The short film “The Kids Are Alright” provides us a look into the lives of folks with muscular dystrophy. Specifically, we are following former kids who were used by Jerry Lewis in the infamous telethon to raise money for a cure. Now, not all members were associated with being one of “Jerry’s Orphans.” That is because this group of activists had a larger goal to spread visibility about disability. While not everyone had the honor to be ignorantly cussed out by bitter Lewis in a Vanity Fair interview, everyone had felt the pain of being disregarded as “other,” or “not enough” in their everyday lives. The telethon was formatted to rack up pity-points from the audience through shameless manipulation and lies. It is not wrong to raise money for helpful organizations, but these donors are unaware of where this money is going or how it is being used. That is where we set the scene as our activists speak out against the shady organization and Lewis’ failure to listen (as well as the rest of our nation).
Mike Ervin, leader of the movement “Jerry’s Orphans,” guides us through every protest and what it all really means to him. Ervin’s frustration partially comes from the narratives surrounding the disabled community. One major issue, disabled folks’ voices are typically put on mute or never broadcasted in any form. Secondly, able-bodied people paint pictures of misery, pain, and suffering when speaking on behalf of the disabled community. Take for example the goal of finding a cure. Ervin himself never felt the need for a cure. He describes his life as a fulfilled one and wishes to distance himself from dialogue that enables the idea of fixing him. Ervin also organized protests alongside peers to be peaceful and educational. Sit-ins started occurring during the telethon with powerful messages like, “Piss on pity,” encouraging pride in the disabled community for a change. Education about muscular dystrophy and the Muscular Dystrophy Association was readily available through helpful pamphlets handed out by the activists. This chosen mode of protest and resources should have been enough to push people to realize we need to do better. Ervin and his peers had done most of the work through serious research, sharing their experiences, and being kind but firm in the face of ignorance. All the audience had to do was put in effort past that point, like read or listen.
Overall, this film receives a gleaming 4 out of 5 stars. Given his major role in activism, the film chose to center around Ervin, but it would have been nice to hear more voices. I think one of the many vital lessons to learn from this film is how activism works. The telethon audience donating money to an organization they have not read up on can sum up many American activists today. It is much easier to do no research, read nothing, listen to no one and forget the next day. Ervin’s team did activism the correct way and needed others to step up to do the exact same. Nothing gets done without proper action. The pacing in this film felt a little off or rushed for the sake of time and storytelling. I wish they had a better timeline of events, or extended it.
I like the way you point out the community-building aspects of the film: Jerry’s Orphans and the telethon is the focus, but the message of disability pride and rights to access go beyond this focus. I’m interested too in how their educational campaign would progress, how they hope it would achieve change, exactly. A longer version of the narrative could certainly help with this.