Tuesday, February 27, 2018
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Congregation Har Shalom: 11510 Falls Rd, Potomac, MD 20854
RespectAbility, in partnership with Congregation Har Shalom, is proud to present the acclaimed film “Spectrum: A Story of the Mind” on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. in a sneak-peek preview event for the 2018 ReelAbilities Film Festival of Northern Virginia, which is organized by the Jewish Community Center of Northern VA.
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
Grey’s Anatomy has never been a show to shy away from social commentary. In the era of #MeToo and the focus on gender inequality, Dr. Miranda Bailey (played by Chandra Wilson) fights for herself when she is having a heart attack – and shatters stigma against Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
OCD is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.
Bailey, a Chief-of-Surgery, is at another area hospital with symptoms of a heart attack. The doctor treating her, Dr. Maxwell, does not believe she is and instead asks about emotional and mental stressors in her life. While there are many, Bailey is adamant she truly is having a heart attack – and is correct. But Dr. Maxwell continues to refuse the cardiac stress test that she requests.
The interactions between Bailey and Maxwell illustrate how women and men often are treated differently by medical professionals. Bailey is not only belittled as a woman but also when she discloses she has a disability. She shares that she is taking statins and anti-depressants to manage her OCD.
Haben Girma
Haben Girma has been advocating for herself since she attended elementary school in Oakland. She became the first Deafblind person to graduate from law school when she earned her degree from Harvard Law School in 2013. She is a civil rights attorney who advocates for disability rights, a public speaker who travels the country changing people’s perceptions of the disability community in the media and has been featured in Forbes “30 Under 30” and on NBC and NPR.
In 1983, five years before Girma was born, her mother Saba Gebreyesus fled Eritrea, a city in Africa with approximately six million people, taking two weeks to walk to Sudan and sleeping in trees “surrounded by hungry hyenas.” But she was determined to give Girma the opportunities her son wasn’t given; he also was born deafblind.
After her mom settled in California, Girma was born in Oakland in 1988. In elementary school, she learned Braille and later used a Bluetooth keyboard hooked up to a Braille reader to communicate with others. At school, she gained access to the materials she needed to be able to learn. She credits her supportive teachers and classmates, accessible materials such as interpreters and other accommodations, and developed study skills and homework strategies for her success.
Diana Elizabeth Jordan
Diana Elizabeth Jordan, an award winning actress, writer, producer and director, is an important figure in the conversation about the inclusivity or lack thereof of people with disabilities in Hollywood. She found a way to get into and around Hollywood, with the help of her faith and self-confidence.
“There have been plenty of times in my life where I haven’t felt positive but I try my best to let the positive outweigh the negative and I think my faith in God has a lot to do with that,” said Jordan.
Jordan has cerebral palsy, which mildly affects her speech and gait. She has been acting professionally since she graduated from college. She began her career working in Chicago Theater. She also was the first actor with a disability to obtain Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from California State University Long Beach in 2001.
Since beginning her career, Diana has built an impressive list of over 40 credits in theater, film and television including her first T.V. guest star role on The WB’s 7th Heaven in 2004. The majority of roles she has been cast in have not been disability specific. It has always been important to her to be cast in roles where her disability is incidental to the character or storyline.
Rockville, Md., Jan 29 – The title of the 13th episode, “Seven Reasons,” is in reference to why Dr. Shaun Murphy thinks people lie. Themes include intellectual disability, ethics and religion.
Freddie Highmore, the actor who plays Murphy, portrays a person with autism, a developmental disability that affects 1 in 68 children. Many people with autism experience social and communication issues. Throughout the episode, Murphy talks in a robotic tone, talks about a subject obsessively, misunderstands social cues and avoids eye contact.
Rockville, Md., Jan. 22 – The mid-season premiere of The Good Doctor opens with Dr. Shaun Murphy running away from conflict based on what his mentor Dr. Aaron Glassman believes is best for him, which includes seeing a therapist.
Prior to the season break, Glassman introduced Murphy to Melissa Born, a therapist. Murphy previously had rejected a life skills coach because she could not “select a complimenting wardrobe.”
“I can’t always be there,” Glassman argued. “I can’t always help you the way you deserve to be helped.”
But Murphy responded emphatically, “I don’t want a stranger helping me.”
The Fosters
Rockville, Md., Jan. 20 – Season five of The Fosters returned with a bang – tackling issues from low expectations for students with disabilities to immigration rights.
Last season one of the leading characters, Jesus, had a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The show did a good job conveying how a person might change after experiencing a TBI. The show also shares how TBI affects the relationships between family and friends for people who have a TBI.
On the first day back at school this season, his teachers have lower expectations for Jesus, giving him less homework and more flexibility with test taking. He also is made fun of by his classmates, one saying he wished he had been hit in the head to receive the “benefits” Jesus is getting.
Nic Novicki
Beverly Hills, Dec. 21 – Recently, Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement have put a lot of attention on abuse in Hollywood. Long overdue conversations are taking place on how Hollywood can not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk, about vital issues. At the same time, Hollywood has an opportunity to walk the walk on a broad range of issues that can make the world a better place.
Last month’s Media Access Awards, which honors individuals both behind and in front of the camera who are advancing the disability narrative, changed hearts and minds for influential entertainment professionals in attendance, leading to pledges of increasing inclusion efforts for people with disabilities in Hollywood.
The Media Access Awards is unlike a traditional Hollywood award ceremony – though honoree Nic Novicki said, “it feels like an Oscar to me,” explaining the awards as “like the Oscars, but with more wheelchairs and sign language.”
Novicki is a little person and understands first hand how difficult it is for actors and actresses like him to find work in Hollywood. He needed little introduction, as presenter Jamie Brewer said, “his name is a known name in this industry.”
Novicki was just one of just nine individuals honored at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. He received the 2017 SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award in recognition of his talent and his work as an advocate for the disability community.
“We’re the largest minority group in the country,” Novicki said while accepting his award. “But yet we do not see ourselves represented. We’re in less than one percent of TV shows and movies.”
According to the 2017 Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) report Where We Are on TV, the number of regular primetime broadcast characters who have a disability is at 1.8 percent, representing only a fraction of the one-in-five individuals who has a disability in the world today.
Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 14 – On Sunday, January 7, 2018, CSA members across the country are making themselves available to union and non-union performers with disabilities. Professionally trained disabled artists and performers with disabilities actively pursuing careers in the arts are encouraged to attend. Artists will be given an opportunity to perform a prepared scene of their choice in front of a panel of professional casting directors. The open call will offer actors the opportunity to work with casting directors who are looking to expand their knowledge of underrepresented and undiscovered talent in a professional casting environment.
Artists will be given an opportunity to perform a 2-page, prepared scene of their choice in front of a panel of CSA casting directors.
Grey’s Anatomy’s Jason George
Boston, Mass., Nov. 22 — The Ruderman Family Foundation, which works to advocate for and advance the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout our society, received the SAG-AFTRA New York Disability Awareness Award at the Media Access Awards, which honors individuals who are showcasing the disability narrative accurately. SAG-AFTRA Diversity Chair Jason George accepted the award on their behalf during the ceremony in Los Angeles, Calif.
“We are sorry we couldn’t be there, but are very proud and honored by this recognition in Hollywood,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Thank you also to the Media Access Awards and all other partners and collaborators in Hollywood who are moving the needle on disability inclusion.”
Ruderman was not present because his foundation was holding its annual Inclusion Summit in Boston that weekend.
