People with Disabilities in the Media

written by 10301 Kim Geun Yeong 

Our lives are filled with so much information nowadays. The media is the most influential medium that can change the perception of the information positively or negatively. In a fierce content market, truthful content rather than provocative content seems to move people’s minds. Under these circumstances, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a drama starring a protagonist with an autism spectrum disorder, is drawing keen attention from people.

Perception Change of Autism

 Woo, the main character of the drama mentioned above, is on the autism spectrum. It is the story of Attorney Woo Young Woo getting a job at a law firm in Seoul. 

People’s interest in her autism spectrum has also increased, as the drama enjoys such great popularity, Netflix’s non-English-speaking TV series ranked number one globally. 

It is pointed out that the negative prejudice against autism can be eliminated through a drama featuring autistic people, but the gap with reality is too large. The drama addressed other characters on the autistic spectrum in episode 3 “This is Pengsoo.” 

Woo is a cute and harmless character and a talented lawyer. However, not all autistic disabled people are geniuses like her. Some point out that Woo rather instills prejudice against people with disabilities.

 In a YouTube video where parents who have autistic children watched and reviewed the drama. Random people expected their children to be geniuses, and when the parents said they were not, there were disappointed comments. By focusing only on the characters in the drama, which can be said to be the story of a very small number of autistic people, it can worsen the prejudice and influence on autistic people in the real world. 

 It is said that it is helpful in improving awareness of those on the autistic spectrum, but also has the possibility of harm. Woo has the ability to memorize. Viewers who only watched the drama may mistakenly think that all people with autism will be like Woo. It is pointed out that Woo’s excellence may become another prejudice and appear as a reverse discrimination effect on people with disability who pursue difficult careers such as law. Very few people on the autism spectrum have amazing abilities like her. There are even concerns that it will play a role in the unfairness of people with disabilities to get opportunities only when they are much better than others.

 By showing more of her ability and personality, not focusing on her weirdness. Through this experience, people can think about what disability is. In our society, some people see disability as an absolute criterion between normal and abnormal. However, if people widen the spectrum of strangeness, the criterion can disappears.

The Future of the Disability in the Media

 Extraordinary Attorney Woo  helped change the perception of disability, which was seen negatively in our society. The public sympathized with Woo and the view on disability changed. This change respected diversity and narrowed the cultural, social and mental gaps between the disabled and non-disabled, indicating the truth that our society has gone further in improving awareness. 

 Furthermore, it is necessary to move away from the idea that the disabled are passive objects. 

When dealing with disability-related stories in the media, it is necessary to break away from stereotypes and deliver positive messages. They should become a society where they proudly live together as members of this society. 

In our society, many of them live together, so we can̓t apply the same standard to them. One commonality is to treat them naturally, and ask before giving them help.

 The words we use and the way we describe people with disabilities are important. So we should describe disabled people in a respectful and balanced manner using accurate, neutral and objective language. 

 We shouldn’t use expressions like normal people or standard people. Some friends called their names, without disabled or help group. 

Ask if an individual is willing to disclose his or her disability. Don’t assume that disabled people are willing to disclose their disabilities. Some people prefer to disclose disabilities, such as including information about them in media articles, but others choose not to be publicly identified as disabled. 

 Autism spectrum does not have the same characteristics as the word “spectrum” suggests. If there are 100 disabled people, there are 100 other characteristics. It should be recognized that they all have different characteristics without focusing on one aspect. Only then will you be able to see it from a normal perspective, not a special perspective.