BAB: Disability Representation
Hi, In case you are new here, I write these here articles rather informally as a way to discuss the projects that I have available on my 'current projects' list as a bit of fun and insider details on writing and directing.
Mentions of: Glee, Glee, and more Glee, Beastly, The Good Doctor, The Big Bang Theory, Love on the spectrum, Scorpion, Friends.
In film and T.V., disability is often used as a joke, something to laugh at, or is seen as something you need to overcome — so that even the blind lawyer can train their ears to become sonars so he can see his surroundings or people that have terrible accidents and now need physiotherapy to one day be able to stand on their own, can go against the statistics and work hard and they can dance at prom (looking at you, Glee) or walking down the isle at their own wedding.
They are never just a person that happens to have a medical condition, they either have to overcome it, used as the butt of the joke, considered burdens to the other characters, or used to prop someone else up like when someone stands up for them, its considered star behaviour... why would a star jock stop the harassment of a wheelchair user unless he's the best person with the softest heart! (again, looking at you, Glee) and not just a normal person doing a decent thing.
Hollywood Disability Representation
It isn't only in the storytelling that this happens. In filmmaking there have been several projects in which an able-bodied person has taken then role from a disabled person. Looking back at 'Glee' (2009), one of the characters, 'Artie', uses a wheelchair and has no movement in his legs... This character is played by an able bodied person, why couldn't they have hired someone who actually needs a wheelchair?
The same with a film that I enjoy, 'Beastly' (2011) (which is a modern-day take on 'Beauty and the Beast'), Neil Patrick Harris plays the tutor for "the beast", the tutor happens to be blind so that he can't be scared away from the beast. NPH, in the behind the scenes, says he got contacts that completely blocked his vision so while filming and hitting his marks he couldn't see... In that case why couldn't they hire someone with actual visual impairment?
ADHd and autism in media
ADHD is seen as a joke in the media, it is given to the quirky comic relief character as a reason for their quirky-ness. The character stumbles over their own feet and their own words and fall into rooms and become a trope instead of someone with ADHD. We only ever see this trope in male characters, and we only ever see this version of ADHD on screen despite the fact that it presents differently in men and women, but I guess female presenting ADHD isn't as visually funny so we don't see it on screen, and the ADHD we do see is so invalidating and a mockery and so not a good representation either.
Moving on to Autism, it is always an autistic person like 'The Good Doctor' (2017) or Sheldon Cooper from 'The Big Bang Theory' (2007) than a high-functioning autistic... because that doesn't allow for an interesting or heart-warming story. They have to be these brilliant characters, usually men, with no understanding of how the world works outside of their special interest.
Not to mention the infantilisation of characters with Autism, you can give someone assistance without babying them. The fact that there are shows like 'Love on the spectrum' (2022) which is a reality show that follows people on the autism spectrum as they go on dates. Then people use sounds from the show of people telling each other how much they mean to one another and use it as audio for how they imagine their DOG would talk to them. Most (I say most because from what I remember 'Scorpion' (2014) was a rather decent show with good representation) media does not have good representation when it comes to invisible disabilities. Monica's cleanliness, 'Friends' (1994), is the butt of several jokes for example, along with several other pieces of media that made people think OCD was just a cleanliness disorder so now people say things like "I am so OCD because I like my books this way" which is incredibly damaging. Intrusive thoughts became a social media blunder, "I let my intrusive thoughts win! ;P"... If that was true you would be in jail ;P since intrusive thoughts are normally extremely dark and not actual thoughts that you would think hence the intrusive part, media misrepresentation of disabilities is so damaging but its considered a joke or used to boost the lead, or create a heart-warming story... so it's okay, right?
Blind at birth
In my T.V. show, 'Blind at Birth', I have three characters and all three are people with disabilities that work together to hunt creatures from Hindu mythology and save Manchester from evil.
The technologically savvy character of my show is Frank, a woman with mobility issues and so uses a wheelchair and a cane. Frank isn't in a wheelchair to create issues of how other characters manage while looking after someone in a wheelchair, Frank happens to use a wheelchair and we see how she manages while demon hunting. Due to the fact that she normally has to plan out her paths ahead of time, she is the one that comes up with the logistics of the plan, finding building plans online etc. Within the pilot, Frank splits from the group to go and do her own research because she is capable of managing on her own which is important to show, she has her own autonomy, Kathy sometimes offers to push Frank's chair while Frank is on the phone, but she always asks first.
Kathy isn't a carer for Frank or Abs, she is a friend that offers help if she sees her friend struggling and she receives that same help back. Kathy is AuDHD (autistic and ADHD) as well as suffering from PTSD and OCD, Frank and Abs work to calm her down and help her get through when she has been triggered, they also reassure her when she is having intrusive thoughts, they remind her to brush her teeth before they all leave or to take her medication since that is something she struggles with.
Abs has been been blind since she was just a baby, she has learned to adapt to the world around her but still struggles which is why she has a guide dog. None of the characters are in the story to care for Abs, we see her getting by on her own, walking to restaurants, even climbing into abandoned warehouses. She isn't someone that is babied and her being blind isn't something that she needs to train out of/ heighten her other senses like sonar (cough cough Daredevil).
As someone who isn't visually impaired and doesn't needs a wheelchair, I always walked into a scene thinking about how Frank and Abs would be in that moment, or how would a flatmate act, so there are times when Kathy or Frank enter Abs room and announce themselves, there are moments when there is physical banter and Abs can almost tell what is happening:
KATHY
We bring the truth to light.
FRANK
I still don't understand why we can't do it here.
KATHY
(To the sky)
Rakshasa, we understand why you are there. But stop, we are bringing the truth to light.
FRANK
I get it now.
ABS
(To Kathy)
Were you praying?
And another moment:
Kathy puts her hand in the middle of the table, and then lifts it up as though she has just done a hand's in huddle.
KATHY
And Break.
Frank shuts her laptop, while Abs shakes her head, raising her arm up too as if to have joined in. Kathy spots Abs raised hand and high fives her.
There are moments, like when Abs and Kathy go to visit Rudy, in which Kathy is holding Abs' hand and using that hand points to where Rudy is, saying "There's Rudy" before they walk over to him. It allows Abs to understand where they are going and who they will meet when they finally get there.
To be honest, there has been times when I would write Frank about to head out somewhere and think "On her own?" and then realise... Yes, because she is a grown woman with a 9-5. There has also been times when I've almost forgotten that Abs is blind and realised that she wouldn't actually be able to see the physical banter so I would have to change the scene slightly.
None of them are a burden to the others because they love each other, it isn't a relationship of convenience of "You help me, so I help you" its "You are my friend and you seem to be struggling more than what you are normally used to, I can help".
If you haven't had a chance to look at my T.V. show 'Blind at Birth', the link below will take you to a page to read a simplified version of the treatment and pitch deck, with character designs and the first few pages of the screenplay.
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