{"id":60,"date":"2014-03-13T22:54:31","date_gmt":"2014-03-14T05:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/?p=60"},"modified":"2014-03-13T22:54:31","modified_gmt":"2014-03-14T05:54:31","slug":"tlc-the-learning-channel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/2014\/03\/13\/tlc-the-learning-channel\/","title":{"rendered":"TLC: The “Learning” Channel"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently read Ryan Knighton\u2019s Cockeyed<\/i><\/a> \u2013 a memoir of blindness, for our ASTU class. This text as a life narrative allows audience to peer into the life of Knighton who shares his experience with us of him going blind. In our discussion of disability memoirs (such as Knighton\u2019s), G.T. Couser<\/a> enlightens how we can see this genre of literature compares to those of other marginalized communities (African American, aboriginal, women, LGBT etc.) (Couser 31-48)<\/a> . Moreover, how life narratives of marginalized groups have the potential to contest the social attitude but in most cases further reinforces the stigmatization.<\/p>\n

Couser\u2019s ideas became apparent when I was flipping through TV channels to find something to watch earlier today. As usual, I scrolled through the TV guide while listening to the elevator music to see if anything interested me. Of course when \u201cThe Learning Channel\u201d (TLC) title came up, I am curious to see what crazy show is on the air. Some series include \u201cHere Comes Honey Boo Boo\u201d, \u201cBreaking Amish\u201d an “My Five Wives” <\/a>(shows that I do not personally watch but their titles are intriguing enough). I recall when I was younger that I would watch certain documentaries on TLC such as \u201cHalf Man Half Tree\u201d<\/a> or \u201cAbby and Brittany\u201d<\/a> (the conjoined twins), stories of unique people with very special lives. Yet today, their featured shows and target audience have drastically changed throughout the years<\/a>. Now, the channel features predominantly ‘unique lives’ where the abnormal or atypical person(s) is under the limelight.<\/p>\n

I compare the shows featured on TLC to Couser\u2019s notion of how marginalized life narratives can hold the potential to influence social attitude. Couser analyzes a variety of disability life narratives to support his argument. Couser identifies the five rhetorics of disability memoir:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Triumph \u2013 Ideal model or \u201csuper crypt\u201d of disability<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gothic \u2013 revulsion, pity, disability needs to be corrected<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Spiritual Compensation \u2013 disability is \u201cGod Given\u201d<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nostalgia \u2013 focuses on the past, omits disabled body<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Emancipation \u2013 critiquing the social construct of disability<\/p>\n

Although we may not identify TLC\u2019s series as academic literature, we can see how some series can reflect or compare to some of Couser\u2019s rhetorics. For example of \u201cTriumph\u201d, Little Couple<\/a> features a dwarf couple who overcome their struggles as dwarfs. Dr. Jen Arnold is a dwarf, but she went through university and became a medical doctor, is married and in the process of adopting their second child. Not all individuals with dwarfism can strive to achieve what this extraordinary couple can (trying to live a normal life and achieve the nuclear family). In other words, by having \u201cthe little couple\u201d as the ideal model for dwarfs it may further divide of dwarf community by those who can <\/b>and can\u2019t <\/b>strive for success.<\/p>\n

An example of \u201cGothic\u201d, I look to \u201cMy 600lb life\u201d<\/a> in which different individuals who suffer from obesity are featured in a series of one-hour segments. We, the audience, see the hardships of such individuals in hopes of evoking empathy and support. However, this reaction may not always be the case. In fact, comparing Couser\u2019s work of gothic rhetorics with shows like \u201cMy 600lb life\u201d we can see parallels in which pity, revulsion and the disability of obesity \u201cneeds to be corrected\u201d. Moreover, series such as \u201cMy 600lb life\u201d may only further reinforce common attitudes towards obesity as an \u201cindividual problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

I chose to relate the different TLC series with our work with Couser and Cockeyed because of how they both bring marginalized life narrative discourse into light. Although the intent may differ between the different sites, we may still identify similar elements throughout. Moreover, how the use of publication and media exposes stories of marginalized groups such as Knighton\u2019s creation of Cockeyed for a literary audience, and TLC for public appeal. However we must realize the limitations in which the TLC series may attempt to \u201cnormalize\u201d the atypical individual by accessing the public\u2019s everyday life through TV. Yet, it seems as though series like the ones discussed, have and may continue to stigmatize and marginalize these groups of people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read Ryan Knighton\u2019s Cockeyed \u2013 a memoir of blindness, for our ASTU class. This text as a life narrative allows audience to peer into the life of Knighton who shares his experience with us of him going blind. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/lyee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}