Bag of The Devil: The Disablement of Rob Titchener

Runswick-Cole, K. and Wood, R. (2017) Bag of The Devil: The Disablement of Rob Titchener. In: Courage, C. and Headlam, N. (eds.) Custard, Culverts and Cake: Academics on Life in The Archers. Emerald: Bingley, pp. 329-343. ISBN 9781787432864

Abstract

In this chapter, we consider how the character of Rob Titchener has been developed in The Archers, moving him from hero of the hour to villain of the piece. We draw on a critical disability studies’ perspective to argue that ability and disability have been crucial in turning the character of Rob from the desirable and attractive man who first arrived in the village into a national hate figure, despised by all. We begin this analysis by introducing critical disability studies and studies of ableism as fields of academic inquiry. We then draw on these resources to offer an analysis of the ways in which ability and disability were used as a narrative device to develop Rob’s character. We question the ways in which ability and disability are used to denote ‘good’ and ‘evil’ in the development of characters in cultural texts like The Archers, and end with a plea to scriptwriters to engage differently with dis/ability and to consider the impact of the stories we tell on the everyday lives of disabled people

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wood, Dr Rebecca
• Authors: Runswick-Cole, K., and Wood, R.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISBN: 9781787432864

Related URLs

• University of Glasgow Library Catalogue