Readers, I want to share with you an article by Anna Mai Bertelsen, who blogged today about “Why James Cameron Should Start of Conversation on Disabilities” on today’s Huffington Post. Ms. Bertelsen posits that societally, we engage in a “don’t’ ask, don’t’ tell” de facto policy about disabilities that creates such an encompassing avoidance of things disability that people with disabilities are sidelined from a many if not most of the opportunities that enrich the lives of people without disabilities. She then calls on James Cameron, director of the blockbuster movie Avatar, an action-hero movie in which a character with paraplegia is the lead, to start a conversation about disability and break through the “don’t ask, don’t tell” barrier.
Ms. Bertelsen closes with a challenge the director to “…do something about the lack of chatter. Start it. You have the stage. Break our own version of "don't ask, don't tell." Share your story of creating a solution. Encourage the audience and your Hollywood counterparts to be part of the conversation. Talk to us. Look at us. Ask questions. And, then, let's innovate, invest and include.”
LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-mai-bertelsen/why-james-cameron-should_b_487160.html
19 comments:
This blog as well as the article by Anna M. Berteslsen was very interesting and informative. Anna opened a wonderful opportunity for Director, James Cameron to use his voice in speaking about disabilities. It certainly is true that if we don't open the doors for communication on disability, we are creating a bubble around an issue that needs to be addressed for further knowledge and innovation to occur. James Cameron has the ability to speak on behalf of Avatar which stars a disabled main character and provide a powerful message to the Hollywood community, nation, and disabled community. Through speaking about disability he can bring others together in creating new technology, like that in Avatar, that he waited years for. Disability is real and it effects many human beings. By not addressing it due to feeling it is impolite, only shuts the doors to real life issues and powerful discussions. Placing efforts on finding creative ways to provide assistive technology, creating a platform for disability, and educating the public should be something that is out in the open, not an embarrassing or impolite topic.Those individuals that are fortunate to have more of the ability to bring people together such as James Cameron should use their gifts and popularity for a good cause. Opening the doors for conversation on disability/people with disability will be the only way that light is shed on their stories, life, needs, and feelings. We are all one and should strive to help one another. Dialogue is one way to start.
To be honest, I have never seen the movie Avatar and I never knew that it was about a superhero that had paraplegia. I know of many people who took their children to see the film and also went because they thought it was going to be a good movie and not one person mentioned to me that the main character was paraplegic. This is a prime example of the “don’t ask don’t tell”, barrier that they are referring to. Society has always never referred to people with disabilities in conversation and they do the best they can not to mention it either. It is almost as if it is a taboo to discuss disabilities, I think it’s because society does not know what to say about them or what to converse with amongst people with disabilities and they are afraid of offending them. In all honestly it would be a great idea for James Cameron to start a chat room because this would not only educate able bodied people to use person first language, but also include people with disabilities as a whole into our communities.
Amy G.
I understand that the "don't ask don't tell" state of mind exists and I have seen it in many occasions and feel that I in my own lack of maturity and knowledge have practiced the behavior. I have not seen Avatar but can't wait to see it because I have heard that it is a great film. When I consider what has been written about the fact that the main character has paraplegia, two things come to mind. First of all, I could be that conversation needs to be raised about the fact that disability is a part of many of our lives. Many of us know close relatives or loved ones that have a disability. This is reflected in cinema and should be talked about. But then I consider the opposing view point. If the conversation had been risen about the fact that the main character has paraplegia, would that have been taken the wrong way? The U.S. went through a period of eradicating racism. Now, when we see an African American on film we don't say, "Oh! Look at that African American on film. We need to talk about it." Sometimes people do not mention those things that have become customary. Perhaps this applies to me because I have worked with people with disabilities for a while and think that there is nothing different about them. Maybe people have not talked about it because they value the character as a character, not as just a person with a disability. Through my years of study in the Rehabilitation Program they have taught us that people with disabilities do not like to be viewed as supernatural heroes. They want to be treated as normal human beings, that like everyone else, are able to overcome adversities. Will this movie make others see people with disabilities as supernatural human beings? I have not seen the movie yet but I did see the previews and one thing that caught my attention was that at one point the Sergeant (of the main boss as i gathered him to be) promised him the use of his legs, and i quote "Your real legs." Does this not make an illusion to the perception that all people who have a disability want to be like everyone else? So, in conclusion, the inclusion of people with disabilities in the movie Avatar raises many questions to whether it supports or alienates people with disabilities. I have mixed feelings, but I need to see the film before I make any solid conclusions.
