#internalableism

Finding Dory does an excellent job of expanding on the societal prejudices and perceptions of physically disabled people compared to people with mental  differences. Dory's character development goes hand in hand with the story of  Marlin. Finding Dory teaches 

2 lessons: pride for those with cognitive differences and teaches non-disabled people to go beyond tolerance or inclusivity in activities. 

That's not valuing the whole person. It is a step toward  acknowledging disability compared to "not seeing disability," which is a positive. "Both Marlin and Dory eventually learn that this is not the case, proving to the  audience that Dory's unique mindset, something caused by her disability, is  actually a useful trait. Marlin is actually the first to identify Dory's difference as  valuable." (Klinowski 53) 

In Finding Dory, we meet a septopus named Hank. He is the bridging character between having a physical disability and still holding an ableist mindset of Dory  (a mentally different character. He reiterates what Marlin and Dory's first  encounter was like saying, "there's something wrong with you." Hank's disability is not a massive part of the plot. Instead he is focused on living life in a glass box. He says he has “extremely bad memories” of the ocean. This suggests he was traumatized by losing a tentacle emphasizing the emotional side of having a disability. 

"After characters initially question Dory's capability, the film  finally begins to show the audience that these accusations are misguided. The  scene where Dory and Hank make their way through the Institute inside a baby  carriage exemplifies this shift in how the film portrays disabled characters.  (Finding Dory 00:38:46-00:39:35) This scene puts Dory in charge of giving  directions to Hank to get them to the right exhibit to find her parents. Showing how reading human is a skill that continues beyond the first film. It is a strength Dory can utilize without Marlin.  

In Finding Dory's baby carriage scene, " the viewers' expectations of the  partnership are reversed. Because of Dory's cognitive disability and the  discriminatory remarks already levied against her within the film, the audience  might expect that Dory would require assistance in the intellectual work needed  to find her parents. Similarly, because Hank is missing a limb, viewers might  dismiss the possibility that he could take care of the physical side of this  endeavor. This scene disproves these ableist assumptions. (Klinowski 53) 

In the first film, Dory begs Marlin not to leave her. "Please don't go away, no  one's ever stuck with me so long before, and if you leave, I just remember things  better with you."

 Everybody needs companionship.Finding Nemo is about inclusiveness. Specifically the need for inclusion despite resistance from able bodied characters. Having Dory cling to Marlin is a way to enforce that non disabled people must include disabled people because they have "special needs." Finding Dory shows independence and the community aspect of people  with disabilities. Dory has more than enough characters to rely on besides the non-disabled. She teaches Hank, a fellow disabled character, the value of  optimism. She is guided by a friend named Destiny, a blind white whale. 

Even Destiny's dependency on her non-disabled friend, Bailly, is played for laughs because Destiny is the brains while Bailly is the eyes. Everyone with a disability has value and can rely on their community, while able-bodied characters learn  how to value disabled characters beyond inclusion.

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Avatar (2009) ends with Jake transferring his consciousness to his Avatar body, ultimately erasing disability in this society and planet. Angry Hippie  emphasizes the ability to move consciousness is a profound question and says, "While many thought they were being clever by dissecting this movie to exploit  its' flaws, they were merely peeling the first layer of the onion." (AVATAR: In-Depth Analysis) 

In my opinion, there are layers of ableism that Angry Hippie missed. His favorite scene is when Jake (who has paraplegia) runs for the first time in his Avatar body. This scene I dislike the most falls into tropes of disabled people wanting to be "fixed" or "better." I cannot speak to how it feels to become disabled later in life, as Jake was. But I can say that these ableist messages portraying disabled people as weak and valuable only as inspiration are not helpful for anyone, disabled or not. 

Internal ableism comes from society. Angry Hippie points out that Jake running as a person with paraplegia is only surface level. This I agree with, but he goes  on to say, "it was a brilliant way to build an emotional connection to the  audiences" and "on a deeper level, however, the visual representation of Jake, a  crippled man, is a reflection of the state of the human race."  (AVATAR: In-Depth Analysis) 

In my opinion, the word "crippled" is somewhat offensive, but others have reclaimed it. The comments here demonstrate ableism because he's saying that Jake running is inspirational or at least emotional for the audience. Inspiration is what disabled characters are usually meant to convey on screen. My first impression of the film was that the disabled representation was adequate because the film did not revolve around disability. 

That is a double-edged sword highlighting the line between erasing disability and presenting a fully realized character that happens to have a disability.

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Avatar shows Jake as human for only a few minutes of the film, showing the audience his perspective. "Jake as a disabled human appears only in brief, intermittent scenes—several of which avoid representing his wheelchair—allows viewers to ignore disability and focus on the exotic Na'vi avatar body instead." (Schalk, 413). The ‘exotic’ body of Na'vi has been criticized for being racist which is separate from ableism. Jake Sully's status as a veteran adds patriotism to the film. "Jake Sully's efforts to save the Na'vi aliens is just a "sci-fi rehash of an old white guilt fantasy" that dates back to ‘genocide’ Europeans perpetrated against Native Americans. But well-meaning  characters like Sully are just "a sneaky way of turning every story about people  of color into a story about being white." (The Week)  

In science fiction, it is easy to create the allegory of an alien race = a  minority group. Featuring a white protagonist results in a white savior complex where white people try to erase other cultures. A disability community is different from a culture of a certain race. When imagining a future beyond 2022, writing a plot where only white people exist would be considered obscenely racist. A future without disabilities, in contrast,  is not obviously ableist to some people because of assumptions and pity disabled people receive from able-bodied people. 

