Feeling Overcome

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 4 continues to chase down myths of meritocracy and the musical mystique across the stages of reality television competitions, which often feature disabled auditionees and their moving tales of overcoming adversity. Musical abilities in general and singing talents in particular are shown to normalize and humanize disabled contestants while once again silencing vital conversations about the exploitation, stigmatization, and corporate politics at work in these seductive narratives. One wrinkle is that critiques of “inspiration porn” are neither easy nor obvious: chronicles of overcoming can emotionally overcome consumers; heartwarming tales about disability can seemingly disable a beholder’s emotional, intellectual, and rhetorical faculties. As we either resist or succumb to the tearfulness induced by lovable stories and gorgeous songs, we must chart tricky routes through the heady skepticism of Scylla and the naive waterworks of Charybdis.