Disabled Superheroes in Post-television And the Supercrip Narrative
Jule Marie Hauken 13054295 Master's Thesis
Graduate School of Communication Master’s programme Communication Science
Dr. Marlies Klijn 25.06.2021
Abstract:
Addressing the gap in research on disability representation in diverse contemporary entertainment media, a qualitative content analysis was performed to analyse 21 episodes from four different post-television superhero series to understand their unique approach to the topic. The study centered around the question how disability is represented in disabled superheroes in disability-related storylines in post-television series. Embedded in earlier research on the portrayal of disabled people in media, the concepts views and attitudes on disability, heroism, obtaining a disability, and roles and identities were explored. Eventually, it was evident that while the disabled characters sometimes, especially in the case of blindness, do follow a supercrip narrative which degrades their disability, they are rarely othered or excluded and often take on roles, especially professionally, which were previously unheard of for disabled characters. The genre is, however, still behind in the area of ethnic diversity.
1Foggy Nelson to Matt Murdock in Daredevil season 1 episode 10; Kalteux & Blackburn, 2015
Contents
Introduction ………...……… 2
Theory ………... 5
Method ……… 10
Material selection ……… 10
Characteristics of the episodes selected ……….. 13
Research design ……….. 13
Results ………. 14
Concept indicator model ………. 14
Views and attitudes on disability ……… 17
Heroes and heroism ……… 20
Obtaining a disability ……….. 21
Roles and identities ………. 23
Conclusion and discussion ……….. 25
Conclusion ………. 25
Practical and theoretical implications, limitations and areas of future research ……... 28
References ………... 30
Appendix A. List of disabled superhero characters ……… 35
Appendix B. Overview of used materials ………... 37
Appendix C. Descriptions of selected series ……….. 38
Appendix D. Example transcript ………...………. 39
Appendix E. Example memo ……….. 42
Appendix F. Code list ………. 43
Appendix G. Concept indicator model ………... 45
"A big part of the discrimination that people with disabilities face is due to the fact that there is such a paucity of representation of stories and voices of people with disabilities, and they tend to fall into tiresome tropes like inspiration porn and tragedy." (Campbell, 2020)
Nicole Newnham, one of the creators of the film Crip Camp documenting the disability rights movement, explains what a big part the media plays in the discrimination of disabled people. While entertainment television and social change do not seem to have a lot to do with each other on the surface, this media representation is actually an important tool in the education of non-disabled audiences who might not have the chance to learn from peers (Cleary, 2016).
In recent years, more and more recurring disabled characters were included in television and streaming series (GLAAD Media Institute, 2021, p. 30). Their number, however, is still disproportionately low compared to actual disabled populations (WHO, 2011).
Additionally, the "tiresome tropes" (Campbell, 2020) mentioned include othering narratives such as the supercrip (Schalk, 2016), which separate disabled characters from the general population (Diamond & Poharec, 2017). They do not allow for identities and roles outside of disability (Cleary, 2016). Although media representation can never tell everyone's unique story, diversity is one of the key ideals to strive for. There can be three-dimensional characters who do not create or support such stereotypes (Foss, 2014). For example, consuming entertainment television featuring an employed and skilled disabled character may positively affect attitudes about the actual employment of disabled people (Reinhardt et al., 2014).
Observing recent fictional literature, a trend has emerged that does depict disability in a more nuanced manner. Different from the previous distinction between social and medical paradigms (Shakespeare, 2006), the new approach blurs not only the line between them, but
also the line determining who is and who is not disabled. Another aspect included in this development is the rise in overall diversity of disabled characters who do not fit into stereotypes anymore and do not reproduce them either. More detailed explanations of the characters' individual challenges, including psychological struggles, not only openly differentiate between disabilities, but also between characters (Sweed, 2020). Whether this modern type of disability representation can also be found in other entertainment media, such as television series, is yet to be seen.
An especially relevant genre in current entertainment media is the superhero genre.
Recently, it has gained enormous mainstream popularity (Burt, 2020). Now, in addition to blockbuster movies, there are plenty of superhero television series as well (Radošinká, 2017).
This format allows the creators more flexibility in the types of storylines they tell and the level of detail in the narration (Pagello, 2017), which makes them ideal for minority representation. In combination with their placement inside of existing universes, for example Marvel's Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC's Arrowverse or Marvel's Daredevil universe, this use of digital media renders most of these streaming series excellent examples of post-television. The interconnectedness between streaming platforms and social media, as well as between multiple series, is the main characteristic of this type of television (Pagello, 2017). Other examples of contemporary superhero series, such as Dark Horse Entertainment's The Umbrella Academy, do not fulfill these criteria as they are limited to a single series and not included elsewhere.
Contemporary post-television bears an extraordinary potential for political positioning.
When more detail and nuance are included and previously untold stories can be told, this allows for diversity and critique of current structures. In traditional mass media, this potentially controversial content might have been excluded in favour of mainstream approval.
In post-television a fragmented sub-audience is aimed for instead and more risks can be taken (Levine, 2011).