Many of the points made in this article really hit home for me. I, like many people, was raised with the belief that people with disabilities do not want to be acknowledged. As children, we might have been told not to stare,or to focus on the area of a person's disability, but for fear of accidently looking, we didnt look at all. The idea is usually to prevent hurt feelings, but as Ms. Berteslsen points out, the ultimite emotional damage often comes from our indifference.
I absolutely believe that as a society, we lack proper education on the topic of disability, and while I feel that we have come a long way in this field, Communication and awareness continue to be necessary in order for true inclusion to be a reality.
I think it is great that the movie, Avatar, has a main character that has a disability, especially because it is a film apt for children and young adults. It is my hope that by seeing people with disabilities on tv and in movies,they will learn from a young age what we didnt- that disability is a part of all of our lives and does set people apart.
G.Garza
Wow, this blog and the article by Anna Mai Bertelsen are eye opening, first of all I had no idea the movie Avatar was anything other than a run of the mill sci-fi movie, I had absolutely no interest in seeing it. If only I had known otherwise I would have gone to watch it, in fact now more than ever am I inspired to see it. Just as Anna I am shocked that their has been no mentioning of the main character being paraplegic. I can see exactly what means when she talks about the don’t ask don’t tell policy with the paraplegic, it is definitely a sad thing that any human has to endure seclusion from society for reasons like these, it also lead me to think what else could be done in the future to better approach this sort of societal taboo.
-sukania mendez
I have not seen the movie Avatar nor did I have any interest in seeing it but now that I know that the main character has a disability I am curious to see it. I think that would be the first movie I would have seen with the main character has a disability. I have heard many things about the movie such as how it was a very lengthy movie, very action packed and good special effects but no one said anything about the main character being a paraplegic. It amazes me how people don’t want to say anything about the subject. I can’t help but wonder if people choose not to talk about it out of fear of insulting people with disabilities. I would think that by not talking about it or by not bringing attention to the creative talents of people with disabilities would be far more insulting than not talking about it at all. The director of the film, James Cameron, has a great opportunity to start a conversation about people with disabilities staring in movies.
Victoria Lopez
I don't think James Cameron needs to do much more to call attention to disabilities than he already has. Just because he won some awards and broke box office records does not make him an authority on disabilities. I find it somewhat annoying that people think celebrities should want to pick an issue and make a production out of it. Celebrities are just normal people with their own lives and objectives. No one should expect James Cameron to do anything other than make movies. I believe that if people really want to bring attention to an issue, they should work in their community to educate others. Or they should educate themselves in order to have open and honest conversation with their representatives in government. They shouldn't rely on celebrities.
The writer Anna M. Berteslsen, brings up an interesting topic in her article. Although I do feel that there does need to be more communication regarding disability, I do not feel that James Cameron is an appropriate person to open the communication door. Having seen the movie Avatar (without giving too much away), I did not feel that the movie put any emphasis on disabilities. The story was of an individual who had an acquired disability and was in a wheelchair who was coaxed into a mission by the promise of new fully-functioning legs. Throughout the film however, the disability really does not play a major role. James Cameron is just a film maker. If he chooses to start talking about disabilities then that would be great, but as far as I know he is not an expert on the subject nor does he get around using a wheelchair. I think that we would be expecting too much if we were waiting on James Cameron to shed light on people with disabilities. The people we should expect to start communication on this subject are those with disabilities, because for those of us who do not have any disabilities, we can claim to be knowledgable about disabilities but the people who can make the most impact are those who experience these disabilities and live with them daily.
