Disability

According to a study in 1991, there are 10 different stereotypes that media use to portray disabled people, these are:
-Pathetic or Pitiable
-An object of curiosity or violence
-Sinister or evil
-The super cripple
-As atmosphere
-Laughable
-His/her own worst enemy
-A burden
-Non-sexual
-Unable to participate in daily life


Film has provided a been key for developments in language and social attitudes towards disability- including learning disabilities and mental illness, which endured a bad history of misrepresentation on screen. The 21st century has been a platform for the media to enhance the disabled in a good light, with most soap operas, and TV series including them, but not just as 'atmosphere'. For example in Coronation Street Izzy Armstrong, (played by Cherylee Houston) suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, using a wheel chair to get about,  she plays a main character with a child, and is respected by all of the other characters, going against many of the typical stereotypes. RJ Mitte is another example, playig a key part in the hit TV series 'Breaking Bad'. Mitte plays 'Walter Jr' and suffers from Cerebral palsy in real life as well as in the TV show, showing him to be very skilled, even though he has a disability.
However, it is not just disabled people that suffer from under representation; figures state that just 15% of women that feature on BBC 1, ITV 1, Sky 1, and Channel 4 were aged over 56, half (30%) of which actually make up the demographic, hinting that TV is verging on sexism. Also older people are often forgotten about and are considerably under represented with over 55s accounting for just 12% of lead roles in dramas.