The lack of realism in superhero media does not have to be an obstacle to its effect on the audience's real perceptions. Disabled people may identify themselves more with their disability after consuming positive portrayals of disability regardless of its realism. For negative portrayals, the opposite is true (Zhang & Haller, 2013). An important finding by Müller et al. (2012) explains that the consumption of entertainment television with disabled characters might reduce non-disabled people's prejudice under the right circumstances. These include a combination of incidental and non-incidental mentions of disability and long-term exposure to the characters. If this goal is reached, the effect is comparable to the effect that non-disabled people experience in frequent personal contact with disabled people (Müller et al., 2012). The parasocial contact hypothesis (Schiappa et al., 2005) proposes such a positive influence of exposure to mass mediated characters on an audience, confirming it in other minority groups as well (pp. 111-112).
To explore how this potential is used, this study aims to explore the representation of disabled characters in disability related storylines in post-television series.
The topics of disability and superheroes have been connected in research in various other ways. Superpowers have both been viewed through the lense of physical difference and embodied a metaphor for disability (Burt, 2020) and disability has been used as a visual indicator for flawed morality in supervillains (Kane, 2018). There is a gap in research surrounding morally sound superheroes, on the other hand, who have disabilities in a literal sense.
To explore this gap and its implications for the series' social impact, a qualitative content analysis analysing relevant superhero post-television episodes was performed. This choice of method allows for detailed insights into a relatively unstudied area and has the
potential to create a basis for future research. Another factor in this is the scarcity of relevant material which renders in-depth analysis of fewer units of research the better option.
Ultimately, this study aims to answer the following research question:
How is disability represented in disabled superheroes in disability-related storylines in post-television series?
Theory
To set the scope of this research, first, the central topic of disability needs to be defined.
This is not an easy feat. There is no one accepted definition for the term disability (Grönvik, 2009). The Deaf community, for example, might consider themselves a separate cultural group with its own languages, media, spaces and history and see hearing loss as a difference rather than a deficit. Their preference might be to use the term Deaf gain over hearing loss (Foss, 2014).
Similar discussions arise around neurodivergence, which encompasses various alternative neurological developments, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, tic disorders or dissociative identity disorder. As the idea of neurodiversity suggests, the goal of this description is also to appreciate differences rather than assume a hierarchy between disabled and non-disabled people (Baker, 2011).
This research will follow a specific working definition of disability. This definition requires a medical diagnosis that will typically affect a person's everyday life permanently.
Temporary mental illness is excluded. This tight definition, while not reflective of all views, is necessary to allow for clear guidelines in the selection of material. It is acknowledged that this definition has an impact on the research itself (Grönvik, 2009).
After defining disability as a concept, a closer look needs to be taken into its media representation. A prominent narrative in previous disability representation research is the
supercrip narrative (Rees et al., 2019) in which a character or portrayed person is shown to have extraordinary ability or reach extraordinary goals (Schalk, 2016). Deceivingly, this does not mean that disabled superheroes are automatically supercrips. To create a supercrip narrative, a character needs to be portrayed as overcompensating for their disability (Schalk, 2016). This might be through high tech prosthetics, savant syndrome or other exceptional circumstances. Additionally, the disability is portrayed as a flaw to overcome (p. 78). The heightened expectations specifically because of someone's disability are the core of the narrative and its negative effects (p. 75). By creating these expectations, it is taught that disabled people need to earn their place in society instead of being inherently worthy of it.
The supercrip narrative is also an example of the othering of disabled people. Othering as a concept refers to the attribution of other traits to a certain group; Diamond and Poharec (2017) specifically categorise disability in comic literature, including supercrips, as the medicalised other (pp. 405-406). Investigating whether the analysed superheroes are also supercrips can already provide a lot of relevant information about the portrayal of disability.
Therefore, the first sub-question centers around this topic:
Sub-question 1. Do the portrayals follow a supercrip narrative?
As mentioned in the definition of disability, the popular belief that living with disabilities is not problematic or inferior to living without them is known as the social model of disability (Shakespeare, 2006). By framing disability as a social issue, two assumptions are made: The issue surrounding it is, one, not caused by each individual and, two, not created by biological facts. Consequently, a potential cure is not to be found in a medical solution negating the individual impairment, but rather in an accommodating and accepting social environment (Shakespeare, 2006).
The contrasting medical model, which would pathologise disability and reduce it to biology, is merely used to contrast this view. Nonetheless, parts of both are needed to understand complex attitudes and paint a picture closer to reality and further from idealistic views (Shakespeare, 2006). Valuable insights can be gained by identifying aspects from both perspectives and combining them to create the image of disability that is reproduced.
Sweed (2020) has researched disabled characters from recent fictional media and found that they are portrayed in a combined model. They do not hesitate to acknowledge a lack of accessibility or to point out prejudice, should they see it, without ignoring the medical and psychological challenges themselves (Sweed, 2020). How exactly these aspects occur in the analysed material will be addressed in the second of four sub-research questions:
Sub-question 2. Where is the portrayal located within social and medical paradigms?
The third sub-question is concerned with the plasticity and three-dimensional nature of the characters themselves. If they can show belonging to more than one role or identity, even in storylines specifically focused on their disability, this would contrast current findings which show othering and isolation of identities (Cleary, 2016). Three-dimensional characters might be part of other minorities, such as sexual, ethnic or religious identities, but could also act in professional or social roles, such as as boss or sibling, or simply identify with their role as a superhero.
