[stylist] New Book, blindness on TV

Sat Feb 15 02:13:01 UTC 2014

Lynda,
I think of it as a sign of where we are in terms of civil rights for blind
people. There is an historical precedent in the African-American struggle
for equality. To me the fact that they probably didn't even consider a blind
actor for "Growing Up Fisher" shows that the sensabilities of the general
public are akin to what they were with blacks before the days of Morgan
Freedman andJames Earl Jones. That is to say that the general public sees
the specific minority as separate from themselves, fundamentally different
and inferior.

I'm not so disturbed about the fact that a sighted man got the part in a TV
show as I am about what it says about the reality that we have a long, long
way to go before we are seen as equals.

The inroads made since the ADA in the early '90s are not taking root in the
psychi of the masses. The Louis Harris people were commissioned in the early
'90s by the National Organization on Disability to conduct a survey to
determine what the general public really thought about people with
disabilities. The summary statement said that they view us as "fundamentally
different than themselves" and that the predominant feelings were admiration
and pity. Anger and some other things were present as well. I just don't
feel like things have changed much.

One explaination for this that I heard years ago involved the order in which
things occurred. For blacks, there was a consciousness raising that
preceeded the legislative changes. White middle-class Americans were
horrified by the murder of little black girls in church and all the other
disgusting travisties that marked the Civil Rights movement. There was a
change in consciousness first. In the case of the ADA, that wasn't what
happened. There were of course enlightened people and activists who worked
for change because they knew it was the right thing to do, but the ideas
weren't  as widely shared by the public -- most of which had their heads in
the sand and didn't think about people with disabilities at all.

On the other hand, the educated class such as yourself has embraced an open
mind to a point. You are an example of that. Somehow, you had it in you to
embrace life as a blind person, a particularly impressive response
considering that you are an artist. I know you had a rough time at first,
but somewhere you got it through your head that sight wasn't the be-all and
the end-all. The stereotype for senior citizens losing their sight was
always one of a person who accepted their fate as helpless to some degree.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 6:07 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] New Book, blindness on TV

oH, YES, indeed white actors portrayed black people in the movies, theater,
Vaudeville, and on radio. That was the norm to do it.  This is how black
actors were kept out of jobs in the movies - I taught African American
Literature and Arts at Geneva College for years, and I lectured on this
topic for the PA Humanities Council all over PA in the past so I can tell
you for sure, this is absolutely the truth of the matter.   If you think
back at the roles that black people portrayed themselves, they were
presented as fools, criminals, and very stupid servants who just LOVED the
people they had to care for and labor for.  Think about Gone With the Wind -
for instance.  And, think about more recent years when  Monster's Ball won
academy awards - for an actor who was very very light skinned, but a black
woman nevertheless, who played the part of a woman who was less than
admirable.  I am trying to think of a really good role model at this time
for a black actor who is shown in a very positive light but is not in a
movie about slavery.

To me, this is the same kind of thing - a sighted actor who presumes to
understand how to play a blind man. And, there are some outstanding blind
actors - i think Tom Sullivan is one that comes to my mind. I have read his
books. I think that is his name.  It is naieve of anyone to think this is
appropriate in this day and age when there is so much education available on
disabilities, inclusion, and diversity.

Just me going on a rant because this is one of my tipping points. Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Applebutter Hill" <applebutterhill at gmail.com>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 3:59 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] New Book, blindness on TV

> Yes, this is a major flaw, and I remember hearing that quote about how he
> was going to portray the blind man and thinking it sounded a bit
> simplistic.
> There are blind people who want to be on stage, and some have had some
> luck
> in community theater groups, but a lot of them get told it's too
> complicated
> to get them in the right place for their scenes.
>
> I wonder if there was a time when white actors portrayed black people in
> film or TV? I'm pretty sure that did happen, but I can't think of specific
> examples.
> Donna
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda
> Lambert
> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 1:12 PM
> To: meekerorgas at ameritech.net; Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] New Book, blindness on TV
>
> Bill, I agree with all you have said here. What an enormous disappointment
> it is to me, to know that a sighted person is the actor playing a blind
> character. I guess that means, that acting is not a skill a blind person
> can
> be successul at?  We know better than that! So it is a major flaw in my
> opinion.
>
> My experience this past 6 1/2 years after my own sight loss is that our
> close friends drop off like crazy when we become different - only a very
> few
> remain. but, the good news is that other great people step forward and
> become our friends.  We live in a world between sighted and blind, most of
> the time, when we are pursuing our careers, and doing the things we did
> before we lost our sight. We become very strange to many people who do not
> know how to deal with it at all, and really do not want to. I have had to
> very consciously put all this aside, and continue on my own career path
> and
> not dwell on the negativity - but keep my mind focused on the positive. We
> all have negative thoughts, but we do not have to verbalize them. I
> concentrate on being positive and up beat, and that becomes the reality in
> my life. Otherwise, we are taken prisoner by our sight loss and the
> perceptions of others.
>
> Lynda
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cheryl Orgas & William Meeker" <meekerorgas at ameritech.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 12:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] New Book, blindness on TV
>
>
>> 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
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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/llambert%40zoominternet
> .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/applebutterhill%40gmail
> .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/llambert%40zoominternet
.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/applebutterhill%40gmail
.com