Celebrating independence, pleasure and fun in disability-centred storytelling
Review of a documentary from the lens of disability; and some very watchable films by blind filmmakers around the world
Konnichiwa! Welcome, new subscribers! I’m Priti Salian, an independent journalist, researcher, accredited media trainer and the author of Reframing Disability, writing from Bengaluru, India.
Since I’m on a break this month, I’m sharing one of my most-read pieces from an earlier edition. Since I couldn’t help myself, I’ve added some additional filmmaking by blind filmmakers.
I’m Disabled, Not Miserable
A still from Friday Night Blind. Courtesy: Scott Krahn
I devour films about smart, independent women. Add quirky and badass to the mix and they become almost inspirational for me. So, when I watched a documentary about three blind friends published in The New Yorker, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you. It’s 13 minutes of pure fun; entertainment you wouldn’t regret spending time on. But wait. The reason I’m sharing it in Reframing Disability is because it’s the kind of storytelling on disability that can make a difference. Watch the protagonists, Judy, Rhonda and Sandy participate in the Milwaukee Beer Barrels Blind Bowling League in “Friday Night Blind” and then, read on.
A heads-up though. While the documentary has captions and a descriptive transcript, I couldn’t find a version with audio descriptions even on The New Yorker’s website. Without audio descriptions, the film is inaccessible to blind and low-vision audiences. I apologise to all of you whom this documentary excludes. You will have to, yet again, get help from a sighted person if you decide to watch it.
Here’s my two cents on the storytelling through a disability lens:
I like how the documentary places greater emphasis on the three women's friendship and their ideas of fun as opposed to their challenges due to blindness.
Their struggles also come through in the storytelling. Judy, one of the three main characters, confesses that she misses her life before losing her sight. She mentions bumping into furniture in her house. "Trust me, I do walk into stuff sometimes," she says.
However, there are no details of the women’s medical diagnosis or how the impairment occurred. The storyteller doesn't ask the women any questions about it. Why? Because medical diagnosis is not relevant to every story on disability.
As a viewer, I get a sense that life is harder for someone who loses sight later in life versus a person born blind.
Sandy, a protagonist who has been blind since birth, has travelled the world on her own. Her two friends who experienced blindness later in life mention having learned a thing or two from her.
When the filmmaker turns his lens on the women’s assistive devices, I appreciate how they get by independently. For instance, Rhonda’s colour identifier assists her in differentiating yarns, a bill reader helps Judy read her currency notes and Sandy relies on her Perkins Brailler to write.
Sandy says something very profound about living with blindness (and disability): “You may live life just like everyone else. You may have to do things in a different way. There's just no right way or wrong way. You just learn to do things in the way that works out for you.”
I was delighted that she chose to say “just like everyone else” instead of “normal person” which I hear so often.
The documentary attempts to “normalise” disability as a human diversity. It demonstrates that the interview subjects lead full lives and are fairly independent, being busy throughout the week with various engagements, and making time for enjoyment. Bowling is a weekly activity that the three of them do together with little assistance.
“Whatever disability you got, don't let it get you down,” Judy notes. “Cause I was stressed out a long time, but now I get my purse, my shoes and my coat, and I'm hitting that door whenever I get ready,” she adds. I get a sense that she struggled to adapt, initially when she lost sight, but has now gotten used to living with blindness.
I love that the story is told through the three blind women and not their family or friends. Nowhere in the documentary do I find sympathy shown to them because of their disability.
The documentary obviously hasn’t covered their entire lives. But what stands out to me is that these three women are not miserable because of their blindness.
People have varying experiences and disability doesn’t make everyone miserable all the time.
Stories focusing on pleasure, leisure, fun, and independence, at the intersections of disability and gender, always leave me pleasantly surprised because of their rarity.
A word of caution though. Everyone is not the same and disability is a huge spectrum. Just as all three women differ in their blindness, they differ in their level of privilege from other disabled people not featured in the story.
Jody Santos, a human rights filmmaker, associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University and the founder and executive director of the Disability Justice Project, reviews the cinematography of the documentary.
“I like how the film is often told through the subject’s perspective - blurred shapes. I also like the intimacy of the shots - a lot of close-ups and warm colours,” she said.
