Translating Stereotypes: The Semiotics of Disability Representation in Cinema

Authors

  • Dr. Divya Shah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24113/smji.v13i9.11606

Abstract

Indira Karamcheti posits that all acts of representation are perforce acts of translation from being to saying, experience to memory, presence to absence (Karamcheti, 185). Like translation, representation also is a twice-written discourse that transforms the original by supplementation. Unlike linguistic translation, it does not deface, displace, and replace but supplements it. To elaborate more specifically in the context of this paper, it can be said that representation is a kind of translation of identities, cultures; ideologies, etc. which are portrayed and constructed in cultural narratives such as literature, cinema, and other media. Thus, representation here does not involve just reflection but construction, negotiation and dissemination through narrative structure. Additionally, media narratives are shaped by the cultural, social, and historical contexts in which they are created.

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Author Biography

Dr. Divya Shah

Assistant Professor

School of Liberal Arts

Kaushalya -The Skill University

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

References

Barnes, Colin. (1992) Disabling Imagery and the Media. Halifax: The British Council of Organizations of Disabled People.

Berns, Ute. (2006). Shakespeare’s Richard III and the Cultural Stereotype of Disability. Disability & Society, 21 (5), 521-531.

Ghai, Anita. (2002). Disability in the Indian Cultural Context. Psychology and Developing Societies, 14 (2), 243-255.

Gibson, Jessica. (2018). Why a Disfigured or Disabled Screen Villain is an Idea that Needs to Die. Journal of Media Criticism, 12 (3), 45-60.

Jha, Martand. (2016). The History of India’s Disability Rights Movement. Economic and Political Weekly. 51 (33), 78-85.

Karamcheti, Indira. (2000). Translation as Representation in Cinema. Journal of Cultural Studies, 7 (1) 185.

Quayson, Ato. (2007). Aesthetic Nervousness: Disability and the Crisis of Representation. Columbia: UP.

Sutherland, A. T. (1981). Disabled We Stand. Souvenir Press.

Films Mentioned:

Dosti. Directed by Satyen Bose, 1964.

Kashish. Directed by Mohammad Sadiq, 1980.

Sparsh. Directed by Sai Paranjpye, 1980.

Koshish. Directed by Gulzar, 1972.

Koi Mil Gaya. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, 2003.

Black. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2005.

Iqbal. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, 2005.

Krrish. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, 2006.

Tom, Dick, and Harry. Directed by Deepak Tijori, 2006.

Pyare Mohan. Directed by Indra Kumar, 2006.

Omkara. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, 2006.

Taare Zameen Par. Directed by Aamir Khan, 2007

Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Directed by Priyadarshan, 2007

Guzarish. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2010.

Barfi. Directed by Anurag Basu, 2012.

Krrish 3. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, 2013.

Haider. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, 2014.

Margarita with a Straw. Directed by Shonali Bose, 2014.

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Published

29-09-2025

How to Cite

Shah, D. D. (2025). Translating Stereotypes: The Semiotics of Disability Representation in Cinema. SMART MOVES JOURNAL IJELLH, 13(9), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.24113/smji.v13i9.11606