![]() But to see it just through that perspective not only limits Keller’s significance in her story, but would permanently close the door to her numerous accomplishments. ” Is the movie problematic? Of course, it’s still told by abled, sighted, and hearing people. This brings me back to Keller and “ The Miracle Worker. It is only as more disabled people are writing about and starting to break the glass ceiling of Hollywood that we’re able to deconstruct the stereotypes and find the nuance in stories that maybe were dated for their time. ![]() ” Though it is sold as a feature to scare able-bodied audiences, to many disabled viewers it’s a sensitive and audacious examination of disabled exploitation, and coming out in the 1930s no less. It’s fascinating to remember that the movie with the most disabled people on-screen remains 1932’s horror feature “ Freaks. This isn’t unique to Helen Keller’s story, but goes all the way back to Charles Dickens’ “ A Christmas Carol ,” with Tiny Tim becoming synonymous with all things darling, pathetic, and disabled in equal measure. ![]() One of the more overt stereotypes perpetuated by the media, and one “ The Miracle Worker” plays to the hilt, is the idea that people with disabilities are inherently both pitiful and inspirational. Jackson feature wherein Jackson plays a man with brittle bones. Personally, it’s impossible for me to disclose my medical diagnosis without someone telling me “Oh, you have the ‘ Unbreakable’ disease,” citing the 2000 Bruce Willis/Samuel L. Yes, Duke’s performance is sensitive and ground-breaking, but it’s also reliant on a histrionic and uncomfortable pantomime of disability.īecause of this compartmentalization and the lack of disabled performers on-screen and disabled people behind the camera, it’s easy for stereotypes and misinformation to proliferate, aided by past on-screen portrayals. Yes, Helen Keller’s story is important and having a movie showcases her accomplishments, but it’s told through the lens of an able-bodied figure (that being Anne Bancroft’s Oscar-winning role as Annie Sullivan). Duke’s work as Keller encapsulates the “yes, but” mentality that disabled people approach when watching their stories unfold. There’s a compartmentalization that takes place when watching disabled narratives. 'Cowboy Bebop': Everything You Need to Know About the Live-Action Netflix AdaptationĮmmy Predictions 2021: Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series - Are More Surprises In Store? ”įilm Industry Screenings and Events Have a Disability Accommodation ProblemĪMC Theaters' New On-Screen Caption Policy Is Both a Strong Step Toward Inclusion and 'Smart Business Sense' Keller’s persona, for a majority of people, is presented through “ The Miracle Worker. Media is the main conduit for people, disabled and abled, to see both themselves and the lives of people different from them. Despite the fact that 1 in 4 people in the United States have some form of disability, they only make up about 3.1 percent of on-screen portrayals, which is actually a 10-year high according to GLAAD. It’s an image that has become ingrained in nearly all discussions of disability representation on-screen. Patty Duke’s Oscar nominated performance in 1962’s “ The Miracle Worker” wasn’t the first movie about a disabled person I saw, but it was the most ubiquitous. My earliest memories of Keller come from the place I’ve loved and chosen to cover for my career: the movie screen. ![]() Whether one is actually deaf or not, any perceived limitation causes someone to bring up the author and disability rights advocate, for good and ill. When you grow up disabled, the names of other disabled or Deaf icons are always running through your mind - Helen Keller being one of the mainstays.
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