To win an Oscar play a disabled person! It seems a dead cert!
Don't get me wrong, I think Eddie Redmayne did a fantastic job playing Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything', and I think it's a big step forward to see disabled people being portrayed in film and television, at all.
There are just a few things that need pointing out though, in light of the win.
There is the question of able-bodied actors playing the role of disabled people. Surely there are enough disabled actors out there, who would be more than willing and able to do it? I would think so, anyway.
I also think it would give the roles extra credibility and give publicity to disabled actors. who are too often ignored. There is plenty of talent out there. It should be seen!
As a disabled person I often feel a mixture of anger, and unease, when I see an actor I know to be able bodied, playing a part.
No matter how 'real' and well done it is,- I'm aware that, they don't feel what we feel. No matter how much research is done, somehow it just doesn't feel right.
The thing is, we ARE disabled people, we LIVE it, and we can't just stop and leave it behind when the role ends!
Knowing that the actor can somehow takes away something, from my enjoyment of the performance, and sometimes, I feel hostile. It's all right for them! It's just a part. They can get up, and walk easily out of the studio and go back to 'normal' life.
We don't have the luxury of that. It is life for us! There is no escape when the cameras stop rolling!
We have to watch,non disabled actors get an Oscar, for portraying what we go through everyday.
They get endless recognition, 'Congratulations' for playing a role, that 'must be SO emotionally draining!'
If you think it must be draining to perform it, imagine what it's like, living it! It's hard and it's heartbreaking. It's a constant, endless struggle, to do the simplest of things. We didn't ask for our disabilities and illnesses. We didn't choose to play this role. We are stuck with it! It's our reality.
It is also difficult to see actors being applauded, and praised, and congratulated, when I know that
REAL LIFE disabled people are being victimised, suffering hate crime, being stripped of vital benefits, and dying as a result of government policy.
It seems hypocritical to congratulate an actor, for playing a disabled person,recognising how hard and draining it must be for them while making the lives of REAL disabled people, even harder, than they already are!
I feel the same about this as I did about the Paralympics, and the so called Paralympic legacy. The reaction is one thing for the 'stars' and the opposite, for the rest of us!
I think we all deserve, an Oscar!
#helenswriting
@Nelsims411 It's a superlative piece and, interestingly, I totally agree with your negative opinion of the 2012 London Paralympics—and not only because Atos was its sponsor—but for various other reasons. The Games helped to improve societal attitudes toward the disabled, but only briefly. The positive public perception of the disabled quickly soured; it could not survive the onslaught of media coverage associated with benefit claims and the welfare system. People with disabilities came under suspicion; the right-wing media regarded them as benefit cheats, skivers, and workshy. It's no wonder that in the space of a year Paralympic athletes went from heroes to zeros.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I've really strayed off topic and should have brought this article to your attention immediately: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lennard-davis/dont-apply-dont-accept-a-_b_1324731.html.