I cannot directly compare racial crimes against disability assumptions. I am a  non-white, disabled person. I can only offer my experience. People ask many personal questions about how your body works as a disabled person. Sometimes able-bodied people feel entitled to an answer. Racial-related  questions are usually less frequent, usually limited to" where are you from?" People avoid talking about race but seem more curious about disability. The disability community offers more unknowns to white, able-bodied people leading them to view the disabled person as more "exotic" and interesting. Alien races are exotic and exciting. 

"You can imagine studio executives saying Jake's character is necessary ‘for  the audience to connect with," rather than having the world saved by one of  these alien ‘blue people.’ ”(The Week) Compare Jake, who represents an ideal version of a minority in reality, to the fictional Na'vi, who represents racial minority groups (unintentionally). Ableism is also easier to overlook than racism. Both are bad. 

Hollywood has a long history of whitewashing. Casting Jake as a white ex-marine represents the most patriotic version of humanity. 

Culturally, this movie was a movement. Audiences were awed by the spectacular CGI and 3-D and possibly less focused on the plot, which is thoroughly unoriginal. 

My dad described it as "Blue Pocahontas in space." The fact that this plot is well-worn shows the power of Hollywood to shape society. A blockbuster like Avatar reinforces societal norms, “quelling anxieties” around disabled veterans. This is  accomplished through distinguishing the good, deserving disabled people who  want to integrate and be as "normal" as possible—like the protagonist Jake — from the bad guys, the con artists, the unstable "mentally ill," and the rest of  those other disabled people." (Schalk, 417) 

Sources

Schalk, S. (2020). Wounded Warriors of the Future Disability Hierarchy in Avatar and Source Code. Journal of Literature & Disability Studies, 14(4), 403-419. https://doi.org/10.3828/jlcds.2020.27

Jake Sully’s body is used as a world-building tool. A dystopian Earth is paralleled with a disabled body. 

Saying Jake's body represents what's wrong in society is ableist. This assertion also perpetuates internal ableism by reinforcing the need for disabled people to be the ones who obviously want and need to change. The deeper meaning goes beyond saying the world needs to change its ways to avoid becoming a dystopia. Jake is "someone who does not want to be treated any differently than someone able-bodied. In this way, Jake not only agrees with but also extends the long-standing perception of disabled people as inferior because they need and want help from others. His attitude, we are told later by  Jake, remains unchanged" (Holtmeier & Park-Primiano, 8).  

The perception of disabled people is not addressed in other adaptations of these historical events. And popular films don't often tackle multiple issues in separate minority groups. 

Intersectionality is ignored because it's too complicated and not as entertaining or easy to accept that racism and ableism can occur together.

Of course, those are not the only biases in the world, but they are the two that intersect here. 

The perception that disability cripples the individual and represents what's wrong with the world perpetuates ableism. The possibility existed to write Jake in a way that would not have perpetuated stereotypes. Showing him as "relentlessly self-reliant,  promoting a reactionary portrait of himself as the ideal disabled person" (Holtmeier & Park-Primiano, 8). This "ideal" is meant for able-bodied people, not people who are actually disabled. This makes it impossible for me to think of the world we're shown as real. It is a movie with an agenda concerned more with the evils of Westernization than with disability representation. 

The film simply copies and pastes an idealized version of a  disabled person for plot convenience.

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The term “disabled" means “not able” But not able to do what exactly? The definitions of conditions like cerebral palsy are factual, but “not able” to predict individual abilities. People will still make assumptions; and at a young age I learned people have many questions and expect  answers. I internalized shame around the word “disabled” because of the  constant comparisons of my abilities being lesser because of something out of  my control. 

I spent years trying to beat my cerebral palsy due to years of internalized ableism and disenfranchising myself from a community. 

The origins of internalized ableism can be traced back to the influence  of those assumptions and the expectations placed on the person with  a disability to educate others.  

Between Finding Nemo (2003) and the sequel Finding Dory (2016), Dory learns to be proud of herself and her short-term memory loss. Her signature line,  “Hi, I’m Dory. I suffer from short-term memory loss.” is given a backstory. The first lines of Finding Dory is her signature phrase followed by “her parents clap and congratulate her. Her father praises Dory, saying, “That’s exactly what you say,” reinforcing the underlying prejudice that disability is something that causes  suffering (Finding Dory 00:00:57- 00:00:58). 

“The didacticism of the characters’ interaction creates an unsettling parallel for parents who show this film to their children, perhaps in the hopes of teaching them tolerance.” (Klinowski 51) 

The prejudice Dory’s parents are teaching her is not intentional; they want to keep her safe. 

They worry about her similarly to the way Marlin worries about Nemo. Dory (in the sequel’s flashbacks) is much younger than Nemo, reinforces that people with mental differences are more vulnerable and less capable than  those with physical disabilities. 

There are different assumptions. In Finding Nemo, Nemo is called out for looking “funny” and is given a chance to explain  his difference. On the other hand, Dory is told, 

“There’s something wrong with you.”

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In Finding Nemo, Nemo's attitude toward his disability is displayed after Nemo is captured and placed in an aquarium in a dentist's office. The audience sees how Marlin's insecurity and assumptions about his disability scare him. When Nemo gets stuck in an air vent in the tank, he immediately calls for help. Many fish gather, although Gil (the leader) protests for Nemo to do it himself. 

Nemo is full of fear and doubt, saying he doesn't swim well because "I have a  little fin!" Depending on the real-life scenario, this may or may not be an applicable excuse. 

Seeing a disability as an excuse not to persist until you do it yourself is a very personal and internally ableist way for me to describe my own thought process.

I internalized asking for help as a weakness as a child and did not want to validate those assumptions about my capabilities. Nemo is young and understandably relies on his dad for everything. It is natural for him to want help in a scary situation. This is especially true when you've been there before and was immediately rescued by an overprotective parent who tells you that you won't be able to do