A Hollywood blockbuster about a quadriplegic man is causing controversy within the disabled community.
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Representation is perhaps one of the most valuable, important facets of society–whether man is speaking in modern terms or in the era of Martin Luther King, Jr. It can often be loud and strong with just one idea or movement, as we’ve seen with marriage rights and now with gun control. It has long been the voice and backbone of entire demographics and nations. Yet, it’s still such a worthwhile but difficult thing to fight for.
So if representation is an actual tangible entity, how can it be that it’s so hard that mankind can’t seem to get a hold on it? Why are still fighting to attain something that should be considered a basic human right? Is representation that radical of an idea that it’s foreign to man’s ears–or are we just not listening closely enough?
When talk of disability gets thrown into this mix, the conversation almost becomes verbatim. Not because it’s “old” or pure rhetoric, but rather because it shows the scale of the ever-present, ever-growing need for equality. It’s a need for equality that’s just as vital to someone who uses a wheelchair as it is to someone who doesn’t–and according to a recent article published by Upworthy.com, a popular Hollywood summer blockbuster is missing the mark.
Me Before You, a film about Will, a quadriplegic man who coincidentally falls in love with his caretaker, named Louisa. The drama is based off of the critically-acclaimed book of the same name and both main characters are played by able-bodied actors (Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin), which originally sparked a great deal of controversy. The trailer for the movie, as shown above, depicts a compelling, almost perfect love story–the parts the filmmakers want you to see and ultimately believe.
However, film critics as well as moviegoers and disability advocates are saying the film delivers some harmful messages about disabled individuals and the type of lives they lead. Moreover, they’re claiming these messages paint a distorted, inaccurate representation of the disabled community.
One of the scenes that’s being put under fire is a scene in which Will seeks someone to help him commit his own suicide, in light of his circumstances. He takes a strange comfort in believing that he’s better off being buried underground than being alive and crippled. His parents stop him at this point, and he agrees to wait a short period of time so he can attempt to get help.
There are other scenes in the film with this same dark tone, but Upworthy.com contributors Parker Molloy and Thom Dunn deem this one especially disturbing. Along with their analysis of such scenes, they include various posts and tweets from disability advocates across social media with the hashtag #AskSam as part of a live chat on Twitter with Claflin, held last month.
One said, “Why do you think it was important to uphold the lie that disabled people can’t have intimate relations?”
Another said, “Is assisted suicide for a disabled man really the “right end” [for the movie?] “This makes me sick.”
National disability rights advocate, coordinator and blogger Kim Sauder addressed the controversy surrounding the movie at The Huffington Post. She writes:
[“It’s] a film about disability and assisted suicide which is troubling enough, but is made worse by the fact that it uses a non-disabled actor in the role of a quadriplegic. The non-disabled media heavily over-represents disability discourses that fit into ableist stereotypes, which makes it harder for the viewer to differentiate between the feelings of individuals and the experiences and feelings of all disabled people.”
The fact that Claflin is not disabled caused even more controversy, leading able-bodied viewers to feel left out. However, it angered the disabled community to the point where they, too, took to social media to express their disapproval, saying thins such as “I #LiveBoldly by being a caring friend and a loving partner. I have compassion, I have love, I have worth, I have value. I’m disabled.”
I can understand why so many people are angry about this–and I guess the journalistic side of me comes into play. I can see where having an able-bodied actor playing a character with a disability would get under some people’s skin–because it sort of gets under mine. In contrast to this, I can also understand why some might argue, “Well, Eddie Redmayne played Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything–and Redmayne himself isn’t disabled.” That’s a valid point, but the man he played lived to tell his story, and is still telling it today.
With everything that’s happening in the world right now, it would seem that negativity is ruling with an iron fist. It would seem that we don’t need yet another reminder–but if we are to be reminded again, let the reminder carry a strong enough message to spark change.
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Photo Credit: entertainment.ie
Since Claflin’s character becomes disabled through an accident that takes place at the beginning of the movie,it wouldn’t be possible to have a real quadriplegic play him.