Representing Male Disability in Colombian Audiovisual Media: The Masking of Social and Political Intersections in Los informantes

This article examines the discursive construction of male disability in Los informantes, a national Colombian TV show. By combining critical discourse analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, and queer linguistics with (critical) disability studies and crip theory, it examines three TV reports that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Latin American research review 2022-12, Vol.57 (4), p.867-886
Main Authors: Leon, David L. Garcia, Leon, Javier E. Garcia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial limbs
Critical discourse analysis
Critical theory
Developing countries
Disability
Disability studies
Discourse analysis
Discourse strategies
Down syndrome
Guerrilla forces
Imagery
Intersectionality theory
Latin American cultural groups
LDCs
LGBTQ linguistics
Linguistics
Males
Masking
Mass media
Mass media criticism
Men's studies
Migrants
Multimodality
Neoliberalism
People with disabilities
Physical disabilities
Political aspects
Political discourse
Political factors
Profitability
Prostheses
Prosthesis
Sexuality
Social aspects
Sociopolitical factors
Television
Television programs
Violence
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Description
Summary:This article examines the discursive construction of male disability in Los informantes, a national Colombian TV show. By combining critical discourse analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, and queer linguistics with (critical) disability studies and crip theory, it examines three TV reports that narrate the lives of a physically disabled Venezuelan migrant, a young Colombian with Down syndrome, and a physically disabled Colombian living in Great Britain. The analysis shows that Los informantes relies on inspirational and individualistic imagery that conceals the role of the neoliberal state in debilitating the lives of these men. By using a set of linguistic, visual, and discursive strategies (the supercrip figure, narrative prosthesis, and inclusionist profitability, among others), the reports mask the social and political aspects of disability. This study contributes to understanding the intersection between language, dis/ability, sexuality, and media in Latin America and questions dominant discursive constructions on disability.
ISSN:1542-4278
0023-8791
1542-4278
DOI:10.1017/lar.2022.62