Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Difference between revisions
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;Type A:
:A lot of the time, especially in the [[Sitcom]], the
: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.
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;Type C:
:This
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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** ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' is almost an [[Inverted Trope|Inversion]], really. Forrest becomes so successful ''because'' he is <s>retarded</s> [[The Pollyanna|pure of heart]].
** ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' was spoofed by [[The Fast Show]], with a trailer for a fictional film about 'a cute disabled man'. It won an award for 'best portrayal of a disabled man by a fit and healthy young actor'.
* ''The Other Sister'' attempts to avoid this trope, but much like ''[[Shallow Hal]]'''s utter failure at being "fat positive", the movie falls short of showing a developmentally disabled girl's moving out of her parents house and falling in love as anything other than a [[Narm
** Not to mention most of the "humor" of watching the two lead's ''hilarious'' misunderstandings of the world around them. The movie could have been accurately labeled ''Retards Say the Darndest Things''.
* ''Mask'' succeeds in averting it. By the time the movie begins, Rocky's already been through all the struggles and is extremely capable of getting on with his life.
** There's no aversion. ''Mask'' is double-dipped in this trope. While Rocky may not 'suffer' from craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (AKA lionitis), the movie is all about how he's able to "get on with his life" ''is'' the inspiration to others, including other disabled people. Rocky could even be considered a version of [[Genius Cripple]], as he makes top honors in multiple subjects at his graduation. But even so, he does have depressive breakdown over it at one point. It's his courage and determination that makes him
** Also, Mask is a biographical film.
* ''[[Being There]]'' (and the [[Seemingly-Profound Fool]] character type in general) was actually an '''aversion''' of this, and now can be seen as a subversion of straight examples such as ''[[Forrest Gump]]''. Chance is mentally challenged and is forced out on the streets when the master of his household dies. He rises to great heights and inspires others - but not because of any of his own qualities. Instead, he happens to encounter powerful people who ''think'' he's extremely intelligent, and interpret his concrete statements as metaphors. He's a sweet fellow but has no great inner reserves of strength or wisdom.
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* Actors portraying mentally challenged characters who manage to live extraordinary lives as [[Oscar Bait]] forms a reoccurring theme in the movie ''[[Tropic Thunder]]''.
** ''Tropic Thunder'' also gave us a brutal parody in the form of the Film Within a Film, ''Simple Jack'', which Kirk Lazarus attributes the failure due to the fact that character is portrayed as too mentally retarded, citing ''[[I Am Sam]]'' as an example. Specifically, he states that Simple Jack and I Am Sam lack the Inspirational part of the trope, meaning that the performance [[Unfortunate Implications|is just plain uncomfortable to watch]].
* ''[[The Wizard (film)]]'' concerns a young, implicitly Autistic boy who turns out to have a talent for beating arcade games. The [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]] comes along when his older brother decides to use this skill to gain
* Speaking of Autism and Fred Savage, there's a little [[Narm|Glurge-heavy]] brain tulip from the mid-80's entitled ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' (reviewed [http://madnessmonster.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/boy-who-could-fly-review/ here], and it is about an Autistic boy who is so [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]] that he can... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|well...]]
* Even [[Biopic
* [[Bollywood]] uses this in their recent movies in order to [[Oscar Bait|win a Filmfare Award]]. Blind Michelle McNally (played by Rani Mukherjee) in 2005's ''Black'' and mentally-disabled Rohit (played by Hrithik Roshan) in 2003's ''Koi...Mil Gaya'' are examples. Naturally, they won.
* [[My Name Is Khan]] would like to have a word with you.
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* The Megan Adams (blind book editor) character from ''[[The Rockford Files]]''.
* One episode of ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' had Zack falling for a girl confined to a wheelchair, and part of the plot included the gang putting on a wheelchair basketball game as a fundraiser. The episode has a similar subversion to the ''[[South Park]]'' examples below, as the girl berates Zack for calling attention to her disability to the crowd after the game.
* ''[[7th Heaven]]'' featured a number of these. Laying the patronizing aspect on extra-thick, years later, in a [[Clip Show]] framed as Simon's art film, each of the characters appears in a montage. While other characters in the montage are identified with labels explaining their roles (Such as "fireman" or "teacher"), the
* Subverted with Jake on ''[[Becker]]'', who happens to be [[Twofer Token Minority|a blind black man]]. He's not treated as 'inspirationally disabled' by the show, and his blindness is often used for jokes, as well as being shown to be just as flawed and human as the others.
