Crip Camp Loses at The Oscars in Another Slight to the Disability Community

I don't know why it should surprise me anymore. The Motion Picture Academy had a historic opportunity to recognize a Sundance Film Festival Award-Winning documentary, Crip Camp, telling the story of one of the most significant civil rights protests in this country's history. Instead, they give the Oscar to a movie, The Octopus Teacher, about a man who befriends an octopus.

Seriously?

Let me know when the last time an octopus was barred from getting an education or discriminated against in getting a job, and then we can talk about me (maybe) reframing my perspective a bit. But until then, I'm going to keep expressing my frustration about how when Hollywood has the chance to walk their talk on inclusiveness, particularly when it comes to the narrative around disability, they seem to miss the mark every damn time.

I'm still salty about the Shape of Water that won in 2017 for basically saying that if you were different, you were equated with being inhuman. And, it was better to go live in the ocean with an actual amphibian rather than stay on land and live as a mute. Some might think I'm being hyper-critical and taking the storyline too seriously. It was a blockbuster film that got critical acclaim, so maybe I'm alone in my opinion. But that's the thing with opinions, I can have one, and you don't have to agree.

There was a lot of excitement in the disability community about Crip Camp and even more for its nomination for Best Documentary. Finally, we, the disabled, hoped that we would get recognition for the truth of our story. Not someone else's narrative. But our own. And for what it's worth, there was the acknowledgment of this moment's significance from larger society as well. Just Google Crip Camp, and you will get page-long results of articles profiling the movie, its debut at Sundance, and its journey to the Oscars. In this MSNBC article, the disabled director of Crip Camp accurately notes that disabled people make up 25 percent of the population, but less than one percent of films are by, or about, disabled people. This magnitude of disparity is not acceptable. The article discusses the inherent ableness of the television and film industry. A most visible example of this ableism is how awards shows include a staircase to navigate to reach the award podium.

There is starting to be a closer examination of disabled people's portrayal in film and the issue of non-disabled actors playing disabled roles. It was Judy Heumann herself, a central figure in the movie Crip Camp who recently co-authored a report called “Roadmap for Inclusion: Changing the Face of Disability in Media.” With a somewhat academic approach, Heumann and her co-authors thoroughly review and analyze how media fails to adequately represent the disabled population. Heumann successfully argues that disabled people should be represented proportionally both in acting, producing and other behind-the-scenes roles. She then offers recommendations for change.

Heumann states, "It is no longer acceptable not to have women at the table. It is no longer acceptable not to have people of color at the table. But no one thinks to see if the table is accessible."

There is recognition of this need from the industry itself, albeit long overdue. DisabilityScoop published an article on their website in March titled "With Disabilities 'Rarely' Seen Netflix Commits $100 Million Toward Inclusion." Netflix's based its decision on a report done by the University of Southern California's School of Communication and Journalism that looked at diversity on Netflix. The study's result showed that of 126 films and 180 series released on the platform over 2018-2019, only 2.1 percent of speaking characters had disabilities. And when they were shown, they were primarily male, white and half of the time had a physical disability. While invisible disabilities warrant equal representation, visible disabilities can have a more significant impact on the non-disabled population because, well, you can actually see the disability. Further, the report found that more of those individuals would be included for on-screen roles when there was more representation behind the scenes.

RespectAbility is working toward making progress on addressing the issue of inequality in media as well. They have created a new website, Entertainment Media Consulting Team. It currently includes 27 consultants of all areas of the industry, both disabled and not. RespectAbility also includes more industry insiders on its Board of Directors, is actively doing outreach, and seeks collaboration with major Hollywood studios and production companies.

Laura Applebaum, VP of Communications, writes: "Our goal is to use our vast team of experts representing a variety of lived experiences with disabilities to help ensure the most authentic representation. However, as we continue to work with the industry, we are not only providing quality consultants, but also providing connections to writers, directors, actors, and crew with disabilities for companies to hire. While hiring consultants is great, nothing can replace having disabled writers in the writers' room and people with disabilities involved throughout the production process."

Even with all this progress, at the end of the day, it all feels so exhausting. Particularly when you realize how far there still is to go. I know some may genuinely feel, "oh, but isn't it an honor just to be nominated?" Well, um, in this instance, no, not really. Maybe that is easy for me to say because I wasn't involved with the making of Crip Camp, or I am just too clouded by my feelings of resentment and disappointment. I just feel like disabled people have been tokenized enough in this country. And to me, the nomination seems like a token. If we weren't going to win the award, why be nominated at all? Losing to an octopus feels a lot worse than not being recognized at all.

So what do you think? Do you agree with me? Or do you think I am too harsh? Let me know in a comment below. I'd love to keep the conversation going.