Disability Representation: The Good, The Bad, and The Damaging
Glee’s Artie and Weaponizing Stereotypes
A one-dimensional character full of harmful stereotypes.
I’ve been complaining about disability representation in media a lot on here lately, so I wanted to start a series looking at individual disabled characters in television, movies, and theater. Each entry in Disability Representation: The Good, The Bad, and The Damaging will look at the character, their relationship with their disability, and how their disability plays into their story.
This entry will focus on a character that S.R. reminded me of recently: Artie Abrams from Glee. Portrayed by nondisabled actor Kevin McHale, Artie is not only an example of most harmful stereotypes in one character, but the writers use these stereotypes to get away with some pretty awful behavior.
Paralyzed in a car accident when he was eight, Artie has spent nearly half of his life in a wheelchair by the start of the series. There’s no “correct” way for a disabled person to view their disability, but many aspects of Artie’s journey with his disability just don’t feel authentic.
Nearly every storyline Artie has somehow revolves around him not wanting to be disabled. He wants to ride the same bus…