I love this article, I think its a great conversation starter on "Don't ask. Don't tell for individuals with a disabilities. I do not think that James Cameron is an expert on disabilities or will this be his montra for following movies. However, what I do see happen is that watching this movie, for those who view it or have viewed it, is that it plants a seed for the conversations to spark... to break the "dont ask dont tell", world that many people who live with a disability have endured for so long from people they know and dont know alike.Personally speaking I feel that a Director such as James Cameron has provided a powerful contribution to create " a step
(the seed) to get viewers of the movie Avatar to start thinking about this, Dont ask dont tell process that happens daily to people with disabilitites. Not all people are scholars, or do they read journal articles about disbalities, so in James Camerons contribution with this movie brings this awarness to light for many then, I applaud him for this. In a perfect world everyone would learn the same way, have the same values, the same knowledge then we could all simply learn and be in agreement about repeling, Don't ask dont tell people with disabilities questions. My fellow classmates and collegues we all know that this is not the world we live in. We all learn in many different ways, audio, visual,kinetically. So if James Cameron has been able to "plant the seed" for these conversations to begin, then I say we all need a little hollywood now and then to help... ALL PEOPLE with and without a disability, understand to ask questions that break barriers in lack conversations then by all means.... BRING ON THE AVATAR... MR. JAMES CAMERON...HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR!!!!
It sparks an idea that creates a chain that will empower other directors to bring to light many other ideas, that plant seeds that CREATE CHANGE!!!
~Annette
I was actually looking forward to watching AVATAR, when professor Dr. Marini was talking about his friend being the producer of such movie last semester. It was very interesting because of how a mans disability was unseen in this new world were he could be like everyone else. However, going back to speaking about disability i sincerly do not beleive that he should talk about this issue because there are so many individuals that are more capable because of experiences with disability and with other individuals. It is important to take a notion that he did encompass a mans ability, no matter the disability, but he needs to be more aware of what happens to individuals with disabilities and what they face in reality.
The article by Anna M. Berteslsen was very brave and truthful. When I saw the movie Avatar I thought how interesting it was that the actor was disabled. This is something that is not a constant in Hollywood. The fact that director James Cameron brought it to the screen it remarkable. This movie broke every record known in the movie industry but in addition sent a very powerful message to people. By hiding disabilities and not speaking about them may seem as if they do not matter. There are many individuals that do not want to speak about it but the truth is we must. I am so glad that Cameron was able to finally bring this to the big screen after waiting almost ten years. I am so glad he chose to do it and it was a wonderful piece of work.
Criselda Gonzalez
I have not seen the movie Avatar yet, so I really don’t know what it’s about. According to this article the main character is disabled. It is true what they say “don’t ask,” “don’t tell.” We tend to ignore people with disabilities just so we won’t hurt their feelings or we think we are not hurting their feelings. We are hurting their feelings as much as we are trying not to because we don’t look at them or stare because of their disability. We should at least start a small conversation that will make them comfortable enough for them to tell you their disability. It is disrespectful to stare. That is why we don’t stare and just look at them if they were normal and talk to them. The world these days is full of people who stereotype. We should not judge anyone with a disability. Yes they do have limited abilities unlike us, but we should not treat them different then any other person. They deserve a chance too.
Jennifer Valerio
As G. Garza and Jennifer V. have mentioned in their articles, our indifferences towards individuals who are disabled have developed from our parents, which they learned from their parents and so on. The end results are that we sometime go out of our way to avoid looking, hearing, or acknowledging an individual with a disability. The are people who will state that they are different but most of them will spend a significant amount time looking down, search for something or staring straight ahead when stopped at a red light and a disabled person is asking for donations from all the cars around them. How many of you can actually say differently.
I won’t lie, I do that on occasion but not because I don’t want to see what makes them unique, but because I don’t believe in giving the majority of them money and I don’t want to waste my time explaining myself to them. Let just say the major issue is that they don’t pay taxes on it and probably make more in a couple of days than the average person makes in a week.
