>Writings on the depiction of race and gender in films are plentiful but I've >seen very little on disabilities. > >It seems to me that disabilities are portrayed for several limited purposes: > >1. To show that a person is immoral-i.e. that he/she is morally as well as >physically disabled. (Richard III [1995] ; the financeer in When Worlds >Collide [1951]; > >2. To evoke pity and underline a villain's cruelty. (Richard Widmark as Tommy >Udo in Kiss of Death [1947] rolling an elderly woman in a wheelchair >downstairs.] > >3. To heighten tension and a sense of vulnerability. ( Audrey Hepburn in Home >Before Dark [1967]; Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window [1954] and Madeleine Stowe >in Blink [1994]). > >4. In biographies for purposes of historical accuracy. (Nelson in That >Hamilton Woman [1941]). > >5. To discuss the nature and consequences of particular disabilities. >Children of a Lesser God (1984). > >Forest Gump (1994) is a happy exception to the foregoing. But even with this >exception, however, it seems that individuals with disabilities have seldom >appeared in films as "naturally" as other minorities now do. > >I hope that I am overly pessimistic, but if I am not, I hope for change. > >Any comments would be deeply appreciated. > >Peter L. > >P.S. My interest in this topic stems in part from my role as co-founder of >the National Center for Law and Learning Disabilities. TO: Peter Latham Please excuse the Broadcast, I could not find your email address. I am making a feature film about a disabled man and would love to share my thoughts with you. I have received support and interest from Oliver Sacks (Awakenings writer), Barry Morrow (Rain Man writer), and Martin Norden (The Cinema of Isolation: A History of Disability in the Movies). My film depicts the inner experience of a disabled man. Please email me at your convenience. Yours, David A. Davidson | Camera Obscura Cinema | 2149 Valentine Street | Los Angeles, CA 90026 | [log in to unmask] | + 213 913 3880 fax | + 213 660 2385 voice ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]