Critical Evaluation: The Ringer & “Tropic Thunder” Clip The Ringer is a daring, yet notable comedy that brings to light the stereotypical perceptions and stigmas that have permeated American society and culture in a way that also discredits those views, giving the characters dimension and showing that they have capabilities that fall above and beyond the stereotypes assigned to them. This movie follows Steve, who after a series of unfortunate events has to help his friend, Stavi, get his fingers sewn back on. To do so, Steve and his scheming uncle try to rig the Special Olympics by having Steve pretend to be a contestant – Jeffy. After some of the other contestants bust Steve for faking a disability and they hear his story, they decide to help …show more content…
All of the “normal” characters in the movie personified, amplified, and demonstrated these stereotypes, whereas all of the characters with actual disabilities debunked and negated them. Steve, the uncle, and David acted as though people with disabilities are unintelligent and deserving of less respect. Their beliefs and attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities were demeaning and condescending, making these characters out to be one-dimensional, foolish and funny looking. These stereotypes perpetuate the assumptions held by the general public, especially those who do not personally know someone with a disability. These individuals pull from stereotypes due to ignorance, awkwardness and inexperience. The reality, as the movie shows the audience half way through, is that these “disabled” characters are as competent, as multifaceted, and as able as “normal” people are, if not even more. When the characters with disabilities reveal to Steve that they know Jeffy is a fake, we see a shift in the plot. It is now Steve who is incapable and who needs help, and it is the “disabled” characters who must help him achieve his goal. They are no longer portrayed as just goofy and moronic – the audience finally gets to see the errors of the stereotypes they have assigned to this group of …show more content…
Not only is the movie quite comical at times and very light-hearted, but it also flips the script and shows its audience the truth behind the hurtful stereotypes they find so hilarious. This movie also emphasizes the idea that we should not separate ourselves from the disability community and categorize ourselves as “us” and “them.” We, collectively, are human beings that deserve equal respect and rights. And as Steve shows us at the end, these people society labels as “disabled” are not as different as the stereotypes would have us believe. “Normal” is not something that can be defined by any one person because “normal” does not exist. Disability is an attitude, not an attribute. Once the world can come to see that, then these stereotypes will cease to exist and everyone will be able to accept each other for whom they truly are, for their true
In “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, she describes her eventful life as a cripple and her journey to adjusting to a new way of life. “I am not a disease” is something the author says to tell readers that disabled people should not be looked at any differently. It is very clear throughout this piece that Mairs wants the readers to be more informed about cripples and possibly understand what one is going through. Anyone that is a cripple would most likely enjoy this piece and be able to relate to her feelings and experiences. Nancy Mairs is successful in the purpose of her piece by using a sad but humorous tone.
In the article, “When Wheelchairs Are Cool”, the author, Ben Mattlin discusses why he believes it is okay for able bodied people to ride around in wheelchairs and take on the look of a disabled person, but it is not okay if you are making fun of disabled people. It is also not acceptable for people that are bound to wheelchairs to take advantage of able bodied people’s sympathy for their situation whether it be through accepting free things or getting a discount. The main strategy Mattlin uses to persuade his reader is pathos, particularly humor which creates a light tone throughout the article. Also, Mattlin proves his credibility and proves his point by planning the time at which he published his article. Mattlin’s main claim in his article is that being in a wheelchair is not as bad as it seems.
One’s disability should never make another person believe they are incapable of doing nothing and are unintelligent. There are several cases such as Shawn’s of individuals being paralyzed but having untapped potential or having someone telling them they are unintelligent. I can personally speak of have met people who have mild cases of cerebral palsy and still go onto doing great things. In High school, our manager for the girl soccer team was a student who has CP and could only communicate with his eye tracking speech device. However, many looked down on him and thought he was unintelligent, but many did not know he was valedictorian of his class.
There is still some equality; there are those with handicaps who want to get rid of their handicaps and those without handicaps who want to know what the handicaps are like. These handicaps are
When I reading Mair’s piece of her disability, it was very interesting to note how much meaning the word “cripple” meant to her day to day life. Whenever people look at someone with any type of illness or disability, they instinctively react with the shocked expression. They may not be in exaggerating manner, but they see this human with this aliment and they think of how this could potentially be them or their loved ones. You find it that people don’t feel comfortable when seeing someone who is crippled or obese. You tend to want to see people who are in a healthy condition and not someone who might be in a dying state.
