6 - Media Representations of Sight

To analyze the media's portrayal of sight, I have provided the example of the character Toph from Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Toph
(Source: avatarthelastairbenderonline.com)

In the series, Toph is presented to us as a blind girl from a rich family who keeps her way from the outside world because of her disability. They smother her and keep her from leaving the house for fear that she will be put in danger outside their protection.

Toph, on the other hand, has learned to cope with her lack of sight utilizing the magic of this universe. As such, the series presents her as a character that has grown to overcome problems in life that would otherwise make her weak. 

To reinforce this point, Toph is an 'Earth-bender'. Each type of magic in the series has an immediate reflection in the actual world, and further a lifestyle. 

Air represents speed and a carefree attitude, Water represents fluidity and grace, Fire represents power and leadership, and Earth represents strength and determination. 

This is significant to Toph's portrayal in the series because of how it both stands in contrast to her direct appearance and serves to build up a deeper message of what the creaters are trying to convey with her character.

Strength is presented as a core component of the character, her outfits designed to show her as a force to be reckoned with despite her stature.
Source: images3.wikia.nocookie.net

That message is apparent to the viewer - disabilities can be overcome, prejudice about others based on their disabilities is often misplaced, and strength of the individual comes from the inside.

These are important values for all viewers of the show to be reminded of, but we can view the entire situation slightly more generically. Toph's lack of vision represents the many obstacles that we all face throughout our lifetime, and her strength represents will to overcome.

The viewer is reminding of Toph's blindness  in scenes such as this where she fails to look directly at the character that she is speaking to
Source: avatarthelastairbenderonline.com

In this particular media, we are presented with challenges and advances of human will. Many other sources of media will present a different meaning with sight, but often sight is considered the most heavily relied on sense of mankind, and as such we can identify with the difficulties involved in the loss of it. Media uses this loss to represent many different things, but it is frequently used in this way - to show an obstacles that the individual must overcome.