From The Witches to Lion King, portraying disabled people as villainous, scary is a media trope with real world consequences Harmful depictions of people with facial deformities, skin conditions, scars as evil have real life consequences for people with disabilities. Srinidhi Raghavan February 10, 2021 09:05:07 IST Anne Hathaway in a still from The Witches What is ‘normal’? In this monthly column, Srinidhi Raghavan explores the understanding of bodies-minds and navigating spaces as disabled, chronically ill and sick people. Read more from the series here.
It was in August 2020 when the news about the #NewTeacherChallenge on TikTok began to make the rounds. In this challenge, parents were introducing their children to their new teachers, supposedly on Face Time. However, instead of showing them photos of their teachers, they were showing their children a rough-looking mugshot or picture of someone making a silly face. But sometimes, the photo/video was of people with disabilities.