Vision Quest: Echo Media Analysis

The media’s portrayal of things such as disability has an impact on the public perception of the matter at hand. In “The Softer Side,” an episode of the television show House, and “Vision Quest: Echo” from the comic book Moonshot, both of the protagonists have disabilities. How these characters handle and live with their disabilities is the main plot of each medium. Representation is extremely important for young people. Having someone that looks like them, or who has gone through the same things as them, is valuable to their development. This essay will discuss why it is integral for the media to portray fully developed characters who are not solely defined by their disability.
Michael Sheyahshe, author of Native Americans in Comic Books: …show more content…
Maya’s deafness went unnoticed for a while, but when it was discovered she was sent to a special school. Her father was always supportive with Maya and would take the time to answer her questions. Especially after she realized others heard sounds, she would ask what laugher, rainbows and sunshine sounded like. (7) Maya’s father takes her to the reservation where she meets the man referred to as “The Chief” who teaches her Indian Sign Language. Which was historically used as a means of communication when tribes did not share the same verbal language. (9) This is a link for Maya to her own people’s history and culture. Maya explains that the Chief spoke to her “through her eyes and through her mind. My heart. He spoke to me like firelight speaks to me. He spoke in pictures” (9). Maya started drawing as an early form of communication (3) but she became a storyteller through text and drawing not just because she is deaf but because she is really good at it. Maya is a very good model of representation she is not a victim of her disability. She is a developed character who recognizes her differences and it able to talk about them. She represents the opposite of what Sheyahshe grew up exposed to. She is not a stereotyped indigenous man, but rather a rounded, interesting young women who is not defined by her disability. The protagonist of the show House is visibly disabled, he walks with a limp and a cane.

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