According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Disability, it has been estimated that there are about one billion people in the world that suffer from some disability that affects their everyday life. This means that almost 15% of the world population consists of people with disabilities, a large portion of which are found in developing countries.
Inclusion challenges have become a major problem for the world where people with disabilities are not given their rights of representation, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry.
The Role of Media
The images and stories that are shown in media have a large influence on people around the world. And with more people moving towards the social realm, this influence has just become a whole lot bigger.
Unfortunately, people with disabilities are very rarely represented within the media. And the roles that they do manage to get do not hold a good perception of them. Most of the time, they are viewed as helpless or minor characters without any major significance attached to their roles. It is, in fact, very common to see people with disabilities being negatively stereotyped and having roles that do not adequately represent them. They are often treated as objects of tragedies or pity which has caused a major misunderstanding about the true abilities that many talented people with disabilities possess.
Since media has created such stereotypes, it also holds the power to reverse these representations. The media can serve as a vital tool in raising awareness and countering the stigma that has come about from this misinformation.
This can only happen if the media educates themselves on the struggles of people with disabilities and presents their strengths in a positive light. Consequently, this will lead to the media actively contributing to successfully integrating people with disabilities in every aspect of their social life.
These assessments hold much significance as gradual change has been seen in favor of people with disabilities in the entertainment sectors through the relentless efforts of people like Alex Barone – an American actor, producer, and amputee speaker who is best known for being a host of 'A Little Different.'
Barone was born with a rare health condition called 'Fibular Hemimelia' where he only had three fingers on both hands and a missing fibular bone in his right leg at the time of his birth. While growing up, he had to go through a total of 43 difficult surgeries.
To bring a little normality into his life, he started getting curious about the idea of joining an acting class that had caught his eye during his middle school years. While recovering from surgery, Barone decided to take the acting class and has agreed that it was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
After discovering his love for acting, he started taking several acting classes and began taking on roles to start his professional acting career. Naturally, as a person with a disability, Barone had to deal with harsh criticism – but he was reluctant to let these things affect his goals for the future.
His efforts eventually showed their proof when Barone started getting along with everyone in the industry and started developing an excellent reputation around himself. He developed a team and produced the series 'A Little Different', where he traveled the world to capture the stories of people with talents and disabilities – bringing about a major change in the representation of people with disabilities in media.