Why are disabled actors ignored when it comes to roles like the Elephant Man?
Frances RyanThe BBC’s casting of a non-disabled actor in its remake shows how normalised exclusion is: we need to widen the talent pool
To examine the logic flip the proposition.
Should disabled people be able to play non-disabled parts?
Yes, obviously so.
The one legged man playing Tarzan might have some difficulties but the same actor playing anything from the corpse to the detective in 98% of TVs current output none.
So, then bugger off, the non-disabled may play disabled parts.
How odd to view “disabled actors” as an undifferentiated mass. Is the legless actor to play the armless character?
Still, is it any dafter than the proposition that no white man may play Othello but black men may play Macbeth?
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore already covered this:
https://youtu.be/lbnkY1tBvMU
Err, yes, that was the reference…..
Hey, why not go even farther? Actors who play super-heros must have real super-powers. And no more stunt men; actors have to do all their own.
“Those who find it difficult to understand Pearson’s call for representation have generally been the same people – white, non-disabled men – who have spent their life in a culture that represents them everywhere”
No everyone understands Pearson’s call no matter their race or gender or physical attributes. He’s an actor. One that would like to work and especially Hollywood big budget oscar winning potential films. I think it’s you Frances that can’t empathise with the people who risk their money on producing these films. Surely they should be able to choose the actors they think represent the best chance of not losing their shirts and actually making a return?
‘Disability is an identity, just like race or sex, and yet it is still widely acceptable for non-disabled people to be at the forefront of our depiction in the arts.’
This stands 50 years of progress on its head. Disability is NOT an identity; race is NOT an identity; sex is NOT an identity. When you see a man in a wheelchair, you should SEE THE MAN, not the wheelchair.
Adam Pearson is an actor, he is not a disease. Ryan should be fired*.
*Std Ecksian terms
@Gamecock:Fired from what? What does she actually do..?
Oh FFS
Not just me, but even my compassion fatigue is also fvcking knackered.
This poison ginger dwarf is probably hindering rather than advancing the cause of the disabled.
I’m sure Kenny Baker missed his calling as Darth Vader.
Slightly OT but why is the BBC remaking The Elephant Man? The David Lynch film is still great. Just pay for that and make something interesting.
They complain that Amazon and Netflix are stealing their lunch. Not surprising, really.
BoM4,
I’m guessing that it doesn’t have enough SJW virtue signalling.
These people really seem to have a hard time grasping the concept of ‘acting’.