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This film follows the story of a widowed mother who works as a caretaker for a girl with spina bifida.  This is a really well-made movie overall, but it deals with a bunch of overlapping issues, from racism, to grief and loneliness.
'Justine,' the titular character, works on her own and grows in a relationship with Lisa. I think the film may cause some confusion on what spina bifida is (it's not an intellectual disability), but the film does a great job with it's story and characters so I can't knock it that much!

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With Netflix’s ‘Justine,’ Stephanie Turner Did It All, Including Making A Sweet, Small Film

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Stephanie Turner wrote, directed, produced and starred in “Justine,” an indie film about the relationship between a wheelchair-bound girl with spina bifida and her heartbroken caregiver. A novice director and producer, Turner relied on a connection with Ava DuVernay to get the project to Netflix.

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I watched a few episodes of this just to check it it. To be honest, it's not really my thing. While I appreciate the space where the show came from (his actual memoir is the basis of the show called: 'I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves'), but I find this show to be a bit over the line. The comedy is pretty racy/stupid (the main character falls down and gets hit by a car all in the first 10 minutes or so... then there's an abortion joke), but it does deal with the nature of intersectionality as the character is also gay.

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I love Kevin Hart, and I love Brian Cranston... they actually worked pretty well together!  This isn't a great movie, but I don't think it's as bad as the critics made it out to be.  Apparently it is based on a true story... though I'm sure certain liberties were taken along the way!

The portrayal of Cranston's character and his disability is a bit crass at times and abused for 'inspiration,' so the movie feels quite dated.

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I found this while researching kids TV shows that feature characters with disabilities. Firstly, I've seen statistics that claimed over half of the characters in kids' shows with disabilities are villains... not Pablo! Pablo has a really cute animation style, first of all, but the character himself is a young boy with autism. As I've mentioned with Sesame street, it's insanely powerful to increase visability of all minorities in children's programming- it pays off in spades!

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This show is incredibly cute (as far as dating shows go!).  I think there is something important about showing people with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities, with a love life.  I think this aspect helps to normalize these people and help foster empathy and understanding for them.  It's a dangerous line to walk, as it can come off (and straight up be) exploitative, but this show does a good job of explaining the disabilities of the people involved (there is both a narrator who does so, and the people with disabilities themselves explain their disabilities).  Clearly there is an audience for these types of shows- I'm just glad that the autism spectrum is becoming more well-known and understood by the general public.

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A new documentary series is taking an intimate look at the experiences of people with autism in the dating world.

Netflix is set to premiere a five-part series this month called “Love on the Spectrum” that follows seven young adults with the developmental disorder as they embark on dating for the first time.

“As well as help from their families, experts provide our love-seekers with practical skills to help them navigate what can be a confusing experience for anyone, giving them the confidence to begin their journey on the road to finding love,” Netflix said of the series.

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In addition to the singles, the show also features two existing couples, Ruth and Thomas who are engaged and Jimmy and Sharnae who have known each other for three years.

“Most people on the spectrum have the same desire for intimacy and companionship as the rest of the population, yet difficulties in social interaction and communication are a key feature of autism, which makes finding a partner an often daunting and difficult experience,” according to Netflix. “This uplifting and insightful series celebrates diversity and difference, with participants who are warm, funny and generously open. It sets out to teach us all lessons of love, romance, intimacy and acceptance.”

The series originally aired in Australia last fall.

“Love on the Spectrum” will be available starting July 22 on Netflix.

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A new documentary series is taking an intimate look at the experiences of people with autism in the dating world.

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Both of these famous people have a stutter and have been quite open about it. For Joe Biden, however, I think there has been a huge problem with how this has been portrayed in the public. Despite being very honest about it, there are still many conspiracy theories related to his mental health. People are often judged on their mental health b how they speak, and speech is not the only indicator of intelligence.

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This is a drug addiction/recovery podcast that was promoted on NPR a few years ago. Alcoholism and drug addiction are disabilities under ADA. This podcast starts with two very real people, but if you haven't listened to it I would suggest you start listening with episode 1. They start off pretty amateur, I'll warn you!

Many people have criticized this podcast for being too focused on debauchery, with little focus on recovery. I think that changes for obvious reasons as the show goes on. But also I think the show deals with drug addiction very honestly, and is a force for good within our culture.

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I imagine that this is on many people's lists!  Tyrion is a beast, and his body image is definitely confronted in the show, though his character expands far beyond that.

