THE FIRST-CENTURY OF DISABILITY PORTRAYAL IN FILM - AN ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE

Despite high visibility and its potential influence on public attitude s, disability portrayal in film has been only an occasional topic of s cholarly inquiry. This paper provides the first interdisciplinary revi ew of the literature by integrating resources from film history, the s ocial sciences, rehabilitation, mass communication, psychology, psychi atry, and education. Several topical areas are evaluated, including hi story, quantitative investigations, the quality of cinematic represent ations of disability, and the politics of film. Psychiatric disorders were found to be the most frequently depicted, with many stereotypic d epictions of a wide range of disabilities identified. Directions for f uture research, with recommendations for quantitative investigations a nd a call for additional interdisciplinary research, are discussed.