I am glad that movies are starting to make disabled people not only main characters but making them heroes, instead of villains. For example, does anyone remember the movie Above Suspicion? Christopher Reeve plays a good cop who becomes vengeful when he becomes a paraplegic after be shot in the line of duty and discovers his wife is having an affair with his younger brother and partner. He ends up murdering both of them and his alibi is that he is in a wheelchair. Eventually you find out he had regained the use of his lower body but continued to fake his condition.
It was a good movie but I think it placed disable individuals in a negative light. In contrast, the movie Avatar does the opposite and it will now become a first step in moving towards changing the ways disable individuals are perceived, is the best part. Kudos to Ms. Anna M. Berteslsen, James Cameron, and everyone is moving this forward. Let hope that the next step will include shaking hands and patting backs.
Albert Lazo
Avatar is an interesting story in which I really enjoyed and after the article it all makes sense. Having the main character with disability only make the viewer to see them as normal people. That the disability will not prevent a person from being what they want to be or accomplish asy task just like any other person is capable of doing. People need to realize that in our socitey there are people with limitations that can handle or can carry out task like you and me. This movie "Avatar" has opened our eyes in a positive way!
I have not seen the movie Avatar but I have read the synopsis on IMDb. I also read several bloggers discuss the movie. It seems like each writer had a different point to make. Some writers felt that the part of the main character, who has paraplegia, should have been played by an actor with a disability. Some women’s bloggers were concerned because the cast was mostly all male. While some bloggers felt that the movie did not have enough ethnic diversity and there were “too many White and Blue people.”
Avatar is a fantasy film and the director, James Cameron, has chosen to openly promote the causes of technology and ecology. After all, it took fifteen years to develop the technology to make the movie.
I don’t think celebrities or directors are the appropriate people to promote disability awareness or organizations. I am more likely to support a cause or educate myself about a cause if I hear from non-celebrities. I think the pressure to publicly speak about disability awareness might deter other less known directors from casting a person with a disability.
B. Ramirez
I think think that the article was pretty interesting. I did get to see the movie, and after all the hype that this movie is still getting, I feel that Anna did a good think in making it aware that the Director should use his voice about speaking and providing awareness to people with disabilites. I really enjoyed reading the article it was very interesting.
ALINA LIMON
Anna Berteslsen makes a good point in her article. I do feel that people do need to communicate more about topics that have to do with disability, I have to agree with some of you that I don’t feel James Cameron is the person to open the communication door. He does make great movies (Titanic & Avator) he is just a film maker. The movie does have a main character that does acquire a wheelchair but I honestly believe the movie changes for the worse because the main character in the movie feels with new functioning leg he will be happier. The whole point of the movie wasn’t the main character in a wheelchair is about him walking again and happier in a new world. Don’t get me wrong I did like the movie! Overall I don’t think we should expect much of James Cameron he is just a film maker. Just cause he is famous people shouldn’t put pressure on him.
Tanya D.
I have not seen the movie to make any comments on the movie itself but I have to agree with Cameron that this policy of don’t stare don’t tell has got to go. I feel a movie like this promotes awareness that individuals with disabilities have talents and are capable. It is ok to ask questions to individuals with disabilities. I personally encourage individuals I meet to ask me why I am using a wheelchair. It is our natural curiosity to be nosy and wonder why one is different. I feel that if individuals asked more often than the non disabled people would see that there is not much different between a person with a disability and one who does not have a disability.
Emede Reyes
I had totally forgotten what happen in the movies since I saw it the day it came out, I absolutely loved it. Reading this made me remember a little of what happen in the movies. Persons or should I say with paraplegia and disabilities are trying to point out what other persons should not ask about them. Once again I will stress that here in the valley we are all Hispanics and we tend to stare if we are not inform of persons with disabilities. We are not being aware that for one we should not stare and we should not ask unless the person with the disability speaks because they want to not because they are being question. I think that in a way in the movie it did give you the impression and stating not wanting to talk about that, mean that it does really bother persons with disabilities although they should have made a scene where it explains more.
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