Camp and Politics

Crip Camp is a very insightful and informational documentary. I think this movie should be seen by students for multiple reasons, a large one being the understanding of activism. Activism is the taking of action, specifically in a political or social setting. The film highlights the ins and outs of a disability activist group and how they went about advocating and fighting for their rights and the changes they wanted to see in the world. I think this is important because all of their actions as a group were nonviolent. They relied on sit-ins, hunger strikes, and information to change the minds of politicians and citizens in America. Not only that, but the film also shows how different groups of people come together for common causes. To support and learn from each other, an example of this is the Black Panthers group providing meals for the disabled who were protesting inside a political building for over twenty days, “A broad array of nondisabled ally groups supported the twenty-five-day occupation by disability activists of the HEW regional headquarters in San Francisco.” (23).

I think this is important for students to learn because it not only gives them the inspiration to fight for what they believe is right in a nonviolent way but how to advocate and help the community around them in order to improve the lives of others. The film shows a sense of community and comradery throughout the film that is a valuable thing for a child to learn and understand, find happiness in a community, relate to others, and be able to learn from them. I think this documentary will also teach high school students about disability and what it is to be disabled. It’s an accurate representation of the experience of those with disabilities and widens children’s minds to how to incorporate them into their lives, to look at their peers and the people in their community as people first, not defined by their disability the way society often phrases it.

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