How Filmmakers Get Disability Wrong

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Disability is one of the most under-represented communities in the media, and even when disabled characters are represented in TV shows, it is often poor representation because a vast majority of the time, non-disabled people play disabled parts. As a disabled person, I love it when movies include disabled people in their shows, but I will not watch a movie about a disabled character that is played by a non-disabled person. Disabled parts should be played by disabled people, and I refuse to give any movie money that promotes nothing other than inspiration. The media is ableist and often contributes to disability stigma because disabled people aren’t consulted when making movies. Most people learn about disabilities from TV shows they watch, and when you do it wrong, it greatly influences people’s opinions on disability. Non-disabled people often will enjoy movies with disabled characters, but unless that movie is played by a disabled person, I will not watch it because I see problematic things that non-disabled people completely miss, and it annoys me. What do filmmakers get wrong about disability? In this post, I am going to talk about common storylines that I often see in movies that the media gets wrong.

Your doctor can cure you if they are smart enough- When I see a movie where there is a super smart doctor that cures an incurable disability, I immediately shut it off because these storylines are terrible, and harmful that I can’t even watch five minutes of it. It would be nice if a disabled person could go to the doctor and be cured, but that is not reality, and when we promote these types of storylines, it contributes to disability stigma. Non-disabled people often will tell a disabled person how they can cure themselves, and I think that the media plays a major role in people thinking that we can just cure ourselves. We need to stop making storylines that promote the idea that your doctor can just go into the lab and mix up a few potions and cure an incurable disability. It implies disabled people can’t live well and need to be fixed, which is ableist. Please stop making movies with cures as the plot line because it puts the idea in people’s heads that you can cure an incurable disability if you go to a smarter doctor. You can create an entertaining movie about disability without cures, and I think we need to be making more movies where no one is cured, because a vast majority of people will never be cured from their disability and have to learn how to cope with their disability. Some disabled people don’t even want a cure, and it can be harmful to put the idea in people’s heads that all disabled people are desperate for cures because it’s simply not true. Non-disabled people think we need cures, and disabled people do not always want them.

All disabled people are depressed– It is hard to be disabled in a world designed for non-disabled people, and some people do struggle with anxiety or depression. Some disabled people struggle with depression, but not everyone does, and we don’t sit in our homes all day waiting to be cured. I may move a little differently than non-disabled people, but my disability isn’t what triggers my depression, and it’s the lack of accessibility and the ableist comments that non-disabled people say to me that make me feel shame for being disabled. I hate it when movies portray all disabled people as angry and depressed because some disabled people are very happy with their lives. You can be happy while being disabled, and I would love it if more movies showed disabled people living happily with their disabilities.

Caregivers bow down to disabled people- I have seen a couple of movies where disabled people are angry and treat their caregivers horribly, and their caregivers bow down to them and do whatever they want. If you became disabled, coping would be hard because you would have to re-learn how to do the most basic tasks and may struggle with depression. I don’t know a single disabled person who becomes so angry that they mistreat their caregivers, and their caregivers take the abuse. Disabled people are appreciative of their caregivers, and even if we are struggling with accepting our disabilities, we don’t take it out on our caregivers and start giving them demands, and they actually listen to us. It would be nice if I could start giving people demands and get whatever I want, but that is not a reality, and if I started treating people horribly, I would never get help with things I couldn’t do independently. Disabled people sometimes get frustrated with their disabilities, but a vast majority of people are not hostile toward their caregivers, and we treat them with respect.

Disabled people are a burden to their caregivers- It is hard to care for a disabled person because disabled people have more health challenges than non-disabled people, and it is more expensive to be disabled. Families sometimes struggle with financially supporting a disabled person because medical supplies that disabled people need to survive cost thousands of dollars and is not always covered by insurance. I hate it when movies portray disabled people as a burden to their caregivers because my disability isn’t the burden, and it’s the lack of accessibility and ableism that is the real burden. Disability is not your fault, and disabled people are not burdens to their caregivers. These types of storylines are harmful because it makes disabled people feel like they are the problem.

When a disabled person overcomes their disabilities- Most disabilities are lifelong, and disabled people will never overcome their disabilities but have to learn to cope with them. These types of storylines are nothing other than inspiration that makes people feel good. Storylines that portray all disabled people as inspirations are ableist because being disabled doesn’t make you an inspiration, but actions do.

Disabled people are sometimes included in movies, but a vast majority of the time, it’s poor representation because disabled characters are not played by actual disabled people, and it’s not authentic. Filmmakers sometimes try to be inclusive, but you are not helping break disability stigma if you don’t consult disabled people and are contributing to the problem. I understand that most movies are for entertainment purposes, but you can do that without promoting disability stereotypes. Filmmakers need to be consulting disabled people when making a movie about a disabled character because poor representation is just as bad as no representation, and I would rather people not talk about my disability than spread misinformation. These are only a couple of storylines that are often seen in movies, but it is not a complete list because every time I turn around, there is another bad movie with a different horrible storyline. I am one disabled person, and this is my opinion on what I think filmmakers get wrong, but I do not speak for all disabled people, and people with different disabilities may have different opinions. What do you think filmmakers get wrong about disability? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.

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