Film will premiere as the Opening Night selection of The ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York and will be shown virtually on March 31, 2020, followed by a Q&A.

New York City, March 31 – Have you ever been online, just aimlessly scrolling through the web and found an article that makes a point you’ve been trying to get across for years, but have never been able to express: one of the moments where you can’t help but to exclaim that “they put it into words”? When it comes to the topic of disability representation in mainstream cinema, Code of the Freaks, directed by Salome Chasnoff, does just that, except for instead of being an 800-word opinion piece, it’s a brilliant, clever and expertly-crafted, hour-ish long film.

Touting a comedic disclaimer that “no people with disabilities were harmed in the making of this film,” Code opens with clips from the 1392 movie Freaks – from which it draws its name – and uses these examples as a jumping-off point for the discussion to come on disability representation in mainstream cinema. It takes clips from movies that include characters with disabilities and picks apart the way those characters, their stories and the situations are portrayed – including what the directors and writers got right, if anything, and what they did terribly (in most instances) wrong. It brings with it an important message in the fact that film, in many ways, functions as an educational medium – insofar as introducing people to experiences they might be unfamiliar with – meaning that what they ‘teach’ goes a lot further and deeper than one might think.

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Washington, D.C., March 27 – President Trump signed into law today the $2 trillion-dollar emergency stimulus aimed at propping up the economy during the current crisis. This law is unprecedented in its scope and is meant to help our nation respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even now, government agencies are going to work to implement the new law.

Millions of Americans living with disabilities are wondering what this new law means for them and whether they will see any benefit. The short answer is yes, but how far the law will go to help people with disabilities who are uniquely at-risk to the impact of the virus remains an open question. [continue reading…]

Lily Coltoff

Erdenheim, Pa., Mar. 27 – As I sit in my childhood home outside of Philadelphia in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, now almost two weeks after having been uprooted from my “new” life I was starting in DC, it seems only natural that my mind should wander to happier, “easier” times – many of which only happened one month ago. Four weeks ago, COVID-19 was just coming on our radar, having had only just jumped from the international pages to the bottom of the front page. My mind was elsewhere – primarily focused on Jewish disability advocacy.

It’s strange to think that, right now, I’m working in a field that, only a few short years ago, I had absolutely no idea existed. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., March 26 – Last night Senate leaders voted unanimously to move forward on the $2 trillion-dollar emergency stimulus bill meant to help our nation respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill, originally called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), now goes to the House of Representatives for a vote. If passed, then it will go to the President’s desk to become law.

You can read more about the bill on the Senate Appropriations Committee website HERE.

However, what does this mean for the millions of Americans living with disabilities? What provisions will specifically impact or help the disability community? What help is there for actual people with disabilities who are uniquely at-risk to the impact of the virus?

RespectAbility and a host of other disability advocacy organizations have been working around the clock to answer these questions for the past several days. Those that lobby have been fighting hard to include key provisions into the law that will help the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. [continue reading…]

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***  

Los Angeles, Calif., March 26 – Rarely does a film come along that feels entirely refreshing, not just in terms of the genre, but in everything it does: “Single” is one of those hidden gems. The new Ashley Eakin film, Special Jury Recognition Winner at SXSW 2020 for Narrative Shorts, shines with its gorgeous, saturated, Hollywood-polished cinematography, authentic representation and undeniable assertation that it is not a love story – while tackling the complexities of dating while disabled.

“Single” tells the story of a day in the life of Kim: a millennial looking to live her life and maybe find love along the way – or at least a chance to get off of Tinder. As the film opens, she can be seen acting like any other twenty-something: buying a bottle of wine, talking on the phone to her friend and telling her about the blind date she’s going on, set up by her mom’s friend from book club.

She also has one arm. [continue reading…]

Tatiana Lee

Los Angeles, California, March 25 – I’m a person living with a disability. I was born with Spina Bifida, and I live in Los Angeles. Like many of you, I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. As of last week, my family and I are officially on stay-at-home orders. That means no leaving the house unless necessary, like for groceries and medical needs. This type of life is too familiar to most people with disabilities, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a difficult time. Some are self-isolated and can’t get the care they need. Having a chronic health condition makes you feel doomed to be in contact with anyone, even for everyday care needs.

I am very fortunate I have family that helps to keep me safe and healthy. It’s great to know I’m not totally isolated because I am with my mom and sister. That is not the case for many of my peers. It’s unsettling to live in a moment of constant uncertainty, especially during times of medical rationing, knowing that we (the disability community) will probably be the last to receive proper care. But we must remain strong and optimistic, and healthy during this time. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, Calif., March 25 – The groundbreaking Crip Camp, winner of the 2020 Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival for U.S. Documentary, premieres today on Netflix. This film, which chronicles the early days of some of the disability movement’s greatest civil rights advocates, comes at an extremely important time as people with disabilities fight for equal treatment, including that hospitals are not pushed into medical rationing during COVID-19.

Read this reflection by RespectAbility Board Member Neil Jacobson, a former Camp Jened camper, and watch the documentary today:

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Matan Koch

I am a proud Jew. I am also a 38-year-old quadriplegic with asthma. Millions of Americans – myself included – are at high risk from the virus and from medical rationing. Sadly, the de facto devaluation of disabled lives in healthcare is nothing new, but there is a current push to make it policy. It is always hard to determine the best way to allocate scarce resources, but Jewish tradition teaches that every life is of incalculable worth. Doctors will have to make enough tough choices, about who is likely to survive, and already will have to make the terrible judgment about who can survive without say, a ventilator, and who will die even if they have one.

Let us not compound this challenge by asking our doctors to place subjective value on individual lives, both because it is unfair to them and because any such subjectivity would necessarily disadvantage those whose life experience is very different from that of the doctor, including people with disabilities. After accounting for likelihood of survival, first-come first-served is the only rational way to decide between two lives of incalculable value. [continue reading…]

Looking for the most up-to-date information? View www.respectability.org/covid-19.

Washington, D.C., Mar. 23 – As negotiations in the United States Senate bog down around a proposed $1.6 trillion economic stimulus package, disability advocates seek allies to ensure that the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic helps, rather than injures, the largest minority community in America.

The nation is facing unprecedented social, economic and health challenges at every level of society and the 1-in-5 people with disabilities are uniquely vulnerable to the disruptive consequences of COVID-19. Whether we are talking about issues of food insecurity, access to healthcare/testing, switching to telework, or life-or-death medical decisions, the disability community is deeply impacted by these events. [continue reading…]