More importantly, dwarfism isn't always considered a disability, and many people in the dwarf community do not see themselves as disabled.  More on that here:  https://www.respectability.org/inclusion-toolkits/little-people-dwarfism/

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While I really enjoyed this film, I think there are some things that could have been done better.  The film follows the development of the first English language dictionary, and follows two characters played by Sean Penn and Mel Gibson.  Sean Penn represents the 'genius-crazy guy' trope, which is probably the most problematic aspect of the movie.  Still, it offers an alternative to institution for those with mental health issues, as it implies that it was working on the dictionary that kept Sean Penn's character alive.

The movie seems dated in that aspect- like something from maybe 15 years ago- Sean Penn's character is still fetishized as an 'insane genius', and not much is said as to the historicity of this story (I'm still unsure of how true most of it is!)

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Quite recently, Sesame Street introduced a new character- Julia. This character received some push back at first, but  I think she is a huge step in the right direction.  When children are exposed to different kinds of people, they grow up into more tolerant individuals- there are tons of studies showing this.  For autism to properly be normalized, characters like Julia need to be introduced and explained in a way that makes sense to the audience.  Sesame Street does this perfectly, and on top of explaining some typical autistic behavior, it presents strategies for friends and family to use to be polite towards their autistic friends.

https://www.npr.org/2017/03/20/520577117/julia-a-muppet-with-autism-joins-the-cast-of-sesame-street#:~:text=Sesame%20Street%20Introduces%20Julia%2C%20A%20Muppet%20With%20Autism,whose%20son%20is%20on%20the%20autism%20spectrum%2C%20too.

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Both of these shows I think did a good job of representing disability- from depression and mental illness, to the character of Flynn.  Flynn was such an awesome character because the actor himself is disabled in real life.  I think the writers did a great job of showing the day to day struggles of someone with cerebral palsy, while also making them more than just a stereotype, but a character with their own goals and progression.

Better Call Saul includes the character of Chuck McGill, who has some sort of mental health issue. I think this depiction is a little more problematic as this is your stereotypical 'genius/madman' trope with little else to aid it. Since this character's stated mental health issue is put into question, it sidesteps his real problem while promoting a culture of suspicion and victim blaming among those with mental health problems.

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While Marvel comics spans the part 60 years, there have been differing levels of representation over their span.  I actually think that even since their conception, marvel comics has been fairly progressive, from characters themselves like Black Panther to greater conceptual stories like X-men.  While there have been many issues, particularly with the depiction of women and the disfigured, I think overall comic books have been a source of positivity.

This article defends some of the marginal decisions Marvel has made in the representation of those with disabilities. However it is still critical of some of its ableist rewrites and decisions in the past. I think the main issue is the fetishization of disabilities, while not always depicting them with any reality in terms of the lived experience.

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UN Article and Stance on Disability in Media

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UN Article and Stance on Disability in Media

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While researching for this project I came upon this article, which is a run down on the UN's plans and hopes for promoting the visibility of those with disabilities.

With 15% of the world population having some sort of disability, the media has the responsibility of helping establish social norms and promoting a sense of equality.  I agree with this sentiment, and being critical of the media's role in this process is the purpose of this very project.

There are additional resources linked at the bottom of the article, but I found it interesting (and good, frankly) that the UN has materials on this.

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Disability and the Media | United Nations Enable

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Background Currently, there are approximately 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world, or 15 per cent of the global population. In both developed and developing countries, evidence suggests that persons with disabilities are disproportionately represented among the world's poor and tend to be poorer than their counterparts without disabilities.

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To be honest, I really hated this book!  The ending just drives me up the wall- and I don't even like romance stories!

I have to spoil it here, but it tells the story of a rich man who was in a car crash and is in a wheelchair as a paraplegic afterwards. The movie ends with Will voluntarily euthanizing himself. Not only is this the worst ending for a love story, but it is implying that disabled people live a lower quality of life. Voluntary euthanasia is a complicated topic, but during this course I've actually had the chance to read a bit about it- most disability rights groups oppose it in our current health care climate.

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Overall this was a great movie with a good message.  It tells the story of a young man with down syndrome who wants to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.

I think there is something a little problematic about having people with disabilities as the main appeal of a 'zany' or 'out-there' premise, but I actually think the material was handled very well. The movie highlights the fact that Zack was unsatisfied with his living conditions in some sort of institutional care facility, and was capable of not only having a dream but pursuing it. I think movies like this are important for promoting disabled people as full people with hopes, just like the rest of the non-disabled population.