When there is a movie with a disabled character non-disabled people often enjoy it because they don’t see the accuracies that are harmful to the disabled community that disabled people do. I love to watch movies with disabled characters because I love to see my community represented but unfortunately a vast majority of the time it’s poor representation which makes me even more annoyed and want to shut it off. I think that disabled people need to be movies because inclusion is important but when it is poor representation it makes disabled people face more discrimination and contributes to the problem. Most movies about disabled characters are complete garbage and I don’t see that changing until filmmakers start hiring disabled people or at the very least contact a disabled person. I don’t expect non-disabled filmmakers to be experts on disability, but I do think it is possible to improve movies with disabled characters while still keeping it engaging. How can we improve movies with disabled people? In this post, I am going to talk about a few easy things we can do that would improve movies with disabled characters.
Hire disabled actors– Most movies with disabled characters are played by non-disabled people and it is true that anyone can sit in a wheelchair and pretend to be disabled but no one can play a disabled part better than disabled people. The problem with a lot of movies with disabled people is that non-disabled people are playing parts that you should have hired a disabled person to do. Non-disabled people cannot act disabled better than an actual disabled person and often the challenges of a disability are exaggerated or ableist which contributed to the problem. I don’t think that non-disabled people should be playing disabled parts because if you have the funds to hire a non-disabled actor you can hire a disabled person and I think a lot of movies just don’t want to. Movies with disabled characters would be so much better if more filmmakers hired disabled actors because we are disabled and know how to act disabled. I think that filmmakers shouldn’t even consider non-disabled people for disabled parts because a lot of time they portray disabled people as inspirational which are terrible plot lines. Please start hiring disabled actors because non-disabled people cannot play disabled parts better than us! Disabled actors sometimes struggle to find work because filmmakers discriminate, and it shouldn’t be that hard because we are just as talented as non-disabled people.
Hire disabled writers– A vast majority of storylines with disabled characters are terrible because they either portray disabled people as inspirational, make us suicidal or are miraculously cured of an incurable disability. Non-disabled people sometimes think that these are good storylines but all of these plots are terrible because it portrays disabled people as unhappy and desperate for a cure. These storylines need to die and I think that the only way that will change is if filmmakers started hiring disabled writers that can come up with a good storyline. I think the main problem with a lot of movies with disabled characters is that they are written by non-disabled people who have no idea what they are talking about. Please start hiring disabled writers because movies will never improve if you continue to hire non-disabled people to write storylines about disability. Disabled people can write storylines about disability so much better than non-disabled people who have nothing to do with cures. We need more movies to show disabled people living well and you are not going to get that if you don’t hire disabled writers. Non-disabled people often struggle to come up with good storylines about disability because they don’t experience one and no one can do it better than disabled people.
Reach out to a disabled person online- If you don’t want to hire a disabled person, the least you could do is do a little research to make your movie a little bit better. There are so many blogs and YouTube channels run by disabled people that there really isn’t an excuse to not educate yourself and some people just don’t want to take the time. Do a Google search or watch a YouTube video and learn about the disability your movie is about, because lack of education is the problem with a lot of movies. Reach out to someone online who has a disability and ask questions because there are so many disability advocates online who will be more than willing to give feedback. I don’t expect non-disabled filmmakers to be disability experts, but the least you could do is reach out to someone who knows what they are talking about and try to make a movie that does not promote disability stigma because you never know who is watching and who will be influenced. Never underestimate the power of lived experiences!
When I see a movie come out about a disabled character, I always want to watch it but I will not watch a movie about a disabled character that is played by a non-disabled person, and you shouldn’t either. Disability in the media is often poor representation and contributes to disability stigma but that could change if filmmakers started hiring disabled actors and writers. Disability representation is important but if it’s poor representation it contributes to the problem, and nothing will change. Disabled people are able to write about disability better than non-disabled people while still entertaining viewers which might be a struggle for a non-disabled person. We need to stop doing storylines that portray all disabled people as inspirational because it’s ableist and not all disabled people are inspirational. I wish I could enjoy more movies with disabled people, but I never will as long as filmmakers continue to hire non-disabled people for disabled part. Movies with disabled people have gotten slightly better and I like to think people are starting to see the benefits of authentic disability representation but there is still so much work to be done. How do you think we can improve movies with disabled characters? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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