The Reinvention of Being Normal. Is American Horror Story's Use of Disabled Characters Integration or Just Appropriation of Disabilities?

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, University of Cologne, language: English, abstract: In movies and TV shows, the horror genre is mostly known as a genre that creates thrilling plots through abnormalities like monsters or socially unaccepted persons, whose behavior is horrifying. Through killing, psychological abuses, or disabled bodies, the main protagonists seem to be branded by their disability. This makes it hard for the disabled actors who portray these characters to be accepted and treated equal when it comes to movies, especially horror movies.

This paper focuses on the development of the use of disabilities in the show "American Horror Story" to analyze if this show sets a new example on how to present and integrate disabilities into the narrative of the horror genre.