The intersection between sexuality or race and disability has been shown to be important in the lives of disabled people (Frederick & Shifrer, 2019; King et al., 2018) while even such seemingly simple facets of identity as relationships, employment or education, as well as overall independence, have been found to be lacking in disabled television characters (Black & Pretes, 2007; Safran, 1998). In new, digitally embedded mass media, a multitude of
dynamic and ever-evolving identities form a character (Dresang & Koh, 2009, p. 29). Thus, disabled characters' ascribed roles and identities may have more depth in post-television series overall. If a superhero's disability identity is, however, erased through overcompensating and being othered, their other identities, such as gender and sexuality, might also be erased (Diamond & Poharec, 2017, pp. 405-406). The identity as disabled has to be embraced to showcase its social implications, also in combination with other identities.
Subsequently, this complex topic constitutes the third sub-question of this study:
Sub-question 3. How do disabled characters take on different roles and identities and how do they interact with each other and their disability identity?
Lastly, the identity as disabled itself is connected strongly to the specific disability a character has. As Sweed (2020) has described, the detailed portrayal of storylines related to disability allows for clearly visible differences between specific disabilities, potentially lessening stereotypes around the more general term disabled.
Historically, disability in media was often only viewed in the context of one diagnosis (Lerner, 2010) or highlighted the differences between each disability (Hyler, 1988). Because of the general focus on diversity in media representation (Foss, 2014), the aspect of diversity in disabilities is also considered. In societal perspectives, research has shown a consistent hierarchy between the perceptions of different disabilities, rating blindness among the most severely impacting (Janicki, 1970). Thomas (2000) argues that stereotypes, ranking physical over sensual and sensual over mental disabilities by preference (Tringo, 1970), have not changed despite social movements, which might affect media representation as well. For this reason, differences between the considered disabilities will be looked at as well:
Sub-question 4. What differences can be observed between the disabilities found in characters in this portrayal?
The sensitising concepts leading the process of coding are supercrip narratives, character self-acceptance, intersectionality and blame. They indicate what role disabled characters play and what role their disability plays for them, constructing a full picture of how disability is represented.
Character self-acceptance is critical in the image of disability that a medium will convey. While examining the type of representation, it was named alongside perceived closeness to the audience's lives (Rankin, 2018) or included in overall positivity (Zhang &
Haller, 2013) and found to be a key factor in the influence representation has on disabled and non-disabled audiences. For the purpose of this research, if the disabled character sees no flaw in their own condition or even sees it as a positive, it might be indicative of their view that society is the actual cause of disability-related issues, i.e. the social model of disability (Shakespeare, 2006; Sweed, 2020).
As established, intersectionality of roles and identities is a central point in this study.
This encompasses any role the characters take on in these disability focused storylines. The role as a parent is as interesting as the role as a hero as it might be a sign of a rich character. A special focus lies on intersections between identities and potential clashes between them.
Another central point, the supercrip narrative, might be indicated through heightened abilities or performed ability compensating for or even erasing the disability itself. A higher expectation of the disabled character than of their non-disabled counterparts as well as indications that their role in society needs to be earned actively might also be factors.
Blame has the potential to be very prominent in disability storylines in which the disability is acquired, especially if this is a direct or indirect consequence of heroic activities.
Before, blame and guilt in disabled fictional characters, especially those who became the victim of a crime, has been associated with factors such as their gender or relationship to the perpetrator (Rader et al., 2016; Robert, 2014). If the crime is a physical attack with long-lasting consequences and the relationship between victim and perpetrator is that of enemies, this might be an interesting constellation. Ultimately, this, too, is a question of the model used to understand disability. In a strictly social approach, the direction of the blame would shift towards factors unrelated to the impairment and instead focus on the treatment of disability in society.
Method
To best address the research questions aimed at the nature of media content, a qualitative content analysis was performed (Merriam, 2009, p. 205 f.). As the research questions are open ended and not embedded in a detailed context through research and targeted at the content of one specific type of media, this method was chosen. In this case, the units of analysis are episodes of post-television series. While the multimedial nature of post-television would allow for their inclusion, no secondary sources were used for this focused analysis. Instead, the possible effects created by this specific media context of interlinked processes throughout production, distribution and consumption and across different types of media (Levine, 2011) informed the selection of material.
Selection of material
To begin this research, all relevant material was selected according to criteria around television format, disability, eligible storylines and the moral alignment of characters. In a first step, superhero characters with disabilities were identified following the working definition of disability. To explore this topic, the Google search engine was used to find articles and lists surrounding disabled superheroes, disabled characters in superhero
post-television and superheroes with specific disabilities. Fandom specific wikis as well as blog articles with more or less critical approaches to the representation of disability were considered and a list of characters was compiled until further sources only provided repetitions. This list can be found as appendix A.
Then, those who appear on contemporary television series, not only in comics or other media, were selected. Afterwards, the characters were narrowed down further to those who appear in known post-television series. At this stage, Umbrella Academy was excluded despite its disabled character. Although Titans, which contains a depiction of the mute character Jericho, was created by the same production team as series from the so-called Arrowverse, there are no mentions of the other or crossovers in either series and it seems to take place in a different universe, meaning it is not intertwined with any other series directly.
This criterion was informed by societal relevance as well as the likelihood of appearing disabled characters. There are multiple theories which describe the development of mass media content in a new, digital environment. Radical change theory, concerned primarily with literature (Dresang, 1999), points to the possibility of including "previously unheard voices"
(Dresang & Koh, 2009, p. 28), which have often been interpreted to be disabled people's (Emmerson et al., 2014; Matthews, 2009).
