When there is a movie with a disabled character, I always get excited because I love to see my community being represented in the media, but often it is not done right, and I am almost always disappointed. I love to support my community and watch movies with disabled characters, but unfortunately, a vast majority of the time, it’s poor representation, and disabled parts are played by non-disabled actors Disabled people need to be represented in the media because people need to see that disability is not scary, but when it is poor representation, it’s just as bad as no representation. Most movies about disabled characters portray all disabled people as inspirations and are complete garbage. Authentic representation is important because most people learn about a disability through TV shows they watch, and if you promote the wrong kinds of messages, people are going to believe things that aren’t true. The media plays a major role in disabled people facing so much discrimination, which is why we need to change the way disability is represented in the media. How can we improve movies with disabled people? In this post, I am going to talk about how we can improve movies with disabled characters.
Hire disabled actors– Disabled parts should be played by disabled people, but often they are played by non-disabled people. Non-disabled people cannot act disabled better than an actual disabled person, and there is so much ableism in movies because non-disabled people play disabled parts. Authentic representation in movies is important, and the only way you are going to get that is if you hire disabled people to play disabled parts. Filmmakers shouldn’t even consider non-disabled people for disabled parts because non-disabled people don’t know what it’s like to be disabled and often exaggerate how hard our lives are and portray all disabled people as inspirations. Please start hiring disabled actors because disabled people can make the challenges of a disability look more natural than a non-disabled person ever would be able to. 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. If you have the funds to hire a non-disabled actor then you can hire a disabled person!
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 they portray disabled people as unhappy and desperate for a cure. We need to stop making storylines like these and I think that the only way that will change is if filmmakers start hiring disabled writers. 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 and the plotline won’t have anything 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 aren’t disabled, and no one can do it better than disabled people. There are a lot of talented disabled writers, and movies would be so much better if filmmakers started hiring them.
Reach out to a disabled person online- If you don’t want to hire a disabled person for your movie, the least you could do is reach out to disabled people online to make sure you are representing our community correctly. 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 your lack of knowledge is hurting the disabled community and contributing to stigma. 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 you feedback. I don’t expect non-disabled filmmakers to be disability experts, but the least you could do is reach out to someone who is and try to make a movie that does not contribute to disability stigma. You never know who is watching your movie and is influenced by it and there is no excuse to not consult a disabled person to make your movie better.
When I see a movie come out about a disabled character, I always get excited 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 poorly represented and contributes to disability stigma, but that could change if filmmakers started hiring disabled actors and writers who know how to act disabled. Disability representation in the media is important because anyone can become disabled, and people need to see that being disabled is not the worst thing that will ever happen to you. Disabled people are able to write about disability better than non-disabled people because we live with a disability and know what it’s like. 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 parts. 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 a lot of 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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