The author have some good points but ignores that some or many of the sci-fi universes he mentions have medical technology that seems to make wheelchairs unnecessary.
> The Mos Eisley cantina appears as interested in serving disabled patrons as it is in serving droids […]
I would guess that disabled people wouldn't live long on Tatooine in any case. A bar owner in what is literally a wretched hive of scum and villainy, probably has bigger issues than installing a wheelchair ramp.
But in all seriousness, in a lot of the examples where Ratcliff mentions wheelchair accessibility it just doesn't make any sense from a narrational perspective. In Star Wars the majority of ships are military in nature; it doesn't make tactical nor logistical sense for an army to facilitate wheelchair accessibility on a warship (anyone in a wheelchair would be a liability in emergencies).
The USS Enterprise (NCC 1701 D) was more of a science vessel by design then the pioneering USS Discovery (NCC 1031). The former might have facilitated a visiting scientist in a wheelchair, the latter wouldn't.
There is a point to be made that civilians with disabilities should be seen in civilian settings in a sci-fi universe, but it has to make sense in that setting. In most of the examples Ace Ratcliff provides there are excellent in-universe reasons for not having a wheelchair confined character show up (not least of all because of the presumed medical advances msh mentioned in this topic).
Certainly, but not as an active-duty officer of Starfleet. The Enterprise picked the invalid Pike up on a starbase in 'The Menagerie' for that specific story; Pike in a wheelchair suited the narrative.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 22.0 ms ] threadI would guess that disabled people wouldn't live long on Tatooine in any case. A bar owner in what is literally a wretched hive of scum and villainy, probably has bigger issues than installing a wheelchair ramp.
But in all seriousness, in a lot of the examples where Ratcliff mentions wheelchair accessibility it just doesn't make any sense from a narrational perspective. In Star Wars the majority of ships are military in nature; it doesn't make tactical nor logistical sense for an army to facilitate wheelchair accessibility on a warship (anyone in a wheelchair would be a liability in emergencies).
The USS Enterprise (NCC 1701 D) was more of a science vessel by design then the pioneering USS Discovery (NCC 1031). The former might have facilitated a visiting scientist in a wheelchair, the latter wouldn't.
There is a point to be made that civilians with disabilities should be seen in civilian settings in a sci-fi universe, but it has to make sense in that setting. In most of the examples Ace Ratcliff provides there are excellent in-universe reasons for not having a wheelchair confined character show up (not least of all because of the presumed medical advances msh mentioned in this topic).