ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the emotions that inspirational narratives that feature disability, also known as “inspiration porn,” may invoke among disabled and non-disabled audiences. The project uses We're the Superhumans, a British infomercial for the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as its case study. We relied on critical disability studies literature and discourse analysis to examine media portrayals of disabled persons and audience reception of those portrayals as seen in YouTube and social media comments, as well as media coverage of the infomercial. The results of the study show that reactions to inspirational narratives are not uniform among disabled and non-disabled audiences and that negative perceptions of disability persist. This study provides valuable insight regarding the nuances and complexities surrounding inspiration porn and social attitudes towards disability.
