On Disabled Bodies in Television

Characters of American Horror Story: Freak show

Even if you aren’t a big fan of television, you’ve probably heard of the critically acclaimed FX horror series American Horror Story. Since it’s premiere in 2011, the series has addressed various topics ranging from murder houses to witchcraft to slavery. In 2014, creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk dedicated the theme of their fourth season to freak show with the setting taking place in Jupiter, Florida in 1952. For a quick synopsis, the series follows Elsa Mars, a carnival leader who is trying to recruit more “freaks” for her carnival, one of the last surviving carnivals in America at the time. With the theme being freak show (you probably guessed it) brought along the subject of disability. The majority of the characters featured in the show have disabilities ranging from physical to behavioral and mental, and the antagonists of the show aim to kill and exploit the “freaks” by auctioning off their abnormal body parts.

As one who has been a faithful fan of American Horror Story since the beginning, I appreciate the fact that season four decided to incorporate reality into television. Some of the main actors of the show face physical disabilities in real life - Mat Fraser, who plays ‘Paul the Illustrated Seal’, has Phocomelia and Rose Siggins, who plays, ‘Legless Suzi’, had her legs amputated from sacral agenesis. The season addresses the issue that those who are seen as abnormal or deviate from the norm face some sort of oppression, whether it be violence, exploitation, or marginalization. It manages to address the cultural ignorance surrounding disability and disabled bodies. In addition, the show portrays that the disabled characters have built a sense of community within the carnival and have found comfortability with each other, and perhaps this is the most important aspect of the season. Throughout the season, the audience sees a push back from some of the disabled characters as they try to prove to their town that "...the ones you call monsters, we are the beautiful, heroic ones..." and reclaim the word 'freak'.

After all, the fourth season of American Horror Story serves as a counter example of what we see in the media about the portrayal of disabled bodies. Often, television and movie industries portray disabled characters as being in wheelchairs or having to use crutches as if no other type of disability exists. They are also usually the object of laughter or ridicule to the point where it becomes extremely dehumanizing and oppressive. Despite the fact that disabled characters are being incorporated now more than ever into television, they are still usually subjected to jokes that essentially nudge to viewers that one’s disability is a burden or a root to all of their problems. In addition, what often occurs in television is ‘cripface’, where creators of these television shows use non-disabled actors to play disabled roles. A prominent example of this is the character Artie Abrams from Glee, played by Kevin McHale.

It is clear that our society and media has an extremely long way to go in order to fully represent disabled persons, but American Horror Story is giving us a start by providing a spotlight for disabled actors and making an effort to break down the cultural ignorance surrounding disability.