Post-television is another concept describing new, digitally embedded forms of media (Radošinká, 2017). Its connection to superhero narratives is already established in research (Raw, 2018). Characteristics of a post-television superhero series include the connection between multiple series in a shared universe and the inclusion of more diverse, albeit at times repetitious, storylines which demand a prolonged engagement from the audience (Pagello, 2017). Examples include Daredevil, Arrow, The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Pagello, 2017), which were all included.
The genre of the superhero series itself was not defined further. Both drama and comedy, as well as anything outside or in between the two, can contribute to meaningful results and further support maximum variation in the material selection. While this phenomenon is yet to be confirmed in the case of disability, comedy series have also been shown to stray from traditional and hegemonic viewpoints more than others and provide a unique perspective (Holbert et al., 2003). Thus, DC's Legends of Tomorrow was not excluded despite its humorist approach.
After narrowing down the selection with these criteria, characters aligned with the villains rather than the heroes were also excluded. This includes Stick, a character from Marvel's Daredevil, who is blind himself but follows his own goals and kills to reach them, something that the titular character Daredevil condemns. In this study, what makes a character a hero is not their skill or lack of flaws, but instead their siding with the series' hero's side or membership of their team. This barrier is meant to exclude such depictions that present disability as a flaw inherently associated with villainy or immorality (Kane, 2018), as these would constitute another area of research. It does not aim to exclude characters who were formerly associated with villains and have since changed sides, such as Frost.
After the characters were selected, their respective series were screened for episodes with storylines specifically influenced by the character's disability, for example through its acquisition, adjustment to or the treatment of it. This was intended to maximise the amount of relevant data gathered within the limited scope of a thesis.
The nature of the characters' disabilities was not narrowed down further. In each of the cases included, the disabilities were either formally diagnosed or explicitly named in one way or another in regards to their specific character.
Characteristics of the episodes selected
After applying these criteria, relevant storylines were found in 21 episodes from four television series, portraying three different disabilities in five individual characters. They aired between 2015 and 2021. The disabilities are blindness, paraplegia and dissociative identity disorder, all acquired at some point in life. The characters are Sara Lance from DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Felicity Smoak from Arrow, Frost and Caitlin Snow from The Flash and Matt Murdock from Marvel's Daredevil. The analysed episodes contain storylines surrounding the acquisition of and adjustment to disability, on both the characters' and their environment's parts. Some of the storylines also center around potential cures for the elected disabilities. An overview and descriptions of the series can be found in appendices B and C.
Analysis
After the selected material, which is widely available on streaming services, was acquired, each episode was transcribed using the material and with the help of existing automated transcripts from fan created sites, such as transcripts.foreverdreaming.org, but with regard to the specific purpose of these new transcripts. This included descriptions of actions, tones and moods, as well as the assignment of each statement to the character who made it.
This ensures the production of rich data (Denham & Onwuegbuzie, 2013). Keeping in mind the eventual use of these transcripts, scenes not related to the relevant storylines and not including or mentioning the relevant characters were not used.
Google Docs was used as a digital program to assist in the process of open coding.
After all transcripts were coded with the sensitising concepts, character self-acceptance, supercrip narratives, intersectionality and blame, and research questions in mind and relevant sections for each code were identified, the selective and axial coding could build on this initial effort. Following the steps of a grounded theory analysis (Cho & Lee, 2014), grouping
the concepts and dimensions and relating them to one another, especially in considering roles and identities, while learning to understand their nuances and intersections, lead to a comprehensive description of the topic at hand and eventually a concept indicator model to reflect it. In this process, memo writing was used to assist in staying on top of all potential connections and ideas. An example of this would be the parallel between Daredevil's initial sacrifice, which caused his disability, and his current superhero behaviour which frequently leaves him injured. This observation led to the conclusion that the character follows a pattern where he continually takes risks and sacrifices his health for others, seemingly assuming a higher standard of morality for himself. This could be a potential indicator for compensation and, consequently, a superhero narrative.
During the entire analysis, the quality of the research was ensured through various quality criteria (Merriam, 2009, p. 229). Due to the nature of a thesis in the context of a study programme, constant discussion among peer student researchers took place. This, as well as the constant exchange with a supervisor, contributed to the transparency and credibility. The process was documented thoroughly and performed with digital assistance to ensure accuracy and validity of the results additionally. Finally, in writing the paper itself, an effort was made to use thick description and ensure that the process became as transparent as possible (Ponterotto, 2006). This includes the inclusion of examples for memo writing and other steps in the process in the appendices. Another one of those steps is the selection process in which maximum variety of the material was aimed for.
Results Concept indicator model
Representation of disabled superheroes
Views and attitudes on disability Heroism
Self-acceptance and
psychological challenges Disability as
desirable Social and antisocial
responses Use of
accommodation Curing
disability Moral
perspective Risk, danger
and blame Adjusted heroism and performed ability
Representation of disabled superheroes
Obtaining a disability Roles and identities
Sacrifice and violence Age and adjustment Supernatural components in
medical diagnoses Social roles Professional roles Minority identities Disability identities
Considering the scientific literature, multiple dimensions and adjacent concepts were developed to create a complete understanding of the representation of disability in post-television superhero content. Firstly, the views and attitudes on disability directly portrayed are looked into more closely. Showing on screen how characters act and talk around disability is a key part of the image conveyed. As discussed in the theory, different models of disability, medical and social, can be used as a lense through which different attitudes are understood.
