'The Undateables' // Negative Speculation on Special Needs
There is a whole market of dating shows. Take me Out, Blind Date you name it. But Channel 4 found a 'gap' in this market and decided to air a program about people with disabilities and learning difficulties finding love through certain agencies. It's a reasonable idea, however, I do have my arguments and reasons against it...
The program goes by the name of The Undateables. The name, itself, caused great amounts of controversy. No wonder. The name alone undermines and gives a negative speculation on those with special needs. Surely the marketing team could have come up with a more ethical title than that. Something like 'Dating with a Disability/Learning Difficulty'. If someone has certain problems, health issues, or anything that makes them different, that does not mean they aren't 'dateable'. There is an opportunity for love no matter who you are, it just a matter of finding someone who can see past these differences and whose heart is in the right place.
A participant of the first series, who was considered to be 'challenging' when finding a date, said "maybe it could have been a little more kind, a little more considerate" when asked what he thought about the title.
Now, before I go off on one at C4 for creating this documentary, I'd just like to clarify the few good points about it. Firstly, it is putting a message across to the general public that everybody deserves love, as said by the employees and match-makers at the dating agencies featured. It's also about time that we were shown the realities of living with a disability or learning difficulty, because there is hardly anything out there in the media that educates us on these issues. There is an incredibly global harsh stigma against people who have these kinds of problems, what with words like retard, mong and spastic being thrown around in everyday, colloquial conversations. These words were originally used as politically incorrect terms, referring to people with special needs (they still are politically incorrect). They are still, to this day, used if someone makes a mistake, says something slightly stupid and are even used directly to people with disabilities out of spite. However, I believe C4 could have created a more ethical program to portray these issues such as discrimination, finding love, and factual information about individuals with special needs. But instead, they created a program which violates the rights and speculates its participants in a negative manner. It can be argued that the title was meant to be offensive, because after all, offense leads to controversy, and controversy leads to ratings.
I feel this program is parading and exploiting the participants. I find it heart-warming that they are all going out to find a potential life partner, someone to fall in love with and there have been many success stories. However, love is a minefield and things don't always go to plan. There have been scenes of rejection that have left me outraged. The program is aimed at such a wide audience, and there are many narrow-minded people in this country because, as I've stated in previous points, the media haven't educated us enough on matters regarding equality and diversity, especially when it comes to disabilities and learning difficulties. As cruel as it sounds, some people come in and turn on the TV, flicking to Channel 4 and see this program as a freak show, laughing at the ideas of love some of the participants have, and laughing even more when the participants are rejected or don't get a second date. It's over-speculated and completely immoral. According to The Guardian, the television show received an audience of 2.7 million. I doubt very much that the participants see the things that are put on social media about their stories in the love department. We live in a cruel world, and because of the rise in the use of sites like Facebook and Twitter, which anyone can access, there are things like trolls and cyber-bullying that exist in modern society.
A prime example of how the show has over-speculated the lives of it's participants, causing social media to explode, is this video of a previous participant who had Asperger's syndrome, which is a severe case of autism.
His behavior wasn't 'thuggish', and he wasn't trying to act 'thuggish'. It was a case of his learning difficulty kicking in. A common sign of Asperger's is being blunt and not understanding the emotions of others. Many people will be telling me to 'lighten up', but this is what I mean by treating the people featured in this program as though they are acts and performers in a freak show. I understand that the show is trying to capture the realities of learning difficulties but by putting them in potentially embarrassing situations where they are made victims isn't right, and it can't be justified.
I do not, myself, have problems with the television show being aired, but I do have problems with the way it is put across to the public. It needs to show those with disabilities as equal, rather than social outcasts who 'struggle to find love'.
A comedian who blogs for The Huffington Post', named Lee Ridley, suffers from cerebral palsy and had a lot to say about the program. He firstly slammed C4 for the title, renaming it to how he interpreted it: "Would you Shag a Crip? There's Nothing Like a Good Freak Show to Improve Ratings". Ridley did not say this to shame the participants, but for the marketing administrators and producers of The Undateables. Ridley himself, also does not agree with how it had been advertised. He said:
Who could argue with this? The billboard adverts are atrocious. Imagine having a facial disfigurement or being in a wheel chair, smiling for a photo then having 'undateable' branded across the photograph?
I, myself feel as though C4 are trying to cover there tracks and are just trying to boost their ratings by invading the private lives of disabled individuals, despite their argument of the show highlighting 'society's preconceptions'. It's called a private life for a reason. Although consent forms would have been signed and the participants agreed to be featured on the show, it is still a stimulant for viewers, giving them ammunition to bully those who are featured in the program when they express their struggles for 'finding the one'. It's an opportunity for those who know nothing about disabilities to be entertained and make snide remarks.
Disabled people and those who have learning difficulties are not the first victims of Channel 4. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding was another program produced, which was said to have been a lesson in avoiding nuance.
The Undateables also features an overly patronizing voice-over, who makes scripted comments like 'first EVER date!!' and 'extraordinary singletons'. Those with disabilities and learning difficulties are not extraordinary, they are normal people living average lives but have special requirements to make things easier for them.
People with special needs get enough day-to-day grief because of the way they are. They haven't chosen to be disabled or having a learning difficult, why should we speculate them further to the point where people are pointing and laughing in the streets. The program gives an excuse and in some ways permits abuse of those who are different and seen as 'outcasts' because of this program. People may begin to think, because of the program 'hey, if it's ok for a television agency to sugar-coat disabilities and over-speculate them in a patronizing way, why can't I?'. These are people trying to lead normal lives, why should we interrupt that?
Let me know what you think of the program- does it promote equality or instigate bullying? Leave a comment below!
The program goes by the name of The Undateables. The name, itself, caused great amounts of controversy. No wonder. The name alone undermines and gives a negative speculation on those with special needs. Surely the marketing team could have come up with a more ethical title than that. Something like 'Dating with a Disability/Learning Difficulty'. If someone has certain problems, health issues, or anything that makes them different, that does not mean they aren't 'dateable'. There is an opportunity for love no matter who you are, it just a matter of finding someone who can see past these differences and whose heart is in the right place.
A participant of the first series, who was considered to be 'challenging' when finding a date, said "maybe it could have been a little more kind, a little more considerate" when asked what he thought about the title.
Now, before I go off on one at C4 for creating this documentary, I'd just like to clarify the few good points about it. Firstly, it is putting a message across to the general public that everybody deserves love, as said by the employees and match-makers at the dating agencies featured. It's also about time that we were shown the realities of living with a disability or learning difficulty, because there is hardly anything out there in the media that educates us on these issues. There is an incredibly global harsh stigma against people who have these kinds of problems, what with words like retard, mong and spastic being thrown around in everyday, colloquial conversations. These words were originally used as politically incorrect terms, referring to people with special needs (they still are politically incorrect). They are still, to this day, used if someone makes a mistake, says something slightly stupid and are even used directly to people with disabilities out of spite. However, I believe C4 could have created a more ethical program to portray these issues such as discrimination, finding love, and factual information about individuals with special needs. But instead, they created a program which violates the rights and speculates its participants in a negative manner. It can be argued that the title was meant to be offensive, because after all, offense leads to controversy, and controversy leads to ratings.
