The Fictionality of a Performing Body/a Performed Body: Performance by Disabled People on the NHK TV Program Baribara

Abstract

The NHK TV program Baribara, which is concerned with the welfare of disabled people, has been broadcast since 2012. This program is significant in that it is critical of social stereotypes of the disabled and their general representation in the media. More importantly, this program uses the form of the “variety show,” supported by elements of laughter, to express this critical stance. In particular, there is the “SHOW-1 Grand Prix,” a comedy performance featuring disability and impairment played by disabled people, which is provocative because the performance includes two aspects of “laughter” and “performing,” raising the issue of the social position of the body of disabled people from a different angle. The purpose of this paper is to clarify how the framework of fiction/real defines both the body and disability by analyzing the performance from the viewpoint of fictionality.