The disabled character's journey of self-acceptance, of course, is central in this consideration, given that their positivity might directly impact a disabled viewer's. This journey also includes psychological challenges, whose depiction is an indicator for the medical model of disability. Additionally, the view of disability as more or less desirable conveys general attitudes around disability. Another dimension describes the social, as well as antisocial, responses to disability by characters who are not disabled. In combination with the views they transport directly, these responses also highlight possible discrimination, which is central in the medical model of disability. Still, discrimination reaches further than interpersonal contact, it also encompasses the general accessibility and accomodation.
Characters' use of accommodation blends into the area of curing disability, which reflects directly what the series portrays as the course for disability while it is removed. Combined, this creates the groundwork to answer sub-question 2.
The second area of interest is the topic of heroism. This dimension begins with the characters' moral perspective, which has previously been tied with disability, showing it in a negative light. The ties between heroism and putting oneself and others at risk or in danger become interesting when they are connected to blame for disabilities, one of the sensitising concepts. Lastly, the heroism does not only affect a character's disability, a character's disability also affects their heroism. They might adjust their heroism and show their performed ability, potentially exposing a supercrip narrative. Heroism can be the cause, consequence or even the counterpoint to disability.
Since all of the characters who were selected acquire their disability, obtaining a disability is another central topic. Due to their heroic roles, the cause of these incidents is often a sacrifice or act of violence. This is also closely tied to the sensitising concept of blame. Another area that distinguishes between the characters' experiences is the age that they acquired their disabilities and its influence on their adjustment to their new identity as disabled. A special circumstance in superhero media is the possibility of hyper-ability, so supernatural components in medical diagnoses which might, again, facilitate a supercrip narrative, while also trying heavily into the character's role as a hero, are also considered.
Both dimensions address aspects relevant to sub-question 1.
Roles and identities characters fill out contribute to the depth and richness of their personality. Social roles, in families, friendships and partnerships, show the character's integration into their environment as opposed to othering them. Their professional roles are particularly interesting due to the previous lack of such representation and the effectiveness it has on changing audience attitudes. Because intersections between minorities affect the experiences of real disabled people greatly and are often neglected in media representation, it is relevant to consider whether belonging to any other minority identities or discriminated groups is shown in disabled characters. To round up this topic, the disability identity a
character embodies is considered. This ties back into the topic of self-acceptance. Ultimately, sub-questions 3 and 4 are addressed through these results.
Views and attitudes on disability
Self-acceptance and psychological challenges
No matter the circumstances, the characters each have to work on their acceptance of being disabled, sometimes through multiple diagnoses (Arrow, season 4, episode 10) or inspired by different people's influences (Arrow, season 4, episode 12; Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 7). After overcoming initial hurdles such as fear surrounding their roles as heroes (The Flash, season 4, episode 22; Arrow, season 4, episode 11), they do generally reach such acceptance. Some do so quicker (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11), others take more time and some rely on their friends' support. Felicity Smoak in Arrow, for example, negotiates her new identity with herself and considers questions such as blame, her past and her future as well as her own skills. A major step in her acceptance is coming to the realisation that there is no denying her disability and that it will likely accompany her for the rest of her life: "There is no going back to normal" (Arrow, season 4, episode 11).
Eventually, she finds her comfort in her role as a hero, which she understands as her purpose (Arrow, season 4, episode 11).
Felicity and Caitlin Snow from The Flash each experience psychological symptoms related to their disabilities. While Felicity experiences hallucinations as a side effect to her medication (Arrow, season 4, episode 11), Caitlin experiences flashbacks about her repressed childhood memories (The Flash, season 4, episode 22).
Disability as desirable
In most cases, the view of disability as desirable is not clearly black or white. From Daredevil character Stick, Matt Murdock's mentor, who comments that "blindness [i]sn't a disability, sight [i]s a distraction" (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 10) to the characters in Arrow who stay on the lookout for a cure even after Felicity has seemingly adjusted well to her wheelchair (Arrow, season 4, episode 11), there is a spectrum of opinions. Caitlin and Frost in The Flash view their shared disorder as a positive and appreciate the companionship and protection it offers (The Flash, season 5, episode 11). Matt, who knows Stick's influence and also hears his best friend Foggy joke about the benefits of being blind, only admits his desire to see once (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 1). One could argue, however, that the degree to which his supernatural abilities compensate for his disability can be considered a cure of sorts on its own. Foggy aims at this effect when he asks: "Are you even really blind?" (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 10).
Social and anti-social responses
The characters are not immune to facing, and addressing, discriminatory attitudes and remarks. Many times, they consist of awkwardness around the topic of disability (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 1), thinly veiled pity (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 10), or a clear underestimation of their abilities (Arrow, season 4, episode 12). When Sara Lance apparently loses the supernatural ability that compensated for her blindness, her team member Mick Rory asks "So what, so now you're just blind?" (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 13). With this, he demonstrates his disregard for her disability. These opinions are, however, not often left uncommented by the disabled character or even a friend of theirs.
A surprising negative attitude about blindness comes from a blind character, Stick, who does not view the impairment as a disability, and instead focuses on spiritual weakness. He
criticises Matt's hesitance to join his mission: "You're blind as you ever were" (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 7).