I feel this program is parading and exploiting the participants. I find it heart-warming that they are all going out to find a potential life partner, someone to fall in love with and there have been many success stories. However, love is a minefield and things don't always go to plan. There have been scenes of rejection that have left me outraged. The program is aimed at such a wide audience, and there are many narrow-minded people in this country because, as I've stated in previous points, the media haven't educated us enough on matters regarding equality and diversity, especially when it comes to disabilities and learning difficulties. As cruel as it sounds, some people come in and turn on the TV, flicking to Channel 4 and see this program as a freak show, laughing at the ideas of love some of the participants have, and laughing even more when the participants are rejected or don't get a second date. It's over-speculated and completely immoral. According to The Guardian, the television show received an audience of 2.7 million. I doubt very much that the participants see the things that are put on social media about their stories in the love department. We live in a cruel world, and because of the rise in the use of sites like Facebook and Twitter, which anyone can access, there are things like trolls and cyber-bullying that exist in modern society.
A prime example of how the show has over-speculated the lives of it's participants, causing social media to explode, is this video of a previous participant who had Asperger's syndrome, which is a severe case of autism.
His behavior wasn't 'thuggish', and he wasn't trying to act 'thuggish'. It was a case of his learning difficulty kicking in. A common sign of Asperger's is being blunt and not understanding the emotions of others. Many people will be telling me to 'lighten up', but this is what I mean by treating the people featured in this program as though they are acts and performers in a freak show. I understand that the show is trying to capture the realities of learning difficulties but by putting them in potentially embarrassing situations where they are made victims isn't right, and it can't be justified.
I do not, myself, have problems with the television show being aired, but I do have problems with the way it is put across to the public. It needs to show those with disabilities as equal, rather than social outcasts who 'struggle to find love'.
A comedian who blogs for The Huffington Post', named Lee Ridley, suffers from cerebral palsy and had a lot to say about the program. He firstly slammed C4 for the title, renaming it to how he interpreted it: "Would you Shag a Crip? There's Nothing Like a Good Freak Show to Improve Ratings". Ridley did not say this to shame the participants, but for the marketing administrators and producers of The Undateables. Ridley himself, also does not agree with how it had been advertised. He said:
"Channel 4 would undoubtedly say that this was to help encourage debate and things but I doubt a teenage disabled person would cope very well with being told they were undateable. How do you even start to respond to the inevitable question - Does that mean I'm undateable, Mummy? The title suggests that disabled people are still a fair target to be stared and laughed at. Of course, more people will see the billboards than watch the programme. So, even if the programme does display us disableds in a good light (which I doubt it will, it's better TV to show the bad side), the only thing most people will remember is the offensive advertising. And, if it's okay to be offensive to disabled people on billboards, then it's okay in the playground or in the pub too, right?"
Who could argue with this? The billboard adverts are atrocious. Imagine having a facial disfigurement or being in a wheel chair, smiling for a photo then having 'undateable' branded across the photograph?
I, myself feel as though C4 are trying to cover there tracks and are just trying to boost their ratings by invading the private lives of disabled individuals, despite their argument of the show highlighting 'society's preconceptions'. It's called a private life for a reason. Although consent forms would have been signed and the participants agreed to be featured on the show, it is still a stimulant for viewers, giving them ammunition to bully those who are featured in the program when they express their struggles for 'finding the one'. It's an opportunity for those who know nothing about disabilities to be entertained and make snide remarks.
Disabled people and those who have learning difficulties are not the first victims of Channel 4. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding was another program produced, which was said to have been a lesson in avoiding nuance.
The Undateables also features an overly patronizing voice-over, who makes scripted comments like 'first EVER date!!' and 'extraordinary singletons'. Those with disabilities and learning difficulties are not extraordinary, they are normal people living average lives but have special requirements to make things easier for them.
People with special needs get enough day-to-day grief because of the way they are. They haven't chosen to be disabled or having a learning difficult, why should we speculate them further to the point where people are pointing and laughing in the streets. The program gives an excuse and in some ways permits abuse of those who are different and seen as 'outcasts' because of this program. People may begin to think, because of the program 'hey, if it's ok for a television agency to sugar-coat disabilities and over-speculate them in a patronizing way, why can't I?'. These are people trying to lead normal lives, why should we interrupt that?
Let me know what you think of the program- does it promote equality or instigate bullying? Leave a comment below!
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