Disabilities in fiction?

[Masque]

My bad if this is a random thing to bring up but I was just curious if anyone cared at all to discuss portrayals of disabilities in fiction.

I ended up thinking of this after I saw a pair of comments saying about a movie (not gonna say right away which in case of spoilers) that they wished the main character hadn't lost his leg in the final battle and one went so far as to say it would've been better in that case.

I asked for opinions on it and the general opinion was that was kind of a problematic thing to say.

 

[ichbins]

There is a great portrayal of this, albeit in a very abstract manner, in Samuel Becketts works in general, but e.g. in "Molloy", where the detective in the second half seems to transform and lose the ability to walk etc. It had a profound influence on me, when I read it.

 

[benignkoala]

Disability in fiction can be hard to sit through because, oftentimes, its written by someone who doesn't have the disability or has no personal experience with it. It echoes what a lot of (not all, I know) people feel in real life - that those of us with disabilities must be suffering all of the time and by extension are meant to be pitied.

I usually try to stay away from stories that have disabilities portrayed in them, whether physical or mental, because its hard to watch. I do remember watching one with Bryan Cranston that I thought was okay. There was a scene where his caretaker and him are having a good time (and I loved that it showed someone disabled not being miserable 24/7). When they go to a restaurant the person behind the counter only talks to the caretaker, not Cranston, as though being disabled means you have no autonomy. The caretaker makes a point to say, "Hey, why don't you ask him him what he wants" which was really touching. I enjoyed that because I dealt with similar situations with my disabled mother.

 

[Masque]

I'd seen the someone ask once if the character Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist really counts as disabled if he's got a prosthetic arm and leg.
Ftr the series makes a point to show Ed still has problems like his prosthetic leg havingnto be adjusted when he grows, the metal can cause him aerious discomfort in extreme hor or cold among other things which was something it was praised for.

 

[Masque]

Also I distinctly recall seeing an article called something like "Characters don't get to stay disabled" that iirc talks aboutnthe authors frustration with stories having characters miraculously find ways for disability to be undone like a character getting rendered paraplegic only to later magically find a way to walk again.