* [[Deconstructed Trope|Deconstructed]] in a first season episode of [[The Golden Girls]] with Rose's sister. She tries to be one of these, but [[Reality Ensues|reality]] gets in her way. Best shown in a scene where where Rose tries to get her a cane so she can make her way through the room without falling over the various stuff the girls have spread around for the garage sale they're throwing, but she insists that she'll be fine because she memorized the layout of the house. Cue Rose, Dorothy, and Blanche dashing back and forth moving things out of her way. She then has a [[Heroic BSOD]] after setting fire to the stove. [[Reconstructed Trope|Reconstructed]] in the end when she goes back to a school for the blind to learn how to take care of herself, gets a seeing-eye dog, and is even [[Rule of Funny|driving by herself]].
** [[The Golden Girls]] had several episodes where a disabled character appears, but none are never portrayed with this trope. In particular, Blanche dates two: a blind man, who she ends up pushing away after starting to fall for him, not because he's blind, but because she relies so heavily on her looks that she can't trust herself to keep the interest of a man who can't see her, and a man in a wheelchair, who ''appears''
* Tom from [[The Secret Life of the American Teenager]] is portrayed rather realistically as a young adult with Down Syndrome. Some of his family and friends will patronize him sometimes (which is, unfortunately the truth for many people with developmental disabilities) but they usually treat him just the same as anyone else. He gets in just as much trouble as his sister when he screws up, and gets equal praise when he does well.
* A favorite form of [[Stunt Casting]] on ''[[The Amazing Race]]'', but they usually work this angle so hard that these teams become Annoyingly Disadvantaged. Includes a woman with dwarfism (Charla, Seasons 5 and 11), a woman with one leg (Sarah, Season 10), a deaf man (Luke, Season 14), and a man with Asperger's syndrome (Zev, Season 15).
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* In ''[[Community]]'' episode [[Community/Recap/S1/E09 Debate 109|Debate 109]], their debate opponent from City College is Jimmy "Soulpatch" Simmons who is rather aggressive about using his handicap status to win debate arguments.
* An episode of [[Quantum Leap]] featured a young woman deafened as the result of a childhood accident. However, she had become a very talented dancer (she could map out the tune of the music by feeling the vibrations). Sam convinced her to audition for a dance troupe. Although she initially performed well, she was unable to understand that she was to improvise her own routine because she had been unable to read the instructor's lips (not knowing of her condition, the woman had turned away from her as she was speaking). Humiliated, she prepared to begin working for an escort service, only to have Sam show up and convince her and the dance troupe leader to give her another chance.
* A character on the show [[Guiding Light]], Abby (and the actress playing her) had been deaf from birth, but could read lips so well that other characters often forgot that she couldn't hear them. Aside from this, the character was given typical [[Soap Opera]] storylines, all of which never made her disability an
* [[Canada's Worst Driver]] had an Incorruptible in Season 7's Aaron. Subverted in that he was a genuinely terrible
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* [[Stephen Hawking]] is perhaps the most renowned Cosmologist alive today. Even after decades of Lou Gehrig's disease, he's still putting out both research papers and science popularizations for lay readers.
** Stephen has attributed his cognitive abilities in part to his disability. It was difficult or impossible for him to write down notes, so he by necessity had to memorize more than most students do. These mental gymnastics helped him be able to hold vastly complex theories in his head.
* Subverted in the case of [[Lon Chaney]]: ''he'' had no disabilities, but his parents were deaf. This forced him to use pantomime to communicate. Then he got into
* Jean Chretien, when running in the 1993 Federal election as leader of the Liberal Party, was hit with an inept Progressive Conservative Party [[Scare Campaign]] ad that apparently mocked him for his face's Bell's Palsy. Chretien in response instantly took advantage of the public revulsion to that ad to give the public speech he had been waiting to give about being a little guy who had struggled with a physical disability since childhood. The result: Chretien won the election and became Prime Minister and the PC's were smashed from holding 169 seats to 2.
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