Screening Disability

Anthony W. Enns

ISBN 10: 0761820167 / ISBN 13: 9780761820161

Published by University Press of America, US, 2001

About this Item

Depictions and portrayals of persons who live with disability in motion pictures have changed over time, sometimes reflecting, at other times influencing, societal attitudes and beliefs. Yet disability itself has no easily recognizable form. When isolated from the mainstream of human existence by artistic representations, the disabled individual is effectively transformed into an object of cultural fascination, a fragment of humanity, the Other. The disabled experience, defined only in relation to a perceived lack of human potentiality, becomes significant as a distorted mirror image of what we take to be "human" and thereby reveals our culture's preconceived notions of normalcy. Screening Disability was conceived to provide both an overview of the traditional methods of analyzing portrayals of disability in cinema as well as suggesting new directions for cinema and disability scholars to take. This book not only shows where the study of cinema and disability began, but it also marks a potentially new phase in the study of cinema and disability by incorporating elements of Film Studies that emphasize the priority of reception and the complexity of texts.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780761820161

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Screening Disability
• Publisher: University Press of America, US
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761820167
• ISBN 13: 9780761820161
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 431 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Depictions and portrayals of persons who live with disability in motion pictures have changed over time, sometimes reflecting, at other times influencing, societal attitudes and beliefs. Yet disability itself has no easily recognizable form. When isolated from the mainstream of human existence by artistic representations, the disabled individual is effectively transformed into an object of cultural fascination, a fragment of humanity, the Other. The disabled experience, defined only in relation to a perceived lack of human potentiality, becomes significant as a distorted mirror image of what we take to be "human" and thereby reveals our culture's preconceived notions of normalcy. Screening Disability was conceived to provide both an overview of the traditional methods of analyzing portrayals of disability in cinema as well as suggesting new directions for cinema and disability scholars to take. This book not only shows where the study of cinema and disability began, but it also marks a potentially new phase in the study of cinema and disability by incorporating elements of Film Studies that emphasize the priority of reception and the complexity of texts.

About the Author

Christopher R. Smit is Graduate Instructor in the Rhetoric Department at University of Iowa.
Anthony W. Enns is completing his Doctorate at the University of Iowa.