Psychosocial analysis of the representation of functional diversity on television as a media literacy strategy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2024.i65.02Keywords:
functional diversity, disability, social representation, television, educational innovation, tv seriesAbstract
Television is a powerful socializing agent that contributes to generating, perpetuating, or breaking down stereotypes towards minority and subalternized groups. Media representation of functional diversity is fundamental to maintaining stereotypes or providing positive referents that break archetypal representations. Platforms such as Netflix have increased their representation on and off screen, offering more complete and inclusive portrayals. This article presents the lessons learned from a teaching innovation practice based on media literacy in higher education. The aim of this study was to conduct a critical analysis of the presence and representation of diversity in popular streaming series from a psychosocial perspective. To this end, students enrolled in the Bachelor’s Degrees in Journalism and Psychology at the University of Seville were assigned a series popularized between the years 2020 and 2022. The series under analysis were: Breaking Bad, Glee, Community, POSE, Orange is the New Black, Sherlock, and Prison Break. Following an adaptation of the Zaptsi-Garrido Test (Zaptsi & Garrido, 2021 y Zaptsi et al., 2021), students viewed the series and performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the main characters. After the analysis, students shared the findings in a discussion session with the aim of raising awareness about media literacy in the digital age. The results indicate the presence of archetypes (e.g., the “villain” or the “victim”) and stigmatizing representations of individuals with functional diversity. In addition to discussing the results, some series produced and/or performed by individuals with functional diversity are included, thereby expanding the tools for future research and interventions on media education for inclusivity.
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