On Disability…
“Have you ever tried to get somebody to listen to you when you’re disabled?” This is the opening line to a commercial from Binder and Binder Disabiity Lawyers. Television is actually chock full of commercials geared toward disability. Why? 1) The percentage of the population with disabilities has drastically increased. 2) The percentage of seniors in our population has greatly increased. 3) Having a disability is now considered “normal” or “acceptable, and is no longer something one need try to hide, and 4) Trying to get compensation for a disability even with the national laws in effect, is a struggle.
Reading the history of how people with disabilities were treated years gone by, we realize in watching television and movies that a great deal of progress has been made. We watch a character who is blind and works for the FBI on Covert Affairs. We see a disabled character in a wheelchair on Glee. Dr. House walks with a limp and uses a cane. A former medical show starred a character who was a doctor and used a crutch. Marlee Maitlin is deaf and has had a successful acting career. The movie “Battleship” gives us a character who was a war vet and had one leg. The portrayals in television shows and movies are endless and give recognition to fact that disability, in whatever form, is a fact of life and cannot be shoved into a corner or pushed under a rug.
I think because of this openness and acceptance , there is a prominence of commercials geared toward disabilities. We see the advertisements for scooters from the Scooter store, or the ads for motorized wheelchairs. Specialty magazines geared toward disability and aging offer articles and tips as well as countless doodads and gadgets that assist people in magnifying their vision, or helping button clothes or tie their shoes. Hundreds of online sites offer mobility, transfer, or lift devices, as well as online support groups for the disabled community. Lifeline and other emergency help services are offered by commercials on television and radio.
All of these are helpful and of benefit to a person in need of them. Most times, mass media is the only way a disabled person may know of things that are available as their disability limits their attempts to navigate the world.
Lastly, our veterans, disabled after serving our country, make up a large portion of our disabled community. The issues they suffer are a reality, and television and radio promos, commercials, documentaries, and even the news help us keep this in the forefront of our mind. They also offer information on ways of assistance for these men and women that may not have been known before.
On Aging…
To me, the older people have always had a degree of privacy that the younger generations don’t have. They never really divulged much openly about their health, desires, money situations, or lifestyles. It was never anyone’s business. However, now that I’m noticing, I see more television commercials addressing issues that were formerly personal and private to the older generation.
Personal memories of years gone by recall the commercial of an older person laid out on the floor pushing a lifeline number and moaning “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” I recall the commercial for “Clap on, Clap off” to turn the lights on and off depicting a Senior that either they didn’t have the strength to get up to turn the lights on or off, or simply couldn’t do it. I recall the hair dye Grecian Formula that took the gray away.
Now the commercials show Alex Trebec talking about life insurance, or Jaime Lee Curtis promoting Activia because it makes you regular. The Hair Club for men reverses baldness. There are even better hair dyes to get rid of the gray. If television and movie stars are using these products, they must be acceptable and they must work. A news blurb on Yahoo showed an 81 year old model walking the runway. Magazine ads now display beauty products catered to older women so that they will continue to maintain their youth. Infomercials offer products and services to allow one to remove 10 years from their life. A famous actress demonstrates the use of bladder control wear. One can join the internet dating scene “Our Time” just for the over 50 age group, and let’s not forget the countless times we see Cialis commercials.
Aging has become more acceptable. And the issues that come with it are, as well.
My Quest for Universal Access 