personal experience

Adding a personal touch to the Disability Rights Movement,”Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

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To begin “Crip Camp”, the viewers are introduced to a cast of colorful people all who attended or worked at Camp Jened. The cast is comprised mostly of people with disabilities so they offer a rarely seen view on the 1960s and 1970s. Each cast member gives their accounts of their time at the camp, not at camp and how it impacted their views on life. The film transitions to focus on the campers’ life after the camp, in particular the community they had become for each other. Many of the campers were in the frontlines the Disability rights movements allowing the viewer to get a more in-depth view of the protests for the enforcement of the Architectural Barriers Act.  A while providing examples of why it was necessary. The film provides context and details for a not necessarily informed audience well, making it a good introduction to the disability rights movement. The use of personal narratives allows more complex issues for the disabled community, such as access, independence, and sexuality, to be shown in way that person with no background knowledge in disability studies can digest. “Crip Camp” is a great guiding piece when introducing the fight for Disability rights to a new audience. It hooks the viewer with personal details, sometimes employing nostalgia to invest the viewer but the film does not rely too heavily on this tactic. It remains relatable to both a younger and older demographic, making perfect to introduce disability studies to older teenagers.

The films central message discusses how inclusion and exclusion affect the lives of disabled people. The start of the film is sets up view of the campers’ lives in a place where they felt included, where they had access to live life. One camper is makes a remark about never being sidelined at Camp Jened, relating to a broader aspect of access,” linked to a more inclusive society with greater opportunities for social and political participation (pp.15),” as put by Bess Williamson in Keywords for Disability Studies. Williamson asserts that the issue of access has two distinct facets that occasionally limit each other, one the access to be a citizen, to be a person and the other to have the ability to enter and move about a space(pg.14-15). The films central conflict the occupation of the San Francisco federal offices, Highlights the fact that physical access allows people to access their citizenship and personhood, but first they need to be seen as person by those limiting their access. The film overcomes this barrier easily by displaying the person first then calling for better access.

The film is most suited for an audience who has passed their late teen or is actively in their late teens. There are a couple points in the film that would need to be skipped due to graphic language, but for the most part they are not central scenes to main conflict of the film, they are just a couple of many scenes humanizing the campers. Due to nature of film’s topic a certain level of maturity and care is needed in the audience to get the full extent of the film’s message. That being said, for people to grow into this film’s ideal audience, showing them “Crip Camp” and discussing it with them is great step to take. I do urge any teachers thinking of showing “Crip Camp” to consider their classes and what type of discussion would be the most productive for their class. “Crip Camp” is a film with layers and certain groups may attach to one layer over the others, so any discussion or viewing should not be structured like a one size fits all.  Also some background information on the ADA, ABA and early disability rights movements may be necessary to contextualize parts of the film. 4/5

referenced sources:

Willianson,Beth, “Access” ,Keywords for Disability Studies.  Edited by Adams, R.Serlin, D., & Serlin, D. H. (2015). NYU Press. pp.14-17

An anthology of hidden realities: A review of Disability Visibility by Alice Wong

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“There’s something horrifying about realizing people don’t see you as an adult when in fact you are an adult.” (135, Sjenneson)

The quote above comes from “How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage”, a contribution to Disability Visibility by Elsa Sjunneson, where Sjunneson discusses her experience with her anger and how the world defined her by her emotions as invalid. This just one of many personal narratives documented in Disability Visibility. Each entry captures the distinct views and life experiences of its author, allowing a small insight into their reality. Most entries are around 3-5 pages long allowing the reader to sit, enjoy a short story, and have time to reflect upon what they just read without information overload. This is a very effective presentation for the narratives included, as allows the audience to digest each message and work through their personal thoughts on the issues discussed.

Disability Visibility is Academic yet Personable. This is the books strongest feature. The reader feels like they are being talked to by a person passing by on the street. Each author has their own tone, but none are extremely clinical or academic. The anthology allows each featured author a moment to shine, to take up some space. “Taking up space as a disabled person is revolutionary” (115), as Sandy Ho states in her chapter (“Canfei to Canji”). The reader gets a chance to know them, hear their views, to humanize these voices. This allows a greater retention of each author’s messages, as one feels like they are personal being talked to and can find some familiarity in a topic foreign to many. This also allows for even the most skeptical of readers to find something to relate to, something they will engage with.

The beauty of Disability Visibility is the way every narrative differs from each other, but clear themes appear as one reads the book. Not all the authors have the same world views making these themes much mor meaningful. Sentiments such as “…. for me to claim the label, when I didn’t feel “disabled enough”, felt disingenuous” (56, Eric-Udorie) are expressed multiple times in completely different context. On the other side of the coin, many times a sentiment like “Crip space is unique, a place where disability is celebrated and embraced… (273)” appears. This wide swing in visible opinions allows the reader the opportunity to build a well-rounded picture of disability. This is the main reason I would suggest this book to people, especially if they have little experience with disability. I would also like to say it has been very enlightening as someone with some experience. Learning about struggles others have faced and how they work around those struggles has been inspiring and view-shifting. Over all I would rate Disability Visibility , 4.5/5.

Readers will find overall the personal experiences are mildly alarming at the worst. However, I can guarantee there will likely be one or two entries that are disturbing or triggering. These chapters will probably be different for every person. So, I think some cation is healthy when reading certain chapters. Though, if possible, I think everyone should try to read those chapters.  I have found that each chapter is impactful in its own unique way, and by skipping some you are missing out on a journey. That being said mental health and wellness is a bigger priority than learning a new perspective.