Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a great movie. It’s well written, clever, well shot, well acted, and comes together into a total classic. The only little problem I have with it is Lt. Dan’s struggle to accept himself. Not the struggle itself, that is believable, even though I’m bored to death with the “overcoming disability” plotline. It seems to be the only reason to have a character with a disability in a film. But that’s not the fault of any individual movie. No, the thing that rubs me the wrong way is that part of Lt. Dan pulling himself out of his slump is that he gets prosthetic legs. He goes from unkempt, mean, angry, bitter, in a wheelchair to clean shaven, friendly, has a girlfriend, and is walking. Why is walking a measure of...
Read MoreJoan of Arcadia
I’ve been rewatching this show on DVD. I love its philosophy and the image of God that it shows. It’s quite a unique show. It also features a paraplegic character, Joan’s older brother, Kevin. This character is played by non-disabled Jason Ritter, but he does a pretty good job. I heard somewhere that the character who plays basketball with him and teaches him about how to live in a wheelchair is a real life parapelgic, so I think that’s awesome. Kevin’s character arc is pretty predictable at first. In the beginning he is still holed up at home, feeling bitter and miserable and like his life is over. Over the course of the show he gets his life back: getting his driver’s license, starting a career as a reporter, and finding new...
Read MoreMonkeyShines and Bone Collector
I’m putting these two stories together because they are a similar theme, horror stories using the immobility of quadriplegia to make it scarier. In both cases, the books are far, far superior to the movies. One thing I really like is that in both stories, the main characters defend themselves. The movie version of The Bone Collector kind-of takes that away, but in the book he defends himself against his attacker. In Monkeyshines, the quadriplegic character is caught in a house alone with a killer monkey (yes, it’s a tad far-fetched). He very impressively uses his teeth to kill the monkey. Of course, MonkeyShines has to have the miracle cure at the end, and the main character recovers completely. Bone Collector does not fall into that trap. There are a...
Read MoreAvatar
There are those who think that James Cameron squandered a great opportunity to make a statement about disability. I think he did okay. It was cool that he had a paraplegic action hero, even if he spent most of the time puppeting an avatar body. The parts where Sully was a human being were quite well done, in my opinion. I’m certain the actor must have done some studying because he was believable as a paraplegic. I would not have been surprised if someone told me he was really disabled. Of course I was pretty certain he wasn’t just because that’s how things go. I later learned that the avatar bodies were all done with motion capture, so I suppose they really did need a non-disabled actor to do those parts. (Although I think they could have done...
Read MoreQuantum Leap
This is an old one, something that’s been irking me for more than ten years (when I first saw this episode). Now is the perfect opportunity to get it off my chest. The premise of Quantum Leap is that there is this scientist Sam who “leaps” into different people’s bodies and takes over their lives for a short time in order to fix something that went wrong in that person’s life. It’s neat because you see lots of different characters and people in a variety of situations. Sam has a sidekick, Al, someone from his own time who appears to only him as a hologram and helps guide him in what he’s trying to fix. In one episode, Sam leaps into a Vietnam war vet who has just become a double above-the-knee amputee. To start with...
Read MoreDisabled Actors Found
It turns out, and I am beyond delighted to say this, there are disabled actors working in television. My friends told me about these: Robert David Hall as the coroner, Dr. Al Robbins, in CSI. Michael Patrick Thornton as Dr. Gabriel Fife in Private Practice Zach Weinstein as Sean Fretthold in an episode of Glee (too bad they had him just laying in bed the whole episode) “I just believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to try for parts, whether they’re able-bodied or disabled,” Weinstein says. “And the best actor — whoever that is — should get it.” Well said, I couldn’t agree more. ETA: And more! http://www.tealsherer.com/ Teal Sherer, who has a recurring role on the webshow The Guild and is working on her own...
Read MoreProgress Trackers
At proofreaders; available for pre-order
What Is Meant To Be
Second draft
Homework & Homicide (working title)
Second Draft
Book Montage
RFW winner October 7, 2011
