man wearing a striped sweatshirt looking towards the camera using two crutches.

#tropeornope #nope #disability #disabilitystudies #popularculture #television #breakingbad #rjmitte

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