CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion is a 2018 documentary and investigation into the way media portrayals impact the actual inclusion of people with disabilities in society.
Long has Hollywood and television made use of ‘disabled’ characters, from the early days of cinema to modern times, featuring figures with missing or twisted limbs, blind, scarred or otherwise afflicted by some condition that renders them ‘different’ from the norm. Yet stop and think how many of these people are accepted as ‘normal’ in these stories, their physical state central to the plot rather than simply part of who they are? They are devious monsters out to cause harm or the opposite, angelic innocents who deserve to be cured.
It’s no secret that nearly all of these characters throughout the years have been portrayed by actors with no such disabilities, leaving our collective cinematic perception nearly unchanged for the whole history of movies. How often do you even think about it? Now comes director Jenni Gold‘s latest film CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion, a deeply personal and exhausting examination of that history from years before Charlie Chaplin to the present, showcasing several noted films and performances that have had huge influence on audience awareness and attitudes toward disabled people, some good, most bad.
Her film is an intriguing and eye-opening journey that digs incredibly deep into the subject, often spotlighting films you might not even think about featuring a disabled person at all, yet hammers home with compelling detail her point, one made before by those who struggle to make changes. That includes author Matthew F. Norden, whose 1994 book Cinema Of Isolation: A History Of Physical Disability In The Movies shed a bright light on the cause, speaking often in Gold’s movie. A host of others make appearances as well, from Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Gary Sinise, Geena Davis, William H. Macy, and Jane Seymour (most of whom, curiously enough, make the marketing materials, though perhaps understandably so) but more so, disabled actors who have far more insightful stories to tell.
The film tracks a troubled history, including that of Lon Chaney, an able-bodied actor who made a career out of playing evil disabled characters, a trend in the business that was pervasive for decades. Then there is the other side of the coin, most notably a disabled-positive film from William Wyler, the 1946 drama The Best Years of Our Lives, with Harold Russell, a real WWII vet with missing hands winning two Oscars for his work. This back and forth continues, with a kind of rollercoaster ride of titles that paint the wrong picture or otherwise do it right, creating a unique watch that works hard to unearth a story more than a hundred years in the making.
Gold is of course the right choice for this daunting project, herself the first wheelchair using female in the Director’s Guild. While her film is a cavalcade of familiar faces, taking on a life of its own as it spins from one actor’s experience with portraying a disabled character or working with someone who is to another, it rarely loses its focus, even if there lacks a certain cohesion with no central narrator or interviewer to link its progression. Gold looks to give everyone attention, offering many disabled actors in the business from decades past to now a chance to have their say and that often works well enough.
The message is obvious and if anything, Gold’s film ought to invite audiences to look closer at the entertainment they watch, and more so, lay more groundwork for change. There are some powerful moments here, from Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin‘s stirring account of her breakthrough in movies to a string of television talents with inspiring stories of their own. CinemAbility accomplishes much, feeling like it’s a story long overdue, and unsurprisingly is filled with hope. Highly recommended.
CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion is now available on VOD