Incidental Representation in the Media

Think about the last Kenyan TV drama you watched. Think about its cast. The fraudulent detective, the young beautiful lady being pursued by more than two men (obviously, one is poor and the other rich), the Nairobi cab driver with ever dramatic customers. Now ask yourself: was any of them a person with a disability? And if one was, what was the episode about? A 98% probability, it was about their disability.

That is the trap Kenyan (and African?) media has fallen into. Persons with disabilities appear on screens primarily when disability is the narrative. The inspirational disability overcomer, the pitiable charity case, the “very special episode.” When the story moves on, the character disappears as fast like that one character who gets fired mid-production and the character has to die. Sad, right?

Now, have you watched Bridgerton seasons 3 and 4? Don’t you just love how smart, witty and charming Hazel is? I do. For those who’ve not watched season 4, Hazel plays as a maid and she has a limb disability but the part she plays has nothing to do with her disability. This is what is known as Incidental representation. 

Bridgerton also considers diverse disabilities. In season 3, Ms. Dolores, one of the debutantes communicating to her mother in Sign Language, suggesting that the mother is deaf. In the same season, we also see Lord Remington a suitor, who uses a wheelchair. Why did this representation come out so well? Apparently, consultants were involved. 

Recently on the panel, “How do Mainstream Audiences Engage with Disability,” at the Zero Conference, Shani Dhanda, a broadcaster, award winning disability advocate, among other titles, give her experience of how she got the role as a real estate agent on Eastenders (I haven’t watched it). Shani has brittle bone and her disability is visible but she auditioned and got the role. I think, probably the only time her disability was discussed was when inquiring if she would need any reasonable accommodation.

Incidental representation is the inclusion of diverse characters, in this case, persons with disabilities in media but not making it about their disability.

I once watched another African movie. It had a man with visual impairment, let’s call him Oga, who didn't have a disability in real life. He was despised by his relatives. All he did was stay indoors in a house built with carton boxes. He lived at the mercy of neighbours, until one day when he was suddenly healed of the disability and he became wealthy was when everyone worshipped the ground he walked on.

Contrasting the two examples I’ve highlighted, as an audience what is your perspective of Hazel and Oga and how they are portrayed? From Hazel, I can affirm that persons with disabilities are smart, beautiful, bubbly and they can work and make a living. From Oga, I can assume (Thank God, I now know better) that persons with disabilities are poor, unwanted and they cannot work and they need to be healed of their disabilities to be accepted.

Do you see how important the media is and its role in agenda setting?

Off course, we have feature stories that need to highlight disability, but they also need to be told in the right way. From a personal experience, I cannot overcome my disability, it’s a natural part of who I am.  

Representation of disability in media can take different shapes which we’ll explore later on.

We still need to talk about disability and do advocacy but we (persons with disabilities) can also talk about and do many other things too. We are so much more than our disabilities.

In the next opinion article, on this topic, we’ll look at how culture affects incidental representation in media.

Article by: Maryanne Emomeri