Use of accommodation
All characters use accommodations, some of which are common, such as a pair of sunglasses to protect the eyes of a blind character (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 12), some are fictional, such as a technology to facilitate communication between personalities (The Flash, season 5, episode 6). Felicity, who uses a wheelchair, also points out a lack of access: "We're gonna need to get some ramps" (Arrow, season 4, episode 11). Even after her cure, she can easily pick up her skill in navigating and moving with the help of a wheelchair again when needed (Arrow, season 5, episode 20). This skill is learned (Arrow, season 4, episode 12) and it is shown that navigation skills surrounding blindness can be learned without downstream components as well (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11).
Curing disability
Most characters are cured at some point in their journey, but none of them receive an actual medical treatment. They are either healed through supernatural means or through fictional technology. In reflection of her surroundings, Felicity considers paraplegia a "worst case scenario" (Arrow, season 4, episode 11) and is ecstatic about a cure (Arrow, season 4, episode 14). In the case of Caitlin and Frost, their cure is even seen as an attack by a villain at first (The Flash, season 7, episode 5), similar to journeys around the acquisition of a disability. Although they had previously agreed not to cure themselves through various other medical means developed by Caitlin, this had happened under the premise that erasing their disability would erase one of the personalities as well (The Flash, season 5, episodes 11 &
19). One of them is explicitly offered as a means for the character to be "free to be [herself]
without fear" (The Flash, season 5, episode 6), indicating that the desire to change her ability is based on the fact that she cannot change society. In the final medical cure, they both receive their own bodies and Frost comments: "It's not so bad being separate" (The Flash, season 7, episode 5).
Heroes and heroism Moral perspective
Morality is a topic that is central to each character's personality and colours not only their role as a hero, but also their everyday life. When Matt proposes a change in their careers to stay true to their ideals, Foggy answers: “Come on, Mother Teresa, let's go save the world"
(Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 10).
Although she is still involved in the fight to save others, even risking her own life, Frost is an exception to this rule insofar that she has to adjust her previous moral attitude as a villain to comply with the methods used by her team of heroes. This is not an uncommon struggle in a hero and Felicity and Matt face similar crises (Arrow, season 5, episode 20;
Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 7). Ultimately, Frost solves this conflict by using her past as a means to fulfill her role as a hero by gathering information: "I have friends in low places" (The Flash, season 6, episode 3).
Risk, danger and blame
Sara and Felicity both assure other team members that they do not blame them for the acquisition of their disability (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 9; Arrow, season 4, episode 11). While both of their partners are emotionally overwhelmed with the situation during their medical recovery, Sara's girlfriend Ava and Felicity's fiancé Oliver blame
themselves to different degrees (Arrow, season 4, episode 10; DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 10). After going through phases of blaming herself and her role as a hero, Felicity addresses this question directly with Oliver, who is the head of their superhero team:
"If I know you, and I do, you're probably thinking what happened was your fault. I'm here to tell you that it's not and that it's not mine either" (Arrow, season 4, episode 11). Matt, who obtained his blindness through a heroic act, saving someone else similarly to Sara, does not blame his disability on anyone, which might be connected to his attitude of considering it a gift (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 1).
Adjusted heroism and performed ability
The disabled characters are vital for their teams and when they are unavailable to work due to their disability or related medical and personal issues, they are duly missed and the team's performance is compromised, leading to frustration: "We need Caitlin to find Caitlin"
(The Flash, season 5, episode 19). Depending on the character, they might see their own skill compromised by their disability. While Caitlin insists "I'm not a liability!" (The Flash, season 4, episode 22) after experiencing a flashback as part of her disorder, Sara on the other hand admits "I'm maybe more useful as a foot soldier" (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 13) when she is faced with her uncompensated blindness. Notably, Sara moves to a more physical, but less central role from the primarily mental role as captain. Matt relies on his associated supernatural ability to fulfill his role as a hero (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 10).
Obtaining a disability Sacrifice and violence
In the analysed episodes, characters either willingly risked their life and health, saving someone else who would have been killed, or a villain has attacked them in retaliation for former actions. Even Matt Murdock, who acquired his blindness as a child long before filling in his role as a hero, did so for someone else who reacted in shock: "He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life" (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 1).
The case of Frost and Caitlin is an exception. While their father would go on to become the villain Icicle and use the same medication that caused their dissociative identity disorder as a weapon, his intentions for Caitlin were positive and not related to her activity as a hero, which she had not yet taken up (The Flash, season 5, episode 6). By causing one disability in her, he prevented another illness which would have been fatal. Caitlin's initial reaction upon finding this out is shock: "Dad, what did you do to me?" (The Flash, season 5, episode 6).
Age and adjustment
Some of the characters analysed here became disabled as children, others were already adults, established in their role as heroes. Sometimes, the training and skill they have as heroes is helpful to them. Sara Lance, for example, can adjust to her blindness easily because of her experience: "I trained in a blindfold for weeks in the League of Assassins" (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11). Matt Murdock, who obtained his disability as a child, on the other hand, found himself as a pain patient in a monastery before he was found by his mentor Stick (Marvel's Daredevil, season 1, episode 7). Caitlin only processes her disability as an adult after suppressing childhood memories related to it (The Flash, season 4, episode 22).
