[stylist] New Book, blindness on TV

Fri Feb 14 17:44:58 UTC 2014

Several things bode well for the portrayal of a blind character in "Growing
Up Fisher."

1.  The blind guy is one of the heads of the family, not the main character.
I believe the sighted public is not ready for a blind main character.
Rather, blindness is most effectively approached obliquely.

2.  The show's creator has experience living with a blind person.  Sighted
people who relate most easily to me have been used to being around a person
with a disability.

3.  The show's creator has perspective about blindness.   He says
"...blindness is like the seventeenth thing wrong with him...".

4.  The show's creator intends to portray the character as a distinct person
rather than as an Everyman.  He said "I don't want this to be every visually
impaired person's story."  For me, a unique, distinct character is more
engaging and memorable than an Everyman.

The weak point may be in the blind character's portrayal.  The actor playing
the blind dad is sighted, and talks about "Your whole life is naturally
fixed on picked up movements," and "throwing things out of focus,"  although
it's possible that he is alluding to his character's having some residual
vision.  Regardless, the show's success or failure will depend on much more
than the blind character.

Bill Meeker

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris Kuell
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 7:50 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] New Book, blindness on TV

I don't know if anyone has been watching the Winter Olympics, or can tell
from the commercials, but NBC is plugging a new show called 'Growing up
Fisher' that is about a family with a blind father. My wife says the
commercials show him riding a bike, cooking, and cutting down a tree with a
chainsaw. The show is based on the life of one of the writers who grew up
with a blind father. Maybe there's hope after all.

Here's what I found in USA today:

PASADENA, Calif. - NBC's Growing Up Fisher is another family comedy, but
there's a difference: the father, Mel Fisher (J.K. Simmons), is blind
(pictured).
It's not arbitrary. Fisher, which premieres following Olympics coverage on
Feb. 23 (10:30 p.m. ET/PT), is based on the childhood of series creator DJ
Nash. It moves to its regular Tuesday slot (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) on Feb. 25.
"My dad went blind when he was 11 and hid his blindness (to) pretty much
everyone outside the family" until he and his wife divorced and he got a
guide dog, Nash said Sunday at the Television Critics Association winter
press tour. A scene where the father cuts down a tree with a chainsaw is
based on his own experiences.
Fisher's premise is not a gimmick, said executive producer Jason Bateman,
who provides the voiceover for Mel's son, Henry, looking back on his youth. 
"It's his true story. Cynicism, be gone," he said.

The show, which is set in the present day, looks at the Fisher family after
Mel and his wife, Joyce (Jenna Elfman), decide to divorce. They remain
"amazing parents" to teenage daughter Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) and
11-year-old son Henry (Eli Baker).

There were challenges to the situation at the time, Nash said, but "looking
back, I wouldn't change a thing."
Simmons, who is not blind, said he had help from Nash, a visually impaired
consultant and another consultant in learning how to play a man who can't
see.

"Your whole life is naturally fixed on picked-up movement, so it's a simple
case of throwing your eyes out of focus," he said. "The main things I
learned (were) all the other bits of behavior, how you handle things, what
you do with your hands, how you interact physically with other people."

Although Mel's blindness may stand out initially, Nash said that's only one
aspect of the character's personality and one element of the family's story.

Some viewers may "see the first thing about Mel is that he's blind. My dad
being blind is like the 17th thing wrong with him. He's stubborn. He hugs
too much. He's a lawyer. There's a lot of craziness going on over there," he
said. "I don't want this to be every visually impaired person's story. ... 
We're trying to tell Henry's perspective of what that was like and how it
informs who he is as a father today."

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 10:51 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] My New Book

> It's very true. And most of us have come across literary characters who
> are less than positive examples of blindness, so why not combat it by
> writing our own strong, independent blind characters? Writing in any
> form is a potentially great tool for change. When you look at history,
> it's not politicians or their legislation that has made the most change,
> but it is the artistic community who have organized and used their
> talents to create change. The Civil Rights movement, LBGT issues,
> feminism... The deepest change has occurred through art, theatre, music,
> dance and yes, writing. So why can't the disabled community do the same?
>
> Bridgit
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of P.
> Campbell
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 6:39 AM
> To: newmanrl at cox.net; Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] My New Book
>
>
>    Thank you.  I feel that fiction, accurate fiction, is a good way to
> promote the blind.  People who will not read an article, no matter how
> well
> written, will read fiction.
>
> I feel that in some cases this is equally true where the blind
> themselves
> are concerned.  This is especially true for young people, who often feel
>
> that their problems are unique to them.  Reading about a character who
> may
> have the same problems is often inspiring.
>
> "Mrs. Campbell, I didn't know that happened to other people." or "Do
> other
> people feel that way, too?"  are things I often hear from young people
> who
> are blind.
>
> Phyllis
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site
> http://writers.nfb.org/
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/bpollpeter%40hotmai
> l.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site
> http://writers.nfb.org/
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> stylist:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/ckuell%40comcast.net 

_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site
http://writers.nfb.org/
stylist mailing list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
stylist:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/meekerorgas%40ameritech
.net