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Disability Portrayal in Netflix’s “The Dragon Prince”
Growing up, I was a big fan of the Nickelodeon animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” As such, I was excited when I learned that the head writer of that show had a new series on Netflix called “The Dragon Prince.” It’s a high fantasy animated series that combines elements of “Game of Thrones” with the tone of Last Airbender. Yet beyond that, it does a great job portraying a character who’s deaf.
I binge-watched the first season over the weekend, and in episode four viewers are introduced to the character General Amaya. Amaya is first and foremost a high-ranking General in one of the human kingdoms, and she is also deaf. I really appreciated how the writers didn’t turn her deafness into a cheap plot device, and instead just made it one part of her identity. It’s rare that I see such an authentic and grounded portrayal of a disabled character, and as such I highly recommend this series. I wrote a column about it for next week.
Have you all seen any other good representations of disability in mainstream media recently? I’m always on the lookout for good examples.
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3 Replies
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I’ll have to check that out Kevin if I get Netflix again this winter. There’s a new character on Fear the Walking Dead that’s in a wheelchair. Best part is the actor himself is in a wheelchair. He’s been on several episodes, so might have some longevity. Great character too. Have even discussed some important disability related topics without it becoming the central focus of the show. On the last episode the character mentioned how he went to sign up for the military and pretty much just got laughed out of the office. I could see that happening in real life. You can get turned away for minor disabilities, heaven forbid someone in a wheelchair wanting to defend the country.
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That’s awesome. I haven’t watched Walking Dead in a while, and I only saw some of the first season of Fear. I used to review episodes pretty regularly for an entertainment site, but just kind of lost interest eventually. That’s good to hear though. I’ll check it out!
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Here’s my column today about this series: https://smanewstoday.com/2018/09/25/sma-netflix-the-dragon-prince-portrayal-of-disability-ideal/?amp. Let me know what you all think, and if you have any other recommendations.
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