In Celebration of the ADA 30th anniversary and as part of American Occupational Therapy Month, Rondalyn Whitney and the Developmental Disability Special Interest Section committee for the American Occupational Therapy Association collaborated with Ability Media Group to develop and present “A Night At the Movies: Celebrating Disability in Film.”
The event was a featured event at the American Occupational Therapy Association’s annual INSPIRE conference.
Interview with Whitney:
Tell me about the project, how did it come about and what was your role?
I serve as the Chair of the Developmental Disability Special Interest Section for AOTA. The committee and I wanted to highlight the acceptance and inclusion of individuals with disabilities in film and media. Last summer I included a Watch Party for our students in the OT program and assigned the film Crip Camp, the award-winning documentary by and about the pioneers who championed the passage of ADA. It was a powerful way to communicate how far we have come as an inclusive society and how far we still need to travel. The idea for the awards show evolved from that project here at WVU.
I wrote the script for the Emcee Dave Stevens, a professor at Quinnipiac to use when he described the films and actors and provided two segments during the show. It was very exciting and we hope this is the first of many collaborations between occupational therapy and Ability Media to highlight individuals with disabilities.
Why is it important for individuals with disabilities to be included in the media?
Authentic representation of disability in the media, and in story, brings bias, stigma, othering, and narrative inequity into greater focus. When actors with disabilities portray characters with our without disability, we promote equal access to work in film and media regardless of disability. A world view that excludes or disregards individuals with developmental disabilities, often without our being aware is not an authentic representation of the world we live in and is not a socially just world. An inclusive frame reminds us: ‘nothing about us without us’ in the representations of media. And, that decision making for individuals with disabilities and what it takes to make the goals of “inclusion” and “disability rights'' a reality.
When we focus on how stories that are told through the media, the representation of disability in pop culture, is important. The way we ‘see’ and ‘hear’ and ‘feel’ about differently-abled people can shape how people with disabilities are received in the world and ultimately shapes the public narrative.
You talk about stories and narratives, can you say more about that?
Disability narratives, primarily those told by individuals with disabilities, illuminate structural barriers on both personal and historical levels. When we silence voices, suppress agency, and fail to authentically allow for the representation of disability in film, media, and pop culture, we perpetuate and even increase inequities.
Experience informs our ability to build a just world. Recognizing and reflecting on another’s story and clearing our listening fields of any bias, judgment, othering, stereotyping and stigma is what helps us build a world that invites the participation of everyone. If we don’t seek to listen, hear and understand how we represent another in our storytelling, we perpetuate harm. If we don’t allow individuals with disabilities to represent their own stories, in their own voice, we are dismissing them as unreliable narrators of their own stories.
Where can we see this awards show?
Ability Media has posted the full awards show on youtube. (Whitney has a featured speaking role at 10:25 and again at the wrap up 52:45 )