Stair lifts have enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame in film and television over the years. It’s exciting to see such an important mobility tool that brings utility to so many appear in pop culture. But, unfortunately, the exposure is a double-edged sword. On the one side, it’s great to show the general public how a stair chair lift can help someone get up and down the stairs; on the other side, many of the depictions of stair lifts play on negative stereotypes disrespectful toward people with disabilities. 

If it were up to us, Hollywood would always portray stair lifts more positively to show how they can help people in meaningful and life-changing ways — avoiding “cringe-worthy” scenes altogether. That said, it can be fun to see where stair lifts have shown up in pop culture. We’ve created a list of the top 10 stair lift appearances below, and even installed one of the stair lifts featured! 

Enjoy this look at stair lifts in movies and television. Then, we encourage you to consider how real-life stairway chairlifts help millions safely navigate the stairs. That’s why we’ve also included some of our favorite Arrow Lift stair lift reviews.

Some terms stick with us long after their original context is gone. Ever ask someone to “roll down” their car window? Many use the expression regularly, even though nearly all car manufacturers replaced hand-crank windows decades ago. The same concept can hold true for stair lifts. You may hear someone refer to a stair lift as a stairglide. The word stems from one of the original stair lift manufacturers, American Stair-Glide. Its name changed at the turn of the century when another company acquired the business. However, the term stairglide lives on!