Supernatural components in medical diagnoses
While this is not true for every character, many superheroes did acquire supernatural abilities alongside their disability and start using it in their heroism. For blind characters, it is clear that their associated supernatural senses compensate for their disability directly. Charlie, Sara's team member, explains: "You've lost one kind of vision, and you've gained another"
(DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11). When Sara now cannot access her supernatural ability, she leaves her leading role to follow directions instead. Although this is later explained to have been for another reason, none of the other characters question her choice (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 13). This clearly indicates that they view uncompensated disability as a weakness that affects a person overall; it is not limited to direct physical effects.
Revealed through her father's explanations, Frost's disability is a byproduct of her supernatural ability instead of the other way around (The Flash, season 5, episode 6). One could argue, however, that that does not mean one is not compensating for the other. Instead, dissociative identity disorder could be seen as the unwanted consequence or sacrifice that Caitlin has to make for her life-saving supernatural abilities (The Flash, season 5, episode 6).
Roles and identities Social roles
All characters are shown to be in close friendships with others, especially members of their team or professional environment. Many of them also strongly involve their parents, dead or alive. Some are also in committed romantic relationships and use this support in their recovery or adjustment periods. Felicity accepts Oliver's positive influence: "How'd you get to be so strong? - I took my lead from you" (Arrow, season 4, episode 10).
Often, the partners' attitudes towards the disabilities are tied with a wish to be a saviour and cure their partner. This negatively influences the acceptance of a disability and reinforces
its role as a challenge to overcome (Arrow, season 4, episode 11; DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11).
Professional roles
Many characters take on highly educated and specialised roles in their professional lives, as doctors and researchers, lawyers or CEOs. It is also not uncommon for them to have employees or otherwise people who listen to their command, for example in Sara's case where she is responsible for her team as the captain (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 12). There are different strategies taken on in adjusting these professional roles to the circumstances of a newly acquired disability. Felicity, for example, has to find the confidence for her professional role in her role as a hero, which her colleague Curtis reveals to her:
"There's two Felicitys, Felicity. The one in that boardroom whose wheelchair makes her doubt herself and this Felicity, a brilliant force of nature. This company needs the second Felicity" (Arrow, season 4, episode 12).
Minority identities
Minority identities other than the disability are not often mentioned or shown. All characters are white and cisgender, however, most of them are women. Team member Mick's daughter, Lita, visits the ship and comments that "it's really cool that there's a woman in charge here" (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11), referencing Sara's role as captain. While Sara is newly blind in this interaction, this is not mentioned.
Sara is also shown in her relationship with a woman, her co-captain Ava Sharpe, which is essential both in her journey surrounding her disability and in her role as a hero (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episodes 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13). This means that she is in a two women relationship.
Disability identities
There are not many discussions of other disabilities than those shown or of identities surrounding disability, especially regarding its cultural aspects. To help Sara to accept her blindness and regain confidence in her ability as a hero however, her team member John points to the benefits she has compared to other disabled people: "I'm blind! - But you're not deaf!" (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, season 5, episode 11).
Conclusion and discussion
Main findings and conclusions
At this point, it is possible to interpret the results to answer the research question and its sub-questions to create a clear image of the representation of disability in disabled superheroes in post-television. The first sub-question, asking whether the supercrip narrative was present in the material, can be addressed through the characters' supernatural abilities as well as their roles as heroes. The abilities were always directly associated with their disability.
While not all characters heighten their performance or gain special skills after acquiring a disability, the supercrip narrative is clearly present, especially in the case of blindness. In a consideration, the existence of supernatural hyper-ability (Schalk, 2016) complicates an application of political directions to these fictional worlds. On the other hand, not all compensation was purely fictional.
Answering the second sub-question, how the portrayals are located in social and medical paradigms, is a more complex endeavor. It has become clear that both paradigms are present throughout the episodes and not all portrayals can be clearly assigned to one or another. In line with the social model, several characters point out injustices they face and at
the same time, they face psychological challenges, an aspect of the medical model, which is consistent with recent findings about the blurring of these lines in contemporary fictional entertainment media (Sweed, 2020). Since most characters do desire and acquire a medical cure and no explicitly social perspectives are portrayed, it appears that the medical model of disability still is significantly more dominant than the social one. Medical dimensions of disabilities and cures are, however, solely fictional and not directly applicable to our society.
The third sub-question, how disabled characters take on different roles that interact with each other and their disability identity, is almost as complex. Both roles and identities in general and the characters' roles as superheroes need to be considered. These results show characters take on many roles and identities each. They are heavily involved socially and in the series' heroism. While many highly skilled and professionally successful disabled people, mostly women, are shown, as well as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, there are no ethnic or religious minorities represented and that. While the richness of the characters in multiple contexts would not be expected based on previous results (Black & Pretes, 2007;
Safran, 1998), the current employment situations of disabled characters have the potential to be very impactful, even if only shown briefly. A non-disabled audience might drastically change their views on employed disabled people after seeing disabled characters who are capable in their professions (Reinhardt et al., 2014). Women have also historically been excluded from disability activism (Shakespeare, 2006). Overall, many previously uncommon roles are taken on and, through their interconnections, create three-dimensional characters who are well integrated and do not appear as other as in previous findings and contribute to overall diversity (Diamond & Poharec, 2017; Foss, 2014).
