ABSTRACT
The analysis of dramatic fiction suggests some interesting differences between the ways in which disabled and non-disabled characters arc portrayed. Crime, police and detective programmes show more death and violence, and so the fact that disabled people are more highly represented in this genre might lead to an inflated impression of the numbers of disabled people associated with crime, insanity and death. A convenient starting point for analysis is to examine demographic variables, such as age, sex and social class. When the social positions of disabled and able-bodied characters in the television world are compared, it becomes evident that disabled characters are more likely to be lower on the socio-economic scale than their able-bodied counterparts. Mentally ill and mentally handicapped characters come off particularly badly in these terms, with nearly half depicted as being criminally inclined. Drama programmes seem seldom to be used to create more awareness of disability and the problems faced by people with disabilities.
