Catalogue Number
NMLH.2024.35
Object Name
DVD
Title
'Meet the Superhumans - London 2012 Paralympic Games'
Place
London, UK
People
Team GB (Olympics and Paralympics), Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jessica-Jane Applegate, Jonnie Peacock
Events
2012 London Olympics and Paralympics
Description
A DVD case with a picture of 6 Paralympic athletes, including Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds, Jessica-Jane Applegate, Jonnie Peacock and two male cyclists, all in Team GB outfits for their sports. The title 'Meet the Superhumans - London 2012 Paralympic Games' is above them in pink and white writing. The London 2012 logo is at the bottom.
The DVD records the highlights of the 2012 Paralympic games which took place in London, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The 'Meet the Superhumans' tagline for Channel 4's paralympic coverage was criticised by a number of disabled peoples' activist groups for being "inspiration porn" - a term used to describe portraying disabled people in ways to make non-disabled people feel better about their own lives. The idea of treating disability as a superpower, these activists argue, makes life more challenging for disabled people who can't break world records in sports, who's disabilities significantly limit their activities. Comparisons were also drawn between the 'superhuman' narrative for the athletes and the 'benefit scrounger' narratives used to attack non-Olympian disabled people in the media during the austerity era when the Olympics took place.
Team GB (which includes Northern Irish athletes, despite the name not including Northern Ireland) won a hundred and twenty medals, including thirty four gold, during the Paralympics, in sports ranging from archery to boccia and swimming.
Multimedia
