The Sociological Norm and Systematic Disempowerment

Abstract

Literature and films being the dominant forms of expressing reality, disability as an understated phenomenon in the daily lives naturally finds less attention in these very media. Disability though like other terms is unintentionally misused, it needs to be looked at through a new lens. This paper is an attempt to provide focus on the sociological aspects of the term and how non-observable differences disempower individuals. Any society develops certain norms and the subsequent expectation of fulfillment of these norms, the expectation which is enforced through psychological means divide the society into a binary. Study of literature and cinema helps us to identify the reaction by society and the treatment of such disabled individuals, which in the process of a character’s evolution through a narrative contains the potential to expose the society’s hypocritic nature and frail moral standards.