X-Men
To start off, this new X-Men movie {X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand)} is wonderful. It’s a tight story, that shows believable ways that the characters would have met, and it continues to grapple with the fascinating philosophical issues all the X-men movies have. It’s a long movie, and I’m glad that they let it be as long as it needed to be. Stories have natural lengths and I think Thor could have benefited from the attitude of letting it be the length it naturally wants to be. Throughout the series I have always seen a lot of parallels between mutation and disability. I think the X-men movies provide an amazing metaphor for the experience of disability, though I’m fairly sure that’s not what was...
Read MoreBones- Strike Two?
I really like the television show Bones (Bones: The Complete First Season).  The mysteries are interesting, not easy to figure out, and the dynamics of all the characters is fun.  I’m behind in watching it, since I do it instantly from Netflix. I’m about three seasons behind at the moment.  One episode almost ruined it for me.  I lost a lot of respect for my favorite character, Bones herself. One of their colleagues that they were working with on the case was a little person.  Bravo to the show for placing a person with a disability in a normal role.  It went downhill fast, though.  Bones’s partner Booth was interacting with the guy because that’s what Booth is good at, while Bones is hopeless socially.  After their first meeting with...
Read MoreThe Village
The Village is another “horror” movie using blindness.  I put that in quotes because it’s not really a scary movie, just a bit creepy.  It also doesn’t use blindness to up the ante in quite the same way as most. On the plus side, I like that the blind girl is the only one brave enough to go on the necessary quest. On the negative side, from a story writing perspective, how freaking convenient that they have someone who is blind when no one else could possibly go on this quest?  They have to have someone who can’t see the world beyond the village and there’s one right there.  And she happens to be highly motivated and brave.  Hmmm. So yeah, the disability is completely and totally a plot device.  Most of the movie feels forced...
Read MoreGlee- Born This Way
This was an amazing episode. Â It focused on accepting yourself with all the things that you think need fixing, the things you don’t like about yourself. Â It was based around Lady Gaga’s new song “Born This Way.” Â I highly recommend this one, even if you’re not a big Glee fan (and side note, Kurt’s number from Sunset Boulevard was possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard on the show, I had tears streaming down my face by the end of it). For the big number at the end, all the kids wore white t-shirts with black lettering spelling out the one thing they are most self-conscious about. Â It was powerful and moving. Artie’s t-shirt said “four-eyes.” Â He was not a focus on this episode, but even so, I...
Read MoreThe Book Group
Thanks to a suggestion right here on the blog, I have been watching The Book Group. Here’s the description on IMDB: “American Clare Pettengill, newly arrived in Glasgow, starts up a book group in order to make some new friends. The group consists of three unhappy European football wives, a pretentious drug-addict student, a closet-homosexual football enthusiast, and a kind and gentle struggling author in a wheelchair. Each week they meet to read and discuss a new book, which always affects or influences each of the group’s lives in some way.” It’s available to watch on Hulu. Kenny is the paraplegic character and so far I’m finding him well done. It’s a nuanced performance with his disability playing not too large or too...
Read MoreBreaking the Waves
This movie may have done me permanent psychological damage!  It is incredibly disturbing on many levels. I’m sad that this is what gave the wonderful Emily Watson her break.  She deserved better.  I saw it when it first came out in 1996 and I am definitely not going to watch it again for the purpose of this blog (or for any other reason). Even people who don’t have a problem with the disability portrayal had trouble dealing with the weird pacing and style. Since I have blocked as much of it from my mind as I can, I will give you another reviewer’s take.  This is DevoGirl’s assessment: Breaking the Waves Denmark 1996 no stars Directed by art-house darling Lars von Trier, so already you know it’s going to be more painful than...
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
