Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Representation of Disability in “Chrysanthemum Flowers” Using Laclau and Mouffe’s Discursive Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
batool rashidi 1
mohsen niazi 2
mina helali sotoodeh 3
1 M. A. in Social Sciences, faculty of literature and Human Sciences, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Social Sciences, faculty of literature and Human Sciences, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran
10.22034/jiscm.2024.407075.1534
Abstract
The present article tries to examine the representation of disability in the movie “Chrysanthemums Flowers” with the discourse approach of Laclau and Mouffe. Due to the fact that identity is developed via social interactions of the individual with others in the process of socialization, and since people with disabilities often find a ruined identity within society, this research’s approach to disability is influenced by Goffman's theory of social stigma, which is defined a socially constructed phenomenon as disability. The post-structuralist discourse analysis approach of Lacla and Mouffe has been applied as the research method. According to the findings, the dominant discourse in the film "Chrysanthemum Flowers" is the lack of limitations of the disabled person, which is articulated around the signifiers of acceptance, education, fatalism, agency, independence, and a positive image of the body. Along with this dominant discourse, a sub-discourse of empowerment has also been shaped. The film, centered on the main hub of agency and support, has marginalized passivity and social exclusion and has led to the dominance of the social model of disability
Keywords
Disability
Discourse Analysis
Representation
Film
Constructivism
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