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Some of the less offensive representations of disability on film (21 titles)

by: Lisa from London

Average rating: 3.67   73.4% from 3 members


Friday The 13th - Part 2

On the one hand you could argue that this is a negative depiction of people with an intellectual impairment because Jason (who is learning disabled) kills people. On the other hand, this film contains my favourite depiction of a wheelchair user that I've ever seen in a film - a character that is fully inegrated into his social group, a sexual being, and someone that meets the same fate as his non-disabled friends.
  • Friday The 13th - Part 2
  • Friday The 13th - Part 2 on DVD (1981)
    Starring: Adrienne King,  Amy Steel,  John Furey
    Director: Steve Miner
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Operating under the assumption that the site near a particularly gruesome series of mass murders is the perfect place to open a summer camp for unsuspecting children, a fresh batch of teenage camp counselors return to the ill-fated Camp Crystal Lake five years after its most recent atrocities. ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 58% from 2,431 members

50 First Dates

Would most people consider Drew Barrymore's character in this film as disabled? Even though she's had a severe head injury which has caused her a lifelong impairment? Or do they simply see Drew falling in love with Adam Sandler?
  • 50 First Dates
  • 50 First Dates on DVD (2004)
    Starring: Adam Sandler,  Drew Barrymore,  Rob Schneider
    Director: Peter Segal
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    3-Disc comedy box set featuring the films, HITCH, JERRY MAGUIRE and 50 FIRST DATES.HITCH - Desperately trying to win the affections of a society girl, Albert Brennaman calls in the services of Hitch, New York's premier dating doctor. Meanwhile, gossip columnist Sara Melas begins work to reveal more ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 67% from 60,367 members

The Ringer

When watching this film you have to pay attention to the positive plot, and ignore the fact that of the 6 lead characters with a learning disability, only 2 of them are played by disabled people... the other 4 are non-disabled actors "Spazzing up". If you can get past that "do as I say, not as I do" aspect of the film, you'll discover it's actually quite good.

Akeelah And The Bee

Blink and you'll miss the wheelchair user in this film - yet their presence makes a strong point. Usually in movies disabled people are either the villain, depicted as unusally brave or depicted as a burden. The wheelchair user in this film has only one line - spelling a word in the national spelling bee contest... proving that disabled people can be just part of life, their presence doesn't need to be a big deal. We need to see more disabled people in roles like this on the big screen.
  • Akeelah And The Bee
  • Akeelah And The Bee on DVD (2006)
    Starring: Angela Bassett,  Laurence Fishburne,  Keke Palmer
    Director: Doug Atchison
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Following in the fine tradition of inspiring inner-city underdog tales like STAND AND DELIVER, and TAKE THE LEAD, Doug Atchison's AKEELAH AND THE BEE is a story of overcoming odds that never descends into empty formula. The narrative centers around the character of Akeelah (Keke Palmer, in a star-..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 1,438 member

The Station Agent

Freaks

A lot of disabled charcters in film tend to be helpless victims. So it's refreshing to see a collection of characters with assorted impairments who are both physically and emotionally strong (and played by disabled actors to boot). Verges onto voyeuristic occasionally quite obviously to answer stupid questions in the audience's minds like "how does someone with no hands/arms light a cigarette?" But on the whole fairly positive, and certainly contains plenty of evidence that disabled people can be independent, and not just victims.
  • Freaks
  • Freaks on DVD (1932)
    Starring: Wallace Ford,  Olga Baclanova,  Leila Hyams
    Director: Tod Browning
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    When released theatrically in 1932, FREAKS was met with near universal disgust by critics and audiences alike, lasting in theatres for only a short time in the states and banned in England. The film stars Harry Earles as Hans, a suave midget who belongs to the sideshow of a seedy circus and who ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 73% from 733 members

West Wing, The - Complete Season 6

We've known the president has MS since season 1, but it's in this season that for the first time he has a significant attack. Unable to walk the president simply gets in a wheelchair and gets on with his job, without the melodrama usually displayed on TV. The one thing I didn't get though - when his doctor tells him he needs to lie down for most of the day so he's not spending all his energy on simply sitting up, him and his team all just decide this means he needs to stay in bed in his hotel room and can't attend any meetings. Was I the only person watching that thought "Why don't you just lay down on a sofa in the meetings you need to go to?"

Show Me Love

A realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a wheelchair user at school - no-one wants to be your friend because you're "different", so you wind up spending time with the other "outcasts" even if you have little or nothing in common.

CSI - Crime Scene Investigation - Season 1

I'm obsessed with CSI. It's a fantastically entertaining TV show in it's own right, but for me the icing on the cake is Doc Robbins. I can't recall ever before seeing a TV show with a disabled character who was just a regular person and their impairment wasn't the only thing about them written into the story. In fact having seen all 7 seasons I can only recall Robbins mentioning his impairment once ("Before I lost my legs..."). As if the character isn't perfect enough, he's played by a disabled actor - Robert David Hall. I can't think of any instances of a mobility impaired actor playing a starring role in a TV show before.

CSI - Crime Scene Investigation - Season 2




Average rating for this collection: Average rating: 3.67   73.4% from 3 members

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