A Test To Estimate How Empowering a Work of Art is in Its Representation of Disability, or the Nagisa Furukawa Test

Currently, art is in a state of relative cultural flux as more cultural perspectives become recognized, driving the need to understand if a work is truly empowering. In particular, the Bechdel test is used to estimate how empowering a film can be with respect to gender representation (Romano 2013). A variant has been used to assess racial representation in films.  This test does not and cannot affirm how feminist a work is – it focuses on the presence of multiple female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. Naturally, this standard must be improved because it does not include whether female characters ought to play a driving force in the work. The Mako Mori test adds this additional layer by stipulating that at least one female character must be present and get her own narrative arc that is not about supporting a man’s story (Romano 2013). This way, the importance of the character to the plot is included. Neither of these tests, however, aim to establish framework for empowering representations of women. Their use does, however, highlight great disparities; not many movies truly pass either test. I would like to propose an analogous test that determines if a work of art contains empowering representations of disability.

One major limitation of the test is that the character may still fall prey to clear stereotypes of people with disabilities but still pass the test. It cannot rule out ableism for a work of art but does provide a means of assessing the presence of empowering representations of people with disabilities. This test cannot be used in place of an analysis of the work of art as a whole but it does provide a quick indication of respect towards those who have disabilities. Naturally, works of art that lack disabled characters altogether should be completely excluded from this test – evaluating such pieces of art with this test would be pointless and offer little insight into representations of ability. 

The proposed test, which I dub the Nagisa Furukawa test, is shown below:
1. At least one character with a disability, whether invisible or not,
2. Who is able to successfully overcome a limitation exacerbated by the character’s condition on his or her own
3. And plays a major role in the overarching narrative.

This test is intended to be used similarly to the Bechdel and Mako Mori tests but for disability. That also includes the limitations presented by both tests.

The first criteria of this test is modeled after the first criteria in the Mako Mori test. Disability can be defined in many ways, so the the Americans with Disabilities Act's definition or my own definition should be used. Most importantly, invisible disabilities should be included. Lucia and Shizuru from the visual novel Rewrite, for example, have not-immediately-apparent conditions. Only one character is called for because, quite frankly, enough works of art would fail this test as-is. Furthermore, disability can still be relatively uncommon, depending on condition. 

Though the third element of the test is important, its role is mainly to ensure substantial inclusion of the character with a disability. If the character only gets thirty seconds of screen time, does that count? I would reckon not. The second criteria is the most important criteria because it is where works of art tend to go wrong with portraying disability. Ableist notions and stereotypes often depict people with disabilities as stuck behind barriers. The strength of a human is not based off some fallacious physical standard. Rather, the capacity to overcome travails truly reflects strength. In this case, the ability to overcome travails exacerbated by one’s particular condition reflects strength. Evaluating the strength of a person who uses a wheelchair based on ability to walk, for example, would be ludicrous. So their strength is measured through more abstract means, which is reflected in the second criteria. Works of art tend to display societally-upheld messages such as these, so it is important to bear this result in mind.

Below are some works that pass the proposed test and some that fail the proposed test (but feature persons with disabilities).

Pass:
Frozen
Mawaru Penguindrum
Rewrite
Clannad: After Story
Nagi no Asukara

Fail:
Mulan
Buddy Complex
Hanamonogatari
The Little Mermaid
Rain Man

Works Cited

"The Mako Mori Test: 'Pacific Rim' Inspires a Bechdel test alternative." Romano, Aja. 18 Aug 2013. TheDailyDot. Web. Accessed 24 March 2013.