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Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}{{Needs Image}}
{{quote|''"I'm going to put you in a paralyzing diving accident so you can inspire people with watercolors you paint with your feet."''|'''Maria Bamford''' (with Irish accent reminiscent of [[Touched By an Angel|Roma Downey]])}}
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This trope comes in three flavors:
:A lot of the time, especially in the [[Sitcom]], the [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] person's reserves of strength are applied to doing some perfectly ordinary task such as competing in the school talent show, graduating, or going on a date. It's only elevated to the heights of heroism because the person doing it is "differently abled". In some cases, the character turns out to have a special talent or skill that no other character can beat, sometimes implicitly [[Cursed with Awesome|"making up" for the disability]], sometimes bordering on [[Disability Superpower]].
:Advocacy groups have spoken out against the practice, since it's [[Unfortunate Implications|more than a little patronizing]] to portray a handicapped person as heroic for doing something the rest of us do all the time - comparable to [[You Are a Credit to Your Race]]. That's one reason that this trope is a lot less common than it used to be, though a few shows that aren't afraid of a little [[Glurge]] still do it from time to time. It's also been noted that [[Oscar Bait|people seem to like to shower actors who portray these kind of characters with awards]], thus prompting more than a little cynicism about the motives of actors who take on these roles.▼
;Type B:
▲Advocacy groups have spoken out against the practice, since it's [[Unfortunate Implications|more than a little patronizing]] to portray a handicapped person as heroic for doing something the rest of us do all the time - comparable to [[You Are a Credit to Your Race]]. That's one reason that this trope is a lot less common than it used to be, though a few shows that aren't afraid of a little [[Glurge]] still do it from time to time. It's also been noted that [[Oscar Bait|people seem to like to shower actors who portray these kind of characters with awards]], thus prompting more than a little cynicism about the motives of actors who take on these roles.
:Disparagingly known as the "super-crip" by disabled people, these are characters with disabilities shown as going above and beyond the level of even non-disabled people despite or in spite of their disabilities. This [[The CSI Effect|has led to the belief]] that disabled people ''should'' be amazing and talented even by non-disabled standards. See [[Handicapped Badass]] and [[Disability Superpower]].▼
:This [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] person is of the Magical kind, with shades of [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]]. This flavor of [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] is there to be a good influence and teach the non-disabled lead, [[White Male Lead|who is often white and male]] (but with some exceptions), a Very Special Lesson. Quite often, the person who is Type C [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] is [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]].▼
▲Disparagingly known as the "super-crip" by disabled people, these are characters with disabilities shown as going above and beyond the level of even non-disabled people despite or in spite of their disabilities. This [[The CSI Effect|has led to the belief]] that disabled people ''should'' be amazing and talented even by non-disabled standards. See [[Handicapped Badass]] and [[Disability Superpower]].
▲This [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] person is of the Magical kind, with shades of [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]]. This flavor of [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] is there to be a good influence and teach the non-disabled lead, [[White Male Lead|who is often white and male]] (but with some exceptions), a Very Special Lesson. Quite often, the person who is Type C [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]] is [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]].
All types are seen as exploitative, with disabled characters often being little more than gimmicks to tug the heartstrings of able-bodied and able-minded viewers and make them feel "inspired" without actually challenging them to ''do'' anything about the systems that make life so difficult for the disabled in the first place. In addition, the trope is so well known that many people slap ANY handicapped character with the
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{{examples}}
==
* [[The DCU]] has this in the character of Barbara Gordon, Batgirl. She was crippled after an attack by the Joker, and instead of giving up her career as a superhero, she became the [[Badass Bookworm]] / [[Genius Cripple]] Oracle and did more good from a wheelchair and a computer than she ever could have done on the streets.
* From [[Marvel Comics]], there's [[Daredevil]] who has a [[Disability Superpower]]: he is blind but his other senses are heightened to a superhuman degree due to toxic waste. His mentor was a blind, old martial artist named Stick who seemed to do everything Daredevil can do... but he technically had no superpowers. [[Charles Atlas Superpower|He just trained himself that well.]]
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