I think the theme of the book is to not be afraid of what other people think. “ There is no greater disable in society, than the inability to see a person as more.” -Robert M. Hensel. I think this supports the theme because it talks about how disabled people are not recognized as ordinary people who can do anything, just like
Individuals with disabilities are victims of bullying and abuse. Bauer uses the statistic from University of Massachusetts, which found that “Almost half of the young people surveyed wouldn’t want to sit next to a student like Margaret on a school bus” (Bauer 445). That statistic is appalling. Students wouldn’t even want to sit next to their classmate who has Down Syndrome or a different intellectual disability. Another shocking fact that Bauer uses is, “More than half of parent’s didn’t want such
The only problem with his character is the actor Kevin McHale not handicapped. There are many people who are handicapped that could have played that role. At the end of shooting the show, he gets to stand up and walk. What good is exposing that group of people if they are not played by actual people with disabilities?
Although the video did not show a direct case of a disability, it still represented disabilities in a realistic way. At first I did not believe the video was going to represent children with disabilities at all, but then the speaker, Todd Rose, switched to a focus on student who are weak in areas. The first thing that came to my mind was autism, because sometimes children with autism can be very intelligent in some areas, but lack talents in others. Now that I saw the connection between the video and some disabilities I have learned about, I chose to say the video definitely represented people with disabilities. People with disabilities are definitely not average, but they are talented in their own unique way.
Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger and his idea of Social Role Valorization (SRV) has helped make a tremendous amount of positive change in the world of disabilities. Although it is a continuing fight in terms of how society views people with disabilities, Wolfensberger 's theory of SRV is helping to change the landscape of how society views people who are considered to be "not normal. " To many, it is unknown how to help people who are often left behind and deemed "devalued." The main goal of people like Wolfensberger is to bring to light the role society plays in devaluing people and ways to combat it.
To conclude, many characters with disabilities are underrepresented in the media. A prime example of this is how many production companies hire non-disabled actors to play disabled characters. Artie is an example of this underrepresentation; many non-disabled viewers feel that Artie is a positive representation of a disabled person. Conversely, many disabled viewers are offended and the believe that Artie’s character is should be played by a disabled actor to be able to emphases with the struggles of the disability. Personally, his character is inaccurate and stereotyped.
Furthermore, public acknowledgment of people with a disability is either ignored or spotlighted so significantly that the person feels like they stand out in the crowd unnecessarily. DiCaprio’s character, Arnie who has autism portrays stereotypical behavioural traits of a person with the disability. Throughout the film, it can be analysed that Arnie constantly fidgets with his hands, cannot sit still and has difficulty following basic instructions which can all be examined as stereotypical characteristics of a person with autism. Obviously Hallstrom had a bias and stereotypically view on the behaviour of those with autism as Arnie behaved like a child, no clear independence as his brother, Gilbert had to wash him and put him to bed every night. Socially, Arnie was in need of constant supervision as he had a tendency to perform acts that were previously recognised as inappropriate.
Mairs opens her writing by saying “I am a cripple.” which instantaneously creates a serious tone. Mairs continues with her serious tone which keeps the reader engaged. Mairs supports her tone by addressing her issues with terms kin to cripple from simple ones such as: “handicapped” and “disabled” to the more uncommon yet euphemistic terms such as: “differently
Abernathy Culture and Entertainment With with the evolution of television and inclusion of other cultures, individuals are able to see themselves on the screen more now than ever. In the past, non-Caucasian cultures were portrayed Stereotypically. As well as, left out of entertainment culture for the most part. Since television is big in society from when it was black and white in color to now, culture has played a big part with what has been showcased on the colorful screen us humans watch. In the midst of everything on television used for entertainment, children are being influenced, historical breakthroughs are being made, and barriers are being broken.
Our whole group met I could not make it because of SCAD transportation. I agreed to editing and the rest of the group agreed that I would edit the footage that they filmed. To make sugar glass we had to cook. The ingredients we used for this project are 2 cups of distilled water, 1 cup of light corn syrup, 3 1/2 cups of Sugar, and a 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tarter. First we add all ingredients into the metal cooking pot.