Disability on Screen

Visibility, Gender and Narrative in Rai Productions (2015-2022). The Cases of Blanca and Dafne

Autori

Parole chiave:

Disability Media Studies, Feminist Disability Studies, Italian Television and Cinema, Rai Fiction and Cinema

Abstract

This article examines the representation of disability in contemporary Italian public service media, focusing on Rai productions between 2015 and 2022 within a media landscape reshaped by platformisation, regulatory reform, and evolving inclusion strategies. Developed within the framework of the research project WokeIt, the study addresses disability – particularly at its intersection with gender – as a key site for interrogating the relationship between visibility, narrative form, and institutional responsibility.

Drawing on feminist disability studies and Disability Media Studies, the article analyses two case studies: the prime-time television series Blanca (2021-) and Federico Bondi’s film Dafne (2019). Through close textual analysis, it explores how these works construct disabled female subjectivity, negotiate the politics of the gaze, and articulate different configurations of empowerment, humanisation, and relationality.

The article situates these representations within the broader tensions that shape public service broadcasting, examining how disability becomes a narrative and cultural terrain through which competing models of legitimacy, authenticity, and social responsibility are staged.

Biografie autore

Massimiliano Coviello , Link Campus University

Massimiliano Coviello is a film and media studies Associate Professor at the Link Campus University. His research agenda includes media languages, with a focus on narrative analysis and representation forms, particularly in film and television series. He was Associated Investigator of the project WokeIt. Investigating Representation, Inclusivity and Social Responsibility in Rai’s Fictional Audiovisual Productions (PRIN 2022 PNRR). Among his publications are the books: La rivincita dei falliti. Maschere e antieroi in Better Call Saul (Edizioni Estemporanee, Modena 2023), Comunità seriali. Mondi narrati ed esperienze mediali nelle serie televisive (Meltemi, Milano 2022), Sensibilità e potere. Il cinema di Pablo Larraín (with F. Zucconi, Pellegrini, Cosenza 2017).

Arianna Vergari, Link campus university

Arianna Vergari is a research and teaching fellow at the Link Campus University of Rome. She has worked on the PRIN 2020 project The Atlas of Italian ‘Giallo’, examining the representation of female characters in crime narratives, and on the PRIN 2022 project WokeIt: Investigating Representation, Inclusivity and Social Responsibility in Rai’s Fictional Audiovisual Productions (2015-2022), which focuses on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) issues in Italian public service media. Her research also addresses documentary cinema, particularly experimental and avant-garde forms. She is the author of Caleidoscopi urbani: Metamorfosi del city symphony film tra modernità e postmodernità (Mimesis, 2024). She is also a filmmaker and works in visual education in schools.

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Pubblicato

2026-06-30 — Aggiornato il 2026-07-01

Come citare

Coviello , M., & Vergari, A. (2026). Disability on Screen: Visibility, Gender and Narrative in Rai Productions (2015-2022). The Cases of Blanca and Dafne. Mediascapes Journal, 27(1), 218–240. Recuperato da https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/mediascapes/article/view/19404

Fascicolo

V. 27 N. 1 (2026): GEMINI-SCAPES. Detecting the Interplay between Serial Dramas, Gender Issues and European Young Audiences

Sezione

Saggi della sezione monografica

Licenza

Creative Commons License

TQuesto lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale.