I’ve been having a fascinating conversation this evening with @Richard_Amm about representation of disabled people in media. He contacted me because he’s developing a test for such representation akin to my Where Are the Women? test. During our chat it occurred to me that it might be useful and interesting to think about what positive representation of disability exists in movies (and TV, too).
What are some films with good representation of people with disabilities?
Honestly, it’s tough to think of many films that do a good job of this! Richard suggested Tod Browning’s controversial 1932 film Freaks (pictured), and I agree that that one is, at least, better than many others.
One TV character that comes to mind is Kerry Weaver on ER, who walked with a limp and used a crutch for support: her disability was far from the totality of what defined the character, and for a long time on the show, it was barely even mentioned. But on the downside, actor Laura Innes, who portrayed her, was not herself disabled.
Richard Amm here, Freaks was made in 1932 but still holds the record for the most disabled people in a film. What struck me about it was how thoroughly humanized the disabled characters were, you saw them experience community and connection and relationships and marriage and sex and births, their lives and wellbeing were valued and they were empowered to make choices. You got to know them as people. All of those things are incredibly rare to see in relation to disability in film today.
For me the highpoint of representation so far is in a recently made hour long BBC Drama called "When Barbara Met Alan" which is a love story which tells the tale of disability rights campaigners in the united kingdom in the 90s, when we secured the right to access public busses. Its not just good representation, its also filthy, funny, well paced and has an excellent soundtrack. Its thoroughly entertaining and engaging in its own right, which is hardly surprising considering it was made be Jack Thorne, who has worked on a range of very well known projects like Harry Potter, Shameless and His Dark Materials.
For a good overview of disability tropes I recommend the documentary "Code of the Freaks"
Please feel free to find me on twitter if you have questions. I am currently interviewing people who are experts on both media and disability as part of my MSc project to build a tool to improve how disability is portrayed in the media.
Richard Amm here, Freaks was made in 1932 but still holds the record for the most disabled people in a film. What struck me about it was how thoroughly humanized the disabled characters were, you saw them experience community and connection and relationships and marriage and sex and births, their lives and wellbeing were valued and they were empowered to make choices. You got to know them as people. All of those things are incredibly rare to see in relation to disability in film today.
For me the highpoint of representation so far is in a recently made hour long BBC Drama called "When Barbara Met Alan" which is a love story which tells the tale of disability rights campaigners in the united kingdom in the 90s, when we secured the right to access public busses. Its not just good representation, its also filthy, funny, well paced and has an excellent soundtrack. Its thoroughly entertaining and engaging in its own right, which is hardly surprising considering it was made be Jack Thorne, who has worked on a range of very well known projects like Harry Potter, Shameless and His Dark Materials.
For a good overview of disability tropes I recommend the documentary "Code of the Freaks"
Please feel free to find me on twitter if you have questions. I am currently interviewing people who are experts on both media and disability as part of my MSc project to build a tool to improve how disability is portrayed in the media.