8/20/25 - Disabled in Gaza, and disability on screen

And we're back!

These three articles make me think about how disability issues that can seem narrow and specialized overlap with broader political and social issues.

Trapped in Gaza: Palestinians with disabilities cannot reach aid

United Nations - August 15, 2025

"Over 83 per cent of people with disabilities in Gaza do not have the assistive devices they need, including wheelchairs, hearing aids and other tools. And for those that do, the batteries which enable these devices to work are in very short supply ... This makes it exponentially more difficult – if not impossible – for them to access healthcare and food."

How should we as disabled people and disability activists approach issues that aren't exclusively about disability, but which uniquely affect disabled people? Should we:

• Focus narrowly on what's happening to disabled people, because we are disabled and in a uniquely informed position to shed light on what's almost always a neglected portion of wider problems? Or ...
• Don't focus too narrowly on how it's affecting disabled people, because talking exclusively about disabled people in war zones and atrocities allows us to neglect or deliberately avoid dealing with the broader political issues generating the crisis.

Is it beneficial to view Gaza through the specific lens of disabled people? Or, does that become an excuse to dodge the bigger questions about what's happening there?

Notice I'm not answering these questions. Is that because I honestly don't know what I think? Or, am I simply avoiding controversy? I don't know!

What will it take to get more disabled characters, and actors, on the big screen?

Abby Hughes, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - August 8, 2025

"Sean Towgood, a Canadian writer and actor (You're My Hero) who has cerebral palsy, says the findings are 'disheartening,' though not entirely surprising. He says there's a sense in the film and TV industry that producers or executives choose to tell some stories about disability occasionally, but then rest on their laurels ... 'They just check a box and they're like, 'Well, we did that. We don't have to think about it for another 10 years, right?,' Towgood said."

This piece gives a good overview of what we should be looking for in disability "representation" in films. That includes not just including disabled characters, but disabled actors to play them. The article also makes me wonder whether the drop in disability representation in movies is just a normal fluctuation. Or, is it part of the broader retreat from deliberate "diversity, equity, and inclusion" efforts throughout culture? Is this a unique ableism problem, or mostly a side effect from "anti-woke" backlash?

A Viewer Like Me: Finding Myself on Sesame Street

Emily Ladau, Words I Wheel By - August 12, 2025

"I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what an essential role public media plays in educating and shifting perspectives not only about disability, but about people of all backgrounds and cultures. Or that it provides access to information across political, social, and economic spectrums. And how these things terrify this administration, as evidenced by their desperate, cruel moves to exert control over narratives about humanity ... But what I can tell you is this: while public media is still available (should the worst happen and it becomes extinct), I hope you’ll explore the treasures it has to offer. I hope it makes you feel less alone. I hope it makes you feel seen."

Again, here is an active public policy issue – the recent elimination of federal funding for public media – that's not really about disability, but from a disabled, and very personal angle. Plus, it's interesting to read a bit more detail about how Emily Ladau came to be in a season of Sesame Street, and how the experience being a representation of disability on TV fit into her growth as a disabled child. There's also a good watch list of PBS programs with disability themes.

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