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Re: RAT Cripples, in your face
Brad-
You GO, brother.
(does this make you 'b the sc ar'?)
s
----- Original Message -----
From: "brad rothbart" <scrdchao@nni.com>
To: <rat-list@whirl-i-gig.com>
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 5:49 PM
Subject: RAT Cripples, in your face
> At 13:23 -0600 02.04.2001, Glen 'Skip' Newell wrote:
> >I also saw 'Cripple of Inishman' last year when it was being done at the
> >DCPA- It's a beautiful play, moving and funny and well-crafted, and this
was
> >a top-notch production. ( I recommend the play strongly- if you get a
chance
> >, go see it...)
> >
> >In addition to the Cripple, the play has as characters; a murderer, a
woman
> >with a serious eating disorder, and a pair of functioning alcoholics. The
> >script spares none of these people either the sword of rebuke, nor the
> >compassion of a gentle laugh. throughout the play, the audience is led to
> >love these folks in spite of, or even because of these flaws. The Cripple
is
> >no more put purposefully in a disadvantaged position than anyone else on
the
> >island- in fact, he is established as one of the more capable and
sensible
> >of the inhabitants, if ultimately humanly susceptible to vanity. Again- a
> >whole bunch of people missed the boat on all of that- even some who saw
the
> >play.
>
>
>
>
>
> All.
>
> What stings my ass is simple- even in a play called THE CRIPPLE OF
> INISHMAN, I can't get a fuckin' job. Ok? That's the problem. As
> RAT's resident supercrip- it just pisses me off to no end. I had a
> slight variation on this very conversation with Jim Sheridan, back
> when MY LEFT FOOT came out. Not only was Daniel Day-Lewis playing
> the lead role- at that time, 50% of the movie theatres it was shown
> in were not wheelchair accessible. When I confronted Sheridan on the
> phone, he said that Daniel Day-Lewis was simply the best actor for
> the role- no bias was involved. When I asked, theoretically, if he
> would consider casting Patrick Stewart as Malcolm X, simply because
> A) he's a wonderful actor and B) his vocal training makes him
> uniquely qualified to handle Malcolm's speeches- he accused me of
> racism and hung up.
>
> Flash forward to now. Dark Angel- on Fox about 3 weeks ago. One of
> the lead characters, Logan, Logan is in a wheelchair. I had truly
> hoped that this role was played by a disabled actor. Not so. On the
> aforementioned episode- not only did Logan get up and walk- not only
> was he undergoing a procedure that looked suspiciously like
> electric stim for the 21st Century- he had an entire monologue about
> how he couldn't live this way- with the definite implication that if
> the treatments that would make him able to walk again were to fail,
> he would kill himself. There was no hue and cry about this
> statement , or the set of negative stereotypes it brought forth.
>
> Consider, on the other hand, if the character of Charlie ( the
> President's Bodyguard on WEST WING), played by Dule Hill , a
> wonderful black actor, were to spend his 5 minutes on-camera talking
> about how badly he wanted to be white- perhaps asking Senior Staff
> if they knew of any research into hospital procedures that could
> make it so. Hue and Cry? You betcha. I bring up the African
> American community because, in the last census, the physically
> disabled and the African American community were found to have even
> representation in society- with both groups being at 10%. This
> would imply equal amounts of societal power.
>
> Until disabled theatre artists can walk into any theatre in this
> country- From the Guthrie and Seattle Rep down to your local
> community theater-and be treated as artists first and disabled
> people second- we are not full citizens in the artistic world. If,
> then, it is true that my disability means I'm 2/3 of an artist- I
> reserve the right to protest anyone who feels they can produce work
> discussing disability that reinforces any sort of negative
> stereotype - especially when we are not involved in that process.
> It's very simple- if you open the door we won't have to knock it
> down- but we're not going away.
>
>
> --brad rothbart, supercrip
>
>
>
>
>
> **************************************************************
> The barber shaves all and only those who do not shave themselves.
> If he does, he doesn't; If he doesn't, he does.
>
> -Bertrand Russell
> *************************************************************
>
>
>
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