This chapter uses the South Korean television drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) (henceforth referred to as Woo)” as a framework to investigate how people with disabilities are portrayed in conventional media, including television and films. To do this, two approaches were employed: a discourse analysis of the pertinent articles, which was based on cultural pluralism and provided an extra means of deciphering the meaning of the portrayal of disability, and a narrative analysis that concentrated on how disability was portrayed in the drama. The outcome demonstrates that, in contrast to earlier depictions, Woo does not portray a disabled individual who is dependent on her family. Instead, it shows the disabled character as an independent person who can function in both the social and professional arenas of a sizable law firm. Furthermore, the drama presents a variety of perspectives on the stereotype of people with disabilities. Also, the drama created a foundation for enhancing discrimination against and understanding of social minorities, including women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and LGBT individuals. Lastly, Woo was represented herself as a self-advocate person, which was a departure from previous media settings that defined people with disabilities as “subalterns” whose voices belonged to others. Consequently, this chapter will help to give readers a thorough understanding of how the media portrays people with disabilities negatively and how to change that depiction over time.

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The Change of Representation of Disability in Contemporary Mass Media

  • Mi Sook Park

摘要

This chapter uses the South Korean television drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) (henceforth referred to as Woo)” as a framework to investigate how people with disabilities are portrayed in conventional media, including television and films. To do this, two approaches were employed: a discourse analysis of the pertinent articles, which was based on cultural pluralism and provided an extra means of deciphering the meaning of the portrayal of disability, and a narrative analysis that concentrated on how disability was portrayed in the drama. The outcome demonstrates that, in contrast to earlier depictions, Woo does not portray a disabled individual who is dependent on her family. Instead, it shows the disabled character as an independent person who can function in both the social and professional arenas of a sizable law firm. Furthermore, the drama presents a variety of perspectives on the stereotype of people with disabilities. Also, the drama created a foundation for enhancing discrimination against and understanding of social minorities, including women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and LGBT individuals. Lastly, Woo was represented herself as a self-advocate person, which was a departure from previous media settings that defined people with disabilities as “subalterns” whose voices belonged to others. Consequently, this chapter will help to give readers a thorough understanding of how the media portrays people with disabilities negatively and how to change that depiction over time.