The release of movies like Black Panther and Captain Marvel are steps forward in representation of marginalized populations in the blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, the portrayal of disability in the MCU is sorely lacking. Fortunately, when a narrative fails to satisfy, fans fill in the blanks and gaps. One example of such a disability-related fan following is online devotion to the prosthetic arm of the Winter Soldier from the Captain America movies.
Part of fan culture is the appropriation of a narrative into the personal lived experience of the fan, but in the case of the Winter Soldier’s prosthetic arm, fan response is also an appropriation of disability. Each medium of fan reaction has its own quality and means of representing people with disabilities. As a first example, fan fiction, a form of disabled narrative (that is, one commonly lacking in writing ability), converts the visuality of the Winter Soldier’s prosthesis into verbal references that can erase, emphasize, or distort that disability. Fan art is more contemplative, using tools like graphic medicine to explore prosthesis (and narrative) as a presentation, extension, and even replacement of identity. Lastly, cosplay involves an embodied simulation mass-producing customizable templates of (dis)ability through different media and different levels of skill and interaction.
This presentation will analyze fan devotion to the Winter Soldier’s prosthetic arm, examining specific types of fan expression and how they differ in representing disability. After a brief introduction discussing and comparing narrative appropriation versus cultural-disability appropriation, this presentation will detail specific fan media response types, starting with fan fiction, then fan art, and finally cosplay. A short conclusion will discuss how fan studies can contribute to disability studies.
About the presenterChris McGunnigle
I received my PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2016 and am currently a fulltime instructor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. My area of focus leans towards multi-media rhetoric and convergence culture, but my heart is always steered towards graphic narrative. As a scholar with a disability, I have become increasingly interested in the intersectionality of Disability Studies and other fields.