‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s
Disability representations are never divorced from their complex cultural and political contexts. This article argues that a culturally specific understanding of disability in the 1930s sheds new light on the superficially problematic disability representation in popular 1939 Hollywood melodrama, Da...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Tijdschrift voor Mediageschiedenis |
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| Online Access: | https://account.tmgonline.nl/index.php/up-j-tmgjmh/article/view/891 |
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| author | Anna Debinski |
| author_facet | Anna Debinski |
| author_sort | Anna Debinski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Disability representations are never divorced from their complex cultural and political contexts. This article argues that a culturally specific understanding of disability in the 1930s sheds new light on the superficially problematic disability representation in popular 1939 Hollywood melodrama, Dark Victory. While Bette Davis’ disabled heroine dies, perpetuating eugenic understandings of disabled people as unworthy of life, she also fosters a vision of disability as a valuable embodiment of interdependence. This echoes the increasing conflict around ‘normalcy’ evident in the period’s popular cultural material. Rejecting the ableist idealisation of independence, popular disabled figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Helen Keller instead modelled interdependent lives. Contextualising Dark Victory’s representation of disability and friendship through archival material reveals multifaceted understandings of disability across the 1930s and highlights the crucial role of historical research in unearthing the nuances of cinematic disability representations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c2320c06ffee40beb3bf02b263df9256 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2213-7653 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tijdschrift voor Mediageschiedenis |
| spelling | doaj-art-c2320c06ffee40beb3bf02b263df92562025-01-07T13:20:33ZengNetherlands Institute for Sound and VisionTijdschrift voor Mediageschiedenis2213-76532024-12-0127212510.18146/tmg.891752‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930sAnna Debinski0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7122-9468University of MelbourneDisability representations are never divorced from their complex cultural and political contexts. This article argues that a culturally specific understanding of disability in the 1930s sheds new light on the superficially problematic disability representation in popular 1939 Hollywood melodrama, Dark Victory. While Bette Davis’ disabled heroine dies, perpetuating eugenic understandings of disabled people as unworthy of life, she also fosters a vision of disability as a valuable embodiment of interdependence. This echoes the increasing conflict around ‘normalcy’ evident in the period’s popular cultural material. Rejecting the ableist idealisation of independence, popular disabled figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Helen Keller instead modelled interdependent lives. Contextualising Dark Victory’s representation of disability and friendship through archival material reveals multifaceted understandings of disability across the 1930s and highlights the crucial role of historical research in unearthing the nuances of cinematic disability representations.https://account.tmgonline.nl/index.php/up-j-tmgjmh/article/view/891disabilitycinemabette daviseugenicsinterdependenceethics of care |
| spellingShingle | Anna Debinski ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s Tijdschrift voor Mediageschiedenis disability cinema bette davis eugenics interdependence ethics of care |
| title | ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s |
| title_full | ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s |
| title_fullStr | ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s |
| title_short | ‘A Part of Some Other’s Experience’: <em>Dark Victory</em>, Interdependence, and the Limits of ‘Normalcy’ in the 1930s |
| title_sort | a part of some other s experience em dark victory em interdependence and the limits of normalcy in the 1930s |
| topic | disability cinema bette davis eugenics interdependence ethics of care |
| url | https://account.tmgonline.nl/index.php/up-j-tmgjmh/article/view/891 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annadebinski apartofsomeothersexperienceemdarkvictoryeminterdependenceandthelimitsofnormalcyinthe1930s |