Media portrayals of disability and relationships: an exploration of the self and the other

The present study aims to analyse portrayals of relationships of persons with disability in visual media. Media reinforces stereotypes attached with disabled people by portraying them as pitiable, non-sexual and incapable of being in a worthwhile relationship. It explores the understanding of self and other by analysing the relationships of those who have some form of disability, as projected in the visual media and see how the self evolves and changes in a romantic relationship. For a comprehensive understanding of media’s depiction of the disabled, two movies were selected, namely Sai Paranjpye’s Sparsh (1980) and Shonali Bose’s Margarita with a Straw (2014). While Sparsh narrates the story of a blind man and his falling in love with a singer and the ups and downs of their relationship because of his apprehension about the relationship’s fate given his disability, Margarita with a Straw traces the journey of a young girl with cerebral palsy embarking on self-discovery and searching for love and intimacy. The protagonists and their conception of self was studied in context of romantic relationships through the issues of sexuality, perception of society, personal inhibitions, companionship and foundation of relationships in the backdrop of disability. Media mirrors society but also creates a snapshot of accepted reality and perpetuates stereotypes. This study provides a critical appraisal of mainstream media in its ability to locate romantic relationships in the lives of disabled and examines the constructed images of self and other.