“Some of the shots are shaky or abrupt, but that adds to the intimate feeling. The documentary is real and not overly polished.”
I shared the documentary with my friend, Mahretta Maha, a blind filmmaker and disability rights activist in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“What I like is that the documentary spreads the message that blind people can do many things. They can go bowling. They can also have fun,” Mahretta said. “Such perspectives are missing in mainstream Indonesian media.”
“But because audio descriptions were missing, I had to rely on my sighted friend to understand various things, such as, who was speaking, how they looked, or how their assistive devices worked,” Mahretta added.
Mahretta’s own filmmaking for the Disability Justice Project is fully accessible. Watch her video on the struggles of blind massage therapists in Indonesia.
I reached out to Scott Krahn who produced and co-directed this documentary with Robb Fischer. Scott told me that while the film has been screened at 36 film festivals, no one asked for audio descriptions. That’s how low the awareness is about accessibility around the world.
"We never added audio descriptions since The New Yorker and none of the 36 film festivals we screened at ever asked us to do that. We are so sorry that so many people are unable to fully experience Friday Night Blind," Scott says.
More filmmaking by blind producers
Audio descriptions are essential in films to include blind and visually impaired audiences and today I have for you some important accessible films made by blind filmmakers.
Filmmaker Adam Morse, who happens to be blind, uses Guided Frames, an accessibility feature on a Google Pixel phone that makes videography accessible to blind and visually impaired users. Adam has used Guided Frames to film a commercial on the feature with a visually impaired artist.
Both the commercial and a behind-the-scenes video on the making of the commercial smash some stereotypes about visual impairment. As Laura Allen, head of strategy and programmes at Google Accessibility, notes in the film: “Disability itself is a tremendous spectrum. We are showing one person’s perspective and the way that one person views the world.”
Of the nearly 400 DeafBlind people living in Malawi, 250 are school-aged children, according to a survey by the Visual Hearing Impairment Membership Association and the Malawi Council for the Handicapped. These children are falling behind in education, as schools often lack the resources to provide learning accommodations for DeafBlind students. Duster Lucius, a DeafBlind filmmaker from Malawi documents their struggles in “A New Challenge”.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) cites “access to information and emergency services” as a human right, but for Pacific Islanders with disabilities, accessible disaster response information isn’t always available during an emergency. The Samoa Blind Persons Association (SBPA) established the first-ever Braille unit in Samoa in 2018 to produce Braille electronically. Ari Hazelman, the producer of this film, “Knowledge is Power”, was a key advocate in this enormous step forward in disability and climate justice.
In her documentary, “Crossroads” Sita Sah highlights the lives of two Nepali mothers who, after being left by their husbands, have found ways to thrive and support themselves and their children. She also talks with a renowned singer who chose solitude over the prospect of marriage-induced violence or dependency. Beyond individual stories, “Crossroads” shines a spotlight on the collective efforts of activists striving for systemic change.
A recent survey commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women found that Samoan women with disabilities are twice as unlikely to be employed in Samoa compared to men with disabilities. Samoan women with disabilities also reported often being denied training and education opportunities. The absence of adequate safeguards can result in significant consequences for women with disabilities, who face intersecting junctures of oppression. Faaolo Utumapu-Utailesolo reports in Gender Justice.
In the remote districts of Humla and Mugu, Nepal, a community’s concerted efforts are transforming lives through grassroots advocacy. Chhitup Lama from Nepal directed, “Together, We Can Make a Better World” which tells the story of Yankyi Rokaya, who, after a childhood injury resulted in a disability, pursued alternative treatments despite medical recommendations for amputation.
On June 8, 2023, flash floods of nearly one meter in height swept across the Fa’asaleleaga district on the eastern coast of Savai’i, Samoa. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, severe floods and other extreme weather events will become more frequent in the Pacific as the effects of climate change continue to intensify. In his documentary On the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis, Sa Utailesolo reports on the criticality of disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction in Samoa.
Thanks for reading this edition. Please share your feedback on what you liked or didn’t. What do you want to see in the upcoming issues?
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Warmly,
Priti