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

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). Combining close textual analysis with selective attention to production contexts and patterns of circulation and reception, 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.