On the 33rd anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is important to reflect on how disabilities are portrayed in films and TV series. Characters with a mix of visible and invisible disabilities have been featured, and there has been a greater effort to have disabled actors be cast authentically. Considering that 27% of adults in the U.S. identify as having some type of disability, it is astonishing that disabled characters are not featured more prominently in films and TV series.
Many Hollywood films that showcase disabled characters tend to play on the ignorance of the non-disabled audience or toward stereotypes. Characters with disabilities are often cast as villains, superpowered by disability, victims, the butt of a joke or simpletons rather than fully realized humans. They are often meant to be pitied, cheered on for triumphing against adversity, exploited or used to educate an able-bodied individual and make a non-disabled hero "better."
