All Things Weird and Wonderful: A Creative Exploration of Disability Representation

<p>My dissertation, <strong>All Things Weird and Wonderful: A Creative Exploration of Disability Representation,</strong> begins with a thorough review of the literature of disability representation in TV and film to set the stage for the one-hour supernatural drama pilot I wrote, which I also adapted into a complete Adult urban fantasy novel.</p> <p>Pitched as the supernatural drama version of Hulu’s <em>Only Murders in the Building</em> meets Netflix’s<em> Raising Dion,</em> <em>All Things Weird and Wonderful</em> is a one-hour supernatural drama about an asexual college freshman with cerebral palsy named Genevieve Ross, who has supernatural powers, and an Egyptian American college senior with PTSD named Patrick Nasser, who runs a podcast dedicated to supernatural phenomenon. When Genevieve witnesses a supernatural attack at a nightclub near campus, she turns to Patrick for help. Together they team up to try and solve the supernatural mysteries happening on and around their university campus.</p> <p><em>All Things Weird and Wonderful</em> explores what it is like to be disabled in an inaccessible and often ableist society tackling themes of ableism regarding both physical disability and mental health with a supernatural twist. There are very few supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy, or horror one-hour TV dramas with authentic disability representation as most authentic disability representation can be found in TV comedies, so this was written in hopes of being part of that change.</p> <p>Some of the major TV influences for this script and my writing in general include Nickelodeon’s <em>The Secret World of Alex Mack,</em> FOX’s <em>Tru Calling,</em> SyFy’s <em>Haven,</em> and Netflix’s <em>Raising Dion.</em> I have also adapted this script into an Adult urban fantasy novel, which I hope to begin querying in fall 2023 or winter 2024.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year

2023

Author dc:creator

• Ameen, Lara

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Scot Danforth
• Dr. Peter McLaren
• J. Mira Kopell

• TV drama pilot
• fantasy novel
• creative writing
• adaptation
• disability studies
• Disability and Equity in Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/68

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.chapman.edu:education_dissertations-1067