Hollywood Inclusion

Teren’e Chambers

Los Angeles, CA, February 21 – Teren’e Chambers is a Black Disabled content creator with autism who has a passion for visual storytelling. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Chambers graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film, Cinema, and Video Studies. Chambers aspires to one day become a director, focusing on pre-production, and own a production studio that will open the door to anyone interested, and be inclusive to everyone regardless of background or status. She plans to turn this passion of hers into a career to uplift others with disabilities and people of color. Everyone’s stories matter!

“Being a filmmaker to me means that I have a vision, a different view of the world, and a creative side,” Chambers said. “I enjoy what I do! I took my hobby to a professional level.” [continue reading…]

Harold Foxx

Los Angeles, CA, February 17 – Originally from Memphis, Tennessee and now training in Los Angeles at the esteemed comedy theater The Groundlings, Harold Foxx is certain that comedy has been in his blood since day one. Foxx remembers hosting stand-up routines on the school bus every day to a loyal base of fans.

“All of my classmates laughed so hard on the bus to the point where the driver moved all of us to the back because we were too loud…The driver laughed too, yet we also needed her to keep her eyes on the road.”

When his mother would go to work, Foxx would stay at his grandma’s house where he would be absorbed by legendary comedians on “Sanford and Son,” “The Jeffersons,” and “The Three Stooges.”

“Growing up watching those shows, I realized laughing is everything that will light up everybody’s day,” Foxx said, citing his early inspirations to be the likes of Richard Pryor, Sherman Hemsley, and Jamie Foxx. He constantly is learning from the best and continually is adding craft and tools from his Groundlings training into his stand-up routines. These comedic inspirations led to the genius behind Foxx’s web show, “The Harold Foxx Show,” which originally started out as short form skits on Vine where Foxx gained about 50,000 followers. [continue reading…]

Read the report

Los Angeles, Feb. 17 – A new report by GLAAD found that the number of series regular characters with disabilities counted on primetime broadcast TV decreased, down to 2.8% (22 of 775) from a record high of 3.5% last year and 3.1% the year before. The number of characters counted also fell, from 27 to 22. Since Variety VIP+ reports that Americans spent 4.6 hours a day watching video on streaming services and traditional TV in 2021, this representation is vitally important to how people see – or do not see – disabled individuals in society.

“Including a disabled character does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when studios make the decision to include individuals with disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.”

As stated in the report, “this number falls far below the actual number of those with disabilities in the United States,” as more than twenty percent of people in the U.S. have a disability.

While the numbers in this report are abysmally low, it is important to note that the GLAAD report is based on self-reporting by the networks and content providers. “While the reported numbers have gone down, it also is likely these numbers are underreported, possibly because the industry is not tracking disability internally as much as other demographics,” added Appelbaum. “Even so, the representation of disabled characters on our screens is nowhere near representative of disabled individuals in society today.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Feb. 16 – Commercials play a major role in how people with disabilities are portrayed in the mass media. Including disabled people in commercials can remove the stigma and stereotypes that surround people with disabilities. While 26% of adults in the U.S. have a disability, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags is practically absent. As a Nielsen study reflects, “with a $21 billion market potential, advertisers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to engage with the disabled community and their allies.” The Super Bowl commercials, among the most watched of any commercials in the country, provide a platform to examine the representation of disabled people.

A recent Nielsen study examined nearly 450,000 primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021. Of those ads, 6,000 (just 1%) included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics. The Nielsen analysis also found that just 3% of ad spend in primetime went to ads featuring disabled people or were inclusive of disability themes in the creative. And this year’s Super Bowl commercials appeared to follow this trend.

“Including an individual with a visible disability in a commercial does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when companies make the decision to include individuals with visible disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, February 13 – As many fans are gearing up to watch the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals face off at Super Bowl LVI, just as many viewers are looking forward to the commercials. Television advertising plays a major role in shaping how people with disabilities are portrayed in the mass media. While 26% of adults in the U.S. have a disability, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags is practically absent. As a Nielsen study reflects, “with a $21 billion market potential, advertisers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to engage with the disabled community and their allies.”

A recent Nielsen study examined nearly 450,000 primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021. Of those ads, 6,000 (just 1%) included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics. The Nielsen analysis also found that just 3% of ad spend in primetime went to ads featuring disabled people or were inclusive of disability themes in the creative.

“Including an individual with a visible disability in a commercial does not happen by accident,” said Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s VP of Communications and Entertainment & News Media. “Inclusion of disabled people must be an intentional effort. What we see on screen influences how we act in real life. Thus, when companies make the decision to include individuals with visible disabilities, they are helping to remove the stigmas that currently exist about interacting with us.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 10 – RespectAbility has been approved for a Grants for Arts Projects award to support the RespectAbility Lab for Disabled Entertainment Professionals. Now entering its fourth year, the Entertainment Lab aims to further develop and elevate the talent pipeline of professionals with disabilities working behind-the-scenes in television and film, while introducing them to studio executives and other decision makers who advise Lab Fellows on various aspects of the industry and their craft. This also enables studios and production companies to learn about the talents and benefits of hiring disabled people to work in all aspects of the storytelling process. As such, Lab alumni currently are working at Disney, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Showtime, and more. The RespectAbility Entertainment Lab is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from RespectAbility that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “RespectAbility is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”

“The Entertainment Lab is a unique program that merges our work in the entertainment industry while pulling in the reason RespectAbility was founded – to create more opportunities for people with disabilities who desire to be employed,” said Lauren Appelbaum, Vice President of Communications and Entertainment & News Media at RespectAbility. “We do not want anyone to have an excuse that they could not find a disabled writer, animator, director, or any other position. We are thrilled to receive this grant from NEA that will enable more disabled entertainment professionals to benefit from this program.” [continue reading…]

Courtesy Of Sundance Institute | Photo By Chris Witt

Los Angeles, CA, January 28 – “892” is a film that stands out with beautiful cinematography, strong characters, and a powerful message. Recently making its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the film tells the true story of Marine veteran and father, Brian Brown-Easley, and his experiences with PTSD, schizophrenia, and paranoia while living in a $25 daily-rate motel in Atlanta, GA, and a system that failed him.

“I have to tell my story.” These words said by Brown-Easley couldn’t be more true, and he will get his wish with “892,” which highlights the valuable lessons the audience will learn after watching it.

Leading actor John Boyega gives a masterclass performance as Brian Brown-Easley, taking us through the various stages of his moods: paranoia, shyness, rage, and so much more. One of the sad moments for me was realizing this was actor Michael K. Williams’ last role, who tragically passed away in September 2021. In the film, Michael K. Williams played Eli Bernard, a Marine veteran, who now leads a law enforcement team that is called to the Wells Fargo Bank that Brown-Easley is holding hostage to gain media attention to share his story. Eli was one of the few people in this film that showed an understanding with Brown-Easley that not many others can relate to. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 27 – “I Didn’t See You There” is the first feature-length documentary from award-winning Disabled filmmaker, Reid Davenport. Premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the powerful film immerses viewers into the day-to-day perspective of a wheelchair user, asking its audience to grapple with the way Disabled people are seen by the world, and thus how Disabled people see the world around them.

Perhaps the film’s most effective choice is that Davenport himself is almost never seen on-camera, save for a few quick glimpses in a window reflection, or his hands entering frame to pour a drink or grab a nearby object. This allows Davenport to show the audience how he sees the world without having to feel like an on-screen spectacle, which in itself is a strong commentary on how Disabled people historically have been viewed and treated by society.

“I wanted to make a film about how I saw the world,” Davenport narrates at the opening of the film. “I thought if I stayed firmly behind the camera, I could show you how I see, without having to be seen.” [continue reading…]

“They tried to bury me, they didn’t realize I was a seed.” – Sinead O’Connor

Sinead O’Connor

Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 27 – In her debut feature film, Nothing Compares, director Kathryn Ferguson explores the tumultuous early career of singer-songwriter turned pop icon, Sinead O’Connor. The film expertly weaves together a combination of archival footage, cinematic re-enactments, and exclusive audio interviews with a number of prominent activists, experts, and musicians including Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre), Peaches, Chuck D (Public Enemy), and more (including O’Connor herself) to dive into the way O’Connor was portrayed by the media during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A recurring theme throughout the film is mental health – a theme that feels especially timely, given O’Connor’s recent hospitalization after her son’s death, just weeks before the film’s debut. As a survivor of both physical and emotional abuse, O’Connor always has openly discussed her journey with mental illness over the years. [continue reading…]