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Speechless debuts on ABC, September 21st. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u55WK6AbaM Speechless follows an American family dealing with the typical shenanigans of marriage, home, and highschool. Less typically, the eldest son in the family has cerebral palsy. It’s a good choice from the show runners--CP is a challenging disability, but not one that degenerates over time, so we’ll probably be spared inspiration porn about the true value of life. (Khalessi, no.) For those of us involved with disability rights, this show represents a drift of disability perception in a direction that might be more honest… though we don’t have much to go on at this point, and Suicide Squad proves that trailers can be misleading. Speechless also gives us a warrior-mom who, like so many family advocates, kicks rear end but has a hard time knowing when to put down the sword. The trailer didn’t show much about the daughter, but the other son is hitting the end of his patience with putting J.J.’s needs first, which also feels quite authentic. (I’m a sibling, too.) The show even gives us a couple examples of care workers, and how a good one can make a huge difference in quality of life. Some advocates are unhappy about how easy J.J.'s communication seems. Devices like J.J.’s language board and pointer require patience, even with an experienced interpreter. I've met people who can only indicate left/right with their eyes and use much simpler boards than his. Some pretty cool things are being done with computers these days, but it’s still frontier technology for a niche market. If you’re interested in that side of things, have a look at CanAssist. All of the cast and major crew other than Micah have decent pedigrees in TV. Micah does have some acting experience, but hasn't got an IMDB or Wikipedia profile yet. Creator/Executive Producer Scott Silveri was a producer on Friends. He grew up alongside a disabled sibling. Writer/Producer Niki Schwartz-Wright was behind the last season of NBCs The Office. She also wrote for The Goldbergs. I haven’t watched either of them, so thumbs… up? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU77p6wHngI Cast Maya DiMeo (Minnie Driver - The Riches, Return to Zero) Jimmy DiMeo (John Ross Bowie - Big Bang Theory) J.J. DiMeo (Micah Fowler - Labor Day, Blues Clues, Sesame Street) Micah does have Cerebral Palsy, but is less impaired than the character he portrays. Ray DiMeo (Mason Cook - Spy Kids: All the Time in the World) Dylan DiMeo (Kyla Kenedy - Walking Dead) Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough - The Goldbergs, Comedy Bang! Bang!) TL:DR Dear lord, please let this show be funny. Pixelante fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 13, 2016 22:03
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More stuff to come. It'll probably end up being Disability Studies 101: Speechless in this post, so that I don't derail my own thread with the show's impact on the kind of lives it's trying to portray. Meanwhile, fun facts!  Stephen Hawking doesn't have Cerebral Palsy. He has a totally different thing, which is known as Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? It was to raise funds for ALS. Hawking is a very unusual case for surviving this long.Zack Anner, whose Youtube channel is frequently hilarious, was allowed to preview the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7rQzpxS1Q4 The Cerebral Palsy Foundation is really excited about the show, and plan to have discussion videos each week. Meanwhile, expectations for the show remain completely rational and free from potential disappointment: “This show is a love song to my brother.” Pixelante fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 13, 2016 22:04
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Hey Pixelante, my wife teaches college courses on Critical Disability Studies and Media and Diversity, so she has been looking forward to this show for a while. Are you a scholar, or an activist? Are you related to someone with a disability? I apologize for the personal questions, but it sounds like you two would probably have a lot to discuss. Would you mind e-mailing me at saxman2 AT hotmail so I don't derail your nice new thread or put you on the spot?
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Sep 15, 2016 05:00
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Yes, yes, and yes. I am a 4th year student in Health and Community Services, with a focus in Disability Studies. I also do a lot of disability advocacy and activism. Most of my volunteer work involves connecting families to relevant communities, building awareness of rights (and how to get help defending them), and strongly encouraging end-of-life planning for parents of disabled kids. The two biggest fights I've got a stake in are euthanasia laws and pushing for raised "Persons with Disability" rates in British Columbia. (If anyone wants to discuss those issues, PM or email me at pixelant3@gmail.com, or make a thread somewhere else. it doesn't belong here.) Like show-runner Scott Silveri, I'm a sibling. My brother is pretty far on the autism spectrum, and since he's older than me, I've never known a life that didn't involve disability issues. Our parents have passed away, so I'm his representative. I actually started drafting the OP for this thread back when the trailer first released. I'm prepared for disappointment, but I'm hoping the show follows through on the tone and humour it's promising. I also yearn for an honest (and funny) expression of what it's like to be a sibling, which often means a life-time of the short stick and not a lot of opportunities to do anything about it. On the other hand, we didn't have the shock and grieving process parents do when they realise their child has special needs and may not have the life they'd expected. Pixelante fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Sep 16, 2016 |
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Sep 16, 2016 01:23
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I have cerebral palsy which is a bit less severe than the character on the show. I found the mom annoying as all hell and felt bad for the siblings.
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Sep 19, 2016 01:24
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Violet_Sky posted:I found the mom annoying as all hell and felt bad for the siblings. She could be over-used pretty easily, so I hope it's a proper ensemble-type show. e: First ep is pretty great. Watch it when you can. Pixelante fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 03:01
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That felt like watching a lecture.
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Sep 22, 2016 02:34
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I'm on the fence about wanting to see any more of this show. Minnie Driver and the lead character are exhausting.
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Sep 22, 2016 08:31
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I admit, I'm disappointed that the pilot didn't connect with more people. I thought it was great, but I don't represent the average viewer. Even so, it's just one episode to go by! The dad was the best part, imo. I also really liked the voice-lady.
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Sep 23, 2016 23:48
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I quite liked the pilot, although I found Minnie Driver and Cedric Yarborough far more fun than the rest of the show. But I can see conflict between them being a big driving force for the show so I'm down.
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Sep 24, 2016 00:09
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Its another 'crazy overbearing but with good intentions mother' sitcom on ABC. Goldbergs, Fresh off the Boat, The Middle, The Real O'Neals and now this. But I like Minnie Driver so I'll give it a few more episodes.
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Sep 24, 2016 04:56
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FetusSlapper posted:Its another 'crazy overbearing but with good intentions mother' sitcom on ABC. Goldbergs, Fresh off the Boat, The Middle, The Real O'Neals and now this. But I like Minnie Driver so I'll give it a few more episodes. Yeah I watched this show (thanks to this thread) and Goldbergs back to back over the weekend, and the crazy mothers run together in my head a bit looking back at them. I like the cast and the set up and so will keep watching for a few weeks as well.
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Sep 26, 2016 19:18
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Yeah, the mom needs to be toned down. Right now, she's the plot instigator, which is fine, but the other characters all have more complexity than she does. She makes me wince. I wanna see the little girl thug out some more. She's adorable.
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Oct 3, 2016 01:35
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I get REALLY uncomfortable when my disability is used to get me in front of lines and stuff, even when it's completely legitimate and standard policy. But hey, skipping lines.
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Oct 21, 2016 22:18
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Kraps posted:I get REALLY uncomfortable when my disability is used to get me in front of lines and stuff, even when it's completely legitimate and standard policy. But hey, skipping lines. The one thing I really don't like about the show so far is that the mom is 100% defining herself as a "Special Needs Mom," and uses it to manipulate situations. At least it's shown as a character flaw. The little sister remains the best, next to Tired Dad Who Gives No Fucks.
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Oct 24, 2016 01:17
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Maya remains terrible. Thug daughter remains awesome.
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Nov 1, 2016 06:28
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