What Ben's getting at (IMHO) is the almost universally
stereotypical/negative portrayal of people with disabilities in film.
People with disabilities are portrayed as either saints, or as evil, or
are in other ways depicted as people I wouldn't want to hang out with
(apart from the drinking that the Ron Kovacs character did in "Born on
the 4th of July, he was portrayed as being unp[leasant,at best).  

"My Left Foot" was an exception, probably because it wasn't made in the
US.  I think I would have liked to hang out with Christy Brown!

I'm working on a small grant application that deals with disability
culture, and we're trying to find a film that portrays people with
disabilities realistically, and it's been difficult to find one
available in the US that works.  There was one out of Australia a year
ago or so that might work, that was discussed on the list, but I can't
remember the name of it.  

Rayna, can you help me on that?

The University I attended (and now work for) was disqualified from being
ranked among the "party schools," in Lisa Birnbaum's College Guide
(Published in the late 7o's or early 80's by the National Lampoon, I
think), because they wouldn't include professionals (us) with amateurs.


Kendall 

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.

-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

-----Original Message-----
From: Chester Worwa [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 3:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [C-PALSY] Please Help if you can! THUMBS DOWN TO PITY!!!!

These were adults in these films.  Movies like "Born
on the 4th of July" and "My Left Foot".

--- Kathleen Salkin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Just about every college student wants to get drunk
> at some point,  
> not just disabled ones.  My  entire college was a
> "party school" as I  
> recall, but there were quite a few disabled students
> who didn't drink  
> and there were quite a few who did.
> 
> Kat
> 
> 
> On 7 Jun 2006, at 18:11, Chester Worwa wrote:
> 
> I did a film study in college and every disabled
> person wasgetting drunk and wanted to get drunk.
> 
> --- Mike Collis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> > This was sent to me by a friend, and while I
> > normally don't send emails like
> > this, this is something I think we can all get
> > behind.
> >
> >
>
========================================================================
> 
> ====
> >
> > Get Out the Vote for THUMBS DOWN TO PITY!
> >
> > My 19-year-old son, Benjamin, loves movies! He
> hopes
> > to become a film critic
> > ("the next Roger Ebert"), so he was excited to
> learn
> > about the "Film Your
> > Issue" contest---an opportunity for 18- to
> > 26-year-olds to submit a 30- to
> > 60-second film about their passions! He wrote,
> > starred in, and directed
> > THUMBS DOWN TO PITY---a powerful and passionate
> > short film on why he
> > believes the "pity portrayals" of people with
> > disabilities in Hollywood
> > productions need to stop!
> >
> >
> > Out of 300 entries, Benjamin's film made it to the
> > semi-finals! At the end
> > of May, the general public was invited to vote on
> > the 35 semi-finalists, and
> > THUMBS DOWN TO PITY has remained in the top five.
> > But a couple of other
> > contestants are doing a great job of getting out
> the
> > vote for their entries,
> > and I hope you'll help us do the same for
> Benjamin's
> > film!
> >
> > As a person who cares about disability issues, I
> > hope you'll visit the
> > voting site---www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12721177. If
> you
> > agree Benjamin's message
> > is an important one, I hope you'll vote for THUMBS
> > DOWN TO PITY. Your
> > support will mean a great deal to Benjamin,
> > personally (top prizes include
> > trips to the United Nations and the Sundance Film
> > Festival and other
> > goodies), and it will also send a strong
> grassroots
> > message that confirms
> > the critical need for dignified, respectful, and
> > realistic portrayals of
> > individuals with disabilities in movies and TV.
> The
> > multitude of votes that
> > support THUMBS DOWN TO PITY will send a powerful
> and
> > unified message for
> > change! Winners will be determined by the public
> > voting, as well as the
> > votes of the Film Your Issue jury, which includes
> > Walter Cronkite, George
> > Clooney, Senator Barack Obama, Brian Williams of
> NBC
> > News, Anderson Cooper
> > of CNN, and other leaders from the fields of art,
> > government, business, and
> > entertainment.
> >
> >
> >
> > It only takes a moment, and the last day to vote
> is
> > Wednesday, June 7th!
> > Visit www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12721177. The films are
> > in alphabetical order, so
> > THUMBS DOWN TO PITY is toward the bottom of the
> page
> > on the right. You can
> > view any or all of the films (although this is
> > difficult for some
> > Apple/Macintosh users, like me!). Voting takes two
> > easy steps: first, click
> > on the button next to the picture of the film,
> then
> > scroll to the bottom of
> > the page and click the "vote" button. Some folks
> > have been able to vote more
> > than once---on different days, on different
> > computers, and/or on different
> > Internet browsers.
> >
> > And will you help get the vote out for THUMBS DOWN
> > TO PITY by sharing this
> > with others who may be interested in disability
> > issues? You could forward
> > this entire newsletter or simply copy and paste
> this
> > section into an
> > Email---and ask others to send it on, as well!
> > Together, we're making a
> > difference, and this proud and grateful mother
> says,
> > "Thank you, thank you,
> > thank you!" for your help!
> >
> > P.S. Several people who have seen the film have
> > asked how they could get a
> > copy to use in trainings and presentations---we're
> > honored! And we will be
> > able to make this available as a DVD or VHS video
> > format. Since this is
> > Benjamin's film, we're turning this project over
> to
> > him, so you can write to
> > him with your request at [log in to unmask] This
> is
> > not a profit-making
> > venture, so the charge for the DVD or video will
> be
> > the cost of duplication
> > and shipping (which we haven't yet figured out,
> but
> > it shouldn't be too
> > much). And Benjamin, and his parents, thank you
> for
> > your interest and
> > willingness to share his message!
> >
> > -----------------------
> >
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> > list, go here:
> >
> >
>
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> >
> >
> 
> 
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