History

What is meant by Collective Identity and what role do the media play in creating it? David Snow acknowledged the ‘sense of one-ness’ of which is created through the media when representing disability and those affected by it. This is in reference to the concept of collective identity, whereby there is a portrayal of connection between a group of individuals whom contrast others around them, hence the link to the medias portrayal of disability. However, whilst the media present a sense of collective identity they also try to normalise differences and promote integration. Arguably, the media portrays disability through a sense of ‘one-ness’ in order to highlight the struggles of disabled characters/ people in order to build empathy from the audience. In James Marsh’s ‘The Theory of Everything’ (2014), he reflects the way in which disability creates hardships for not only the disabled individual but also the ones around him, thus portraying the collective identity of disability; in r...