Session Information
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019
Session Title: General Rehabilitation Research Report & Practice Management and Leadership Case Report
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 2
Disclosures: Charles M. Taylor, II, MD, MSEE: Nothing to disclose
Objective: This study aims to better understand the use of disability and related equipment or devices, in relation to the good and evil characteristics of a representative sample in the Top 50 Heroes and Villains as determined by the American Film Institute.
Design: Systematic review
Setting: Tertiary hospital
Participants: Top 50 Heroes and 50 Villains as determined by the American Film Institute
Interventions: Not Applicable
Main Outcome Measures: Presence or absence of the following: Amputations, Orthosis, Prosthetic, Burn Scarring, Gait abnormality, Assistive Devices, Plegias, Speech Impairment, Limb Deformity.
Results: There were a significantly larger and more varied amount of the main outcome measures found in the Villains cohort vs the Heroes cohort. Additionally, the Villains cohort included a larger number of characters with the presence of multiple of the main outcome measures, a finding not seen in the Heroes cohort.
Conclusions: This study notes a significantly higher occurrence of disabilities and assistive devices in the Villains cohort, shining light on the fact that, at least in these examples, that there is a significant slant in our films towards villainy being associated with the disabilities, disfigurement and assistive devices.
Level of Evidence: Level II
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Taylor CM, Yang J. The Good, the Bad and the (dis)Abled: Portrayal of Disability in Movie Heroes and Villains [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-good-the-bad-and-the-disabled-portrayal-of-disability-in-movie-heroes-and-villains/. Accessed September 7, 2024.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-good-the-bad-and-the-disabled-portrayal-of-disability-in-movie-heroes-and-villains/