Welcome to Ralph Li, Roxanne Roxas, Jennifer Snow, and Joline Chen’s COGN 150 Final Project Blog. So what is R2J2? To clarify, it's nothing immensely cryptic.
Essentially, Ralph + Roxanne = R2 and Jennifer + Joline = J2. We know, we know. It's not very original, but it gave us a good laugh.
If you like our not-so-subtle play on words/reference to Star Wars, then perhaps you'll find the rest of this blog interesting as well.
We are here to analyze films, cartoons, and animations in relation to disabilities in media. We hope you find the content of this blog entertaining, intriguing, and perhaps even enlightening.
Sources:
Sally Chivers, “The Horror of Becoming ‘One of Us’: Tod Browning’s Freaks and Disability,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (57-64).
Paul Longmore. “Screening Stereotypes, Images of Disabled People in Television and Motion Pictures”. Why I Burned my Book, and Other Essays on Disability. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 2003.
Nicole Markotic, “Disabling the Viewer: Perceptions of Disability in Tod Browning’s Freaks,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (65-72).
Jack A. Nelson, "Broken Images: Portrayals of Those with Disabilities in American Media," The Disabiled, the Media, and the Information Age, (1-24).
Martin F. Norden, The Cinema of Isolation, A History of Physical Disability in the Movies. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ, 1994.
etc.
This blog is a project done for UCSD's COGN150 class. We do not claim to own or hold any authority over the content discussed. Please don't sue us.
This video is SNL’s parody of a Disney program satirizing Disney’s farfetched and oftentimes unrealistic depictions of optimism. The skit depicts a group of middle schoolers who coax their friend, who is in a wheelchair because of a broken knee, to attempt to walk after hearing motivational messages from their teachers. Of course, the outcome isn’t pretty.
Although greatly exaggerated, the feel and vibe of the parody accurately captures the lack of pragmatism depicted within many Disney films. Disney films often ditch realistic portrayals of particular situations and opt for an idealistic approach to it. Disney champions positivity and indoctrinates children with ideals such as to “never give up” and that “anything is possible.” While I think it is important to instruct children in this manner, Disney’s one-sided approach tends to cause more harm than do good. One example of this would be Disney’s very own High School Musical. With lyrics that boast about how “there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach,” to the younger demographic, HSM’s music tends to do more brainwashing and instilling of false hope than to instruct in the importance of staying positive and looking on the bright-side.
Most prominently, we see here that disabilities are displayed as obstacles that need to be overcome. There are many other examples of this in media. In the TV show Glee, the character Artie is depicted as being withheld from his fullest potential by the wheelchair that holds him down.
Rarely do we see physical disabilities depicted as a condition to be accepted or even as a blessing. Is changing this perception possible? If so, then in what ways?
