Another blown chance to hire actor with a disability?
November 12th, 2009
On ‘Glee,’ the guy in the chair doesn’t really need one
From the Associated Press:
Disability advocates in Hollywood say the hit Fox series “Glee,” represents yet another missed opportunity. The show hired Kevin McHale, an actor without a disability, to play the role of Artie, a paraplegic high school student.
“I think there’s a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable,” CSI’s Robert David Hall told AP. “I’ve made my living as an actor for 30 years and I walk on two artificial legs.”
Disability rights activists say television casting doesn’t accurately reflect American society. About twenty percent of Americans have a disability, but a recent study found that fewer than 2 percent of the characters on television do. More than a third of performers with disabilities reported facing discrimination in the workplace.
“Glee” regularly celebrates diversity, and Wednesday’s episode featured a feel-good scene in which all the glee club members performed a dance routine in wheelchairs to demonstrate solidarity with Artie.
Show creator Ryan Murphy told the Los Angeles Times (with video of McHale dancing) that Wednesday’s episode represented a turning point for the show. “Writing this made me feel the responsibility of showing the truth of the pain that outcasts go through,” he said. “It’s not all razzle-dazzle show business. It’s tough, and it’s painful, and it was for me growing up, and it is for most people. So I think this made me realize that amid the fun and the glamour, it’s really great now and again to show the underbelly of what people who are different feel.”
See also:
Spinning their wheels — New York Post
Marlee Matlin on ‘Family Guy’ gag: ‘Lighten up, people’—Entertainment Weekly
(Photo from the New York Post)
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on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 2:50 am and is filed under arts/music, entertainment, television, wheelchair.
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November 14th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Does anyone know if this series is available to view online for people in Europe? Or if Sky (which also owns Fox) will be showing it?
I adore Jane Lynch from the Christopher Guest movies and 40 Year Old Virgin. I’d watch her read the phone book. But to have a combination of her and actors with Down Syndrome (in positive roles) would be wonderful to see.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Robin Trocki played the role of Sue Sylvester’s sister, Jean. Fellow actor Blair Williamson reports via his Facebook page that they had a ‘Glee’ party at Robin Trocki’s apartment the night of the show, and Lauren Potter will be in another episode in December.
It is interesting that we are so concerned about casting in a show that includes a character who uses a wheelchair, when more than 95% of television shows promote the fantastic misconception that people with disabilities do not exist at all.
I’m just saying…
November 13th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I get the missed opportunity argument for an actor with a disability to play Artie.
I’d be remiss however not to point out that it was great to see TWO actresses with Down Syndrome playing their parts with tremendous ability and professionalism.
The inclusion message of Artie’s story line was great to see, but I really loved the surprise factor of Sue Sylvester’s story line with her sister and the new Cheerio, particularly when she called out the Glee Club coach on treating the new Cheerio differently saying she’s being just as tough on her as any other member of the Cheerios because that’s all she wants is to be treated the same.
It’s important to talk about why an actor without a disability is playing Artie. But it’s equally important to talk about what the show did well to continue progress for actors with disabilities, not to mention how they invite people without disabilities to change their attitude that people with disabilities have to be, or want to be, treated differently when in general, they do not.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
The Down syndrome storyline was rather amazing, though.
Lauren Potter played a student trying out for cheerleader.
Riverside teen costars on Glee
And then there was an additional surprise with a sibling.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:18 am
last night’s episode also featured two actresses with down syndrome and was all about inclusion and diversity… I don’t quite know if that squares the circle as far as the main-cast-member hiring of a person without a disability to play a person WITH a disability, but I have to say that I think Murphy’s — and the show’s — heart is in the right place.