News

Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Los Angeles, Jan. 30 – Paraphrasing Franz Kafka, philosopher Slavoj Žižek once said, “For a modern, secular non-religious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the dimension of the Divine.” Inspired by the events of the filmmakers’ friend, the short film Wiggle Room, written and directed by Julia Baylis and Sam Guest, is a somber reminder of the constant bureaucratic hurdles plaguing individuals with disabilities, who often rely on the caprices of insurance companies to survive. Anchored by the debut of lead actress Deanna Gibson, Wiggle Room turns the necessary evils of administration into an inescapable noose made of red tape hellbent on strangling our protagonist.

Premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Wiggle Room’s plot is deceptively simple: a teenage paraplegic (Gibson) travels to her nearest insurance office to retrieve the reimbursement for a ramp her mom had installed in their home. However, in the tradition of social realism or Ken Loach (specifically I, Daniel Blake), Baylis and Guest stress to us that immediate compensation is not a luxury afforded to the downtrodden. Over a year has passed since the erection of the ramp and it is in danger of repossession unless the insurance company finally pays up. Our protagonist embarks on the hero’s journey via accessible van in order to slay the leviathan that is bureaucracy. [continue reading…]

With Nasdaq considering new rules to promote diversity in corporate board rooms, advocacy organizations call for disability inclusion.

Washington, D.C., January 29 – In a week where the stock market was all over the headlines, a group of disability advocates responded to a solicitation from Nasdaq about proposed rule changes that would impact board room diversity. In their testimony about this proposal, the group, which included the National Organization on Disability, the National Disability Institute, ANCOR, Disability:IN DC Metro and RespectAbility, called for the proposed rule change to include recognition that the 1-in-5 people with disabilities want to have a better future themselves and to create a better future for others as well.

Back in December 2020, Nasdaq filed a proposed rule change at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intended to drive greater diversity and inclusion in Corporate America. The specific proposal would “require Nasdaq-listed companies…to have at least one director who self-identifies as a female… to have at least one director who self-identifies as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races or ethnicities, or as LGBTQ+.” If Nasdaq-listed companies did not comply, they would have to explain to the SEC why such self-identified diversity was lacking in the makeup of the current board members. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 28 – With one-in-five people having a disability in the U.S. today, the lack of representation – just 2.3 percent of characters in the 100 top-grossing films of 2019 and 8 percent in family films – means that millions of people are unable to see themselves reflected in media.

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival (January 28 – February 3) will provide an opportunity for audiences with various disabilities to see themselves represented – all from the comfort of their homes through the virtual festival site. This year, several films feature disability in the plot, including CODA, Amy Tan, 4 Feet High, Forever and Wiggle Room, among others. [continue reading…]

Watch the Full Panel

Los Angeles, January 21 – As the entertainment industry continues to intentionally include creatives with disabilities, The Television Academy is playing a part in educating their members. Through the Interactive Media Peer Group, Academy members discussed the importance of and the impact that disability in media has in molding public perceptions of the disability identity.

Moderated by Eileen Grubba, Filmmaker, Actress, and Disability Inclusion Advocate, the panel attracted “creatives, producers and technologists” at the forefront of establishing a more inclusive world, whether it be behind or in front of the camera or with technology to aid and assist people with disabilities. During the conversation, several advocates addressed the challenges facing people with disabilities in an inaccessible environment, along with trends and technologies ushering in a new era of unseen inclusion. [continue reading…]

As representation grows, disability still widely underrepresented in comparison to U.S. public with disabilities

Read the full report

Los Angeles, Jan. 14 – A new report by GLAAD shows a slight uptick in the percentage of series regular characters with a disability on broadcast scripted series to 3.5 percent for the 2020-2021 season, up from 3.1 percent. This represents a 12.9 percent increase. However, while the percentage showed improvement, the number of characters (27) remained the same from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021.

While increased representation should be celebrated, it also is important to note that, as stated in the GLAAD report, “this number continues to severely underrepresent the actual U.S. population living with disabilities,” as more than twenty percent of people in the U.S. have a disability. [continue reading…]

Join RespectAbility on Sundance’s Digital Main Street for Conversations on Accessible Filmmaking, Audio Description, Producing Deaf Content, and the Importance of Mentorships

Additional panelists added Friday, January 22, 2021

Los Angeles, Jan. 14, 2021 – The disability advocacy organization RespectAbility announces The Accessibility and Inclusion Lab – a virtual lineup of Sundance Film Festival events taking place on a digital Main Street.

As an official organization of the Sundance Institute’s Allied Organization Initiative since 2018, RespectAbility works with the Institute year-round to ensure disability and accessibility awareness, equity and inclusion. Led by diverse people with disabilities, RespectAbility’s Hollywood Team partners with studios and writers’ rooms to create equitable and accessible opportunities to increase the number of people with lived disability experience throughout the overall story-telling process. These initiatives increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how people view and value people with disabilities.

RespectAbility will be hosting five conversations on various disability-related subjects throughout the festival, two of which are in collaboration with Film Independent, a nonprofit arts organization that champions the independent filmmaker, helps filmmakers make their movies, build an audience for their projects and work to diversify the film industry. [continue reading…]

Ali Stroker as Detective Allison Mulaney

Los Angeles, Jan. 14 – If you had told me that CBS’ decade-long cop show, Blue Bloods, would tackle the issue of disability employment, I would have assumed you were from a parallel universe, but here we are.

In the episode properly titled “Redemption,” Blue Bloods introduces Detective Allison Mulaney, a feisty and well decorated detective paralyzed from the waist down due to an injury sustained in the line of duty. Mulaney is portrayed by Tony award-winning Broadway star Ali Stroker. Stroker’s first critical success came in 2019 when she won a Tony for best supporting actress for her role in Oklahoma! making her the first woman in a wheelchair to win a Tony. [continue reading…]

Matt James and Abigail Heringer. Credit: ABC

Los Angeles, Jan. 7 – Monday night saw the season 25 premiere of The Bachelor. This season has been highly anticipated, with the lead Matt James as the first Black Bachelor in the show’s history, and a lack of diversity is a longtime criticism of the show. The show also broke tradition by selecting James as the lead, who has never participated on the show. Leads are usually fan favorites from previous seasons.

James’ naivete and newcomer status comes as a refreshing change as I noticed little things that he did that were different from other leads who were following the direction of producers or what they had seen in past seasons. In another historic move, James chose Abigail Heringer, a deaf contestant, to receive his First Impression rose.

“So, there’s something a little bit different about me,” Heringer said to James when they first met. “And that is I’m deaf. So, I’m going to be reading your lips a lot tonight, but thankfully you have really beautiful lips. So, I’m not complaining!”

“I love that! I’m going to enunciate for you,” James responded. [continue reading…]

What does the ADA mean to you? In celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the disability advocacy nonprofit RespectAbility hosted a week-long summit including a day focused on working with the entertainment industry to advance authentic representation. To cap it off, the conversation focused on the importance of building a disabled industry pipeline for the future.

Hosted by the filmmaker and senior production advisor for RespectAbility Nasreen Alkhateeb, the panel spotlighted RespectAbility’s award-winning Hollywood Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities. [continue reading…]