Final insights are gathered through the fourth sub-question about the representation of differences between disabilities, in this study blindness, paraplegia, and dissociative identity disorder. Blindness is viewed as the most impactful on life and in need of compensation. Its
effect on the everyday life of such characters is severely disabling. In instances of compensation, the characters' blindness is erased. Still, blindness is described as preferable over deafness. The paraplegic character frequently mentions accessibility issues and mourns the abilities she has lost. Meanwhile, she has adjusted very well and reached a level of mobility and confidence that means that she is not in any deficit compared to her non-disabled environment. Regarding dissociative identity disorder, which has historically been very stigmatised in media (Hyler, 1988), the results reveal a rather positive portrayal.
The adjustment leads to the characters' view of their disability as desirable. Ultimately, however, a cure is presented in a separation of the two, giving them their own separate bodies.
It seems as though the intent to do dissociative identity disorder justice in its portrayal itself was overcompensated and the creators, in their intent to validate disabled people and affirm alternate personalities as full persons, instead shared their impression that one does, indeed, need an own body to be a full human. The differences between specific disabilities appear to be echoing societal attitudes studied more than half a century ago in which blindness was seen as the most negatively impactful disability (Janicki, 1970). This does not seem to have changed over the last decades either, following Thomas' (2000) observation.
Combined, these results answer the primary research question on the representation of disability in disabled superheroes in post-television series. While some aspects have indeed changed from previous findings, others do not appear to be unique to post-television superhero series and instead repeat known patterns. Considering the prevalence of the supercrip narrative, the question "Are you even really blind?" (Kalteux & Blackburn, 2015) does seem justified.
Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and directions for future research
These findings are applicable in further contexts. Because a lot of aspects were consistently applicable from disability to disability and between mobility, sensual and mental disabilities (Tringo, 1970), the results might also be generalisable to other disabilities. They might move beyond disabled superheroes in superhero post-television entirely. On the one hand, the superhero genre is a very unique area. On the other hand, the variety in genres and series allows for the assumption that at least some aspects of this research will be applicable beyond its boundaries, for example to action, fantasy or science fiction series. Additionally, new and upcoming superhero television and post-television series as well as movies in this genre might follow similar patterns. New Disney+ post-television superhero series might include disabled characters, for example.
Due to recent developments surrounding superhero entertainment, especially the restrictions faced by movie theatres to prevent the spread of COVID 19, post-television is moving closer and closer to the centre of attention. In an article about Marvel's future, series situated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were declared as "the priority" (Kit & Couch, 2020), also because "[t]he movie machinery is well established" (Kit & Couch, 2020). This shift in foci strengthens connections between content even more and brings digital television and cinema closer together, potentially amplifying aspects of post-television further.
Due to the nature of a qualitative analysis (Merriam, 2009), these results may be taken as a basis for other quantitative studies and inform their research design. For example, future studies could include research into the effects that this particular type of superhero media has on its audience's attitudes towards disability. Through this, an understanding of the actual implications of these results could be gathered and more specific recommendations for future media content could be made. An example for such a study would be a content analysis of
social media reception of these series. One of the benefits of post-television is the fact that audience opinions are already publicly available and make up an important part of the consumption experience. An effects study would also confirm the transferability of these fictional disability attitudes to a real world without supernatural abilities and technological miracles. Additionally, repeating a similar analysis on the same topic in the future might show new developments and expand on the current results. Thematically, analysing disabled villains in the same kind of television series could provide a valuable counterpart. It is also important to consider that focusing on recurring characters, especially those aligned with the heroes, does not provide a full image of a series' representation of disability. In The Flash, for example, opposite Frost there is a villain with her exact disability and supernatural ability, Icicle, who is never redeemed. Instead, he is killed (Butler et al., 2019). In the material, there were also only characters who were not born into their disabilities, are surrounded by non-disabled peer groups and are largely not connected to a specific culture through their disability are included. Different circumstances might lead to different results in future research. Within a larger scope of research, potentially through a quantitative approach, all episodes of a series could have been coded and incidental representation (Müller et al., 2012) as well as portrayals of side characters with disabilities could have given a more insightful image of the views a series reproduces. Analyses might also benefit from focusing on one group of disabled people specifically and understanding their own cultural context and the language used to describe them or from altering the definition of disability in other ways (Grönvik, 2009).
Despite its limitations, this research can provide both consumers and producers of superhero post-television series with the concepts necessary to evaluate disabled characters and their portrayal. New directions, such as the inclusion of non-white disabled characters as well as of attitudes aligned more closely with the social model, could purposefully be taken.
In practice, characters could be more positive towards disability while acknowledging the challenges faced for it in society and the impact that other socioeconomic factors have on them. These might gather the interest of a new fragmented audience of people that do subscribe to the social model of disability or simply intent to educate themselves. There are also opportunities to include non-white disabled characters, for example Echo, who is a native American Deaf woman who has not been portrayed outside of comics before. This approach might, however, also come with a set of problems. When Matthews (2009) witnessed the discussion of topics such as relatability, diversity and the social model of disability in the production of content, he criticised this as a distraction from the actual intentions behind representation (Matthews, 2009).
Ultimately, superhero post-television has offered new directions for disability representation which were previously unheard of and will likely do so in the future as well.
To come back to the quote by Newnham, it is clear that these representations did add "stories and voices" (Campbell, 2020) outside of "tiresome tropes" (Campbell, 2020) by portraying strong disabled heroes and explicitly showing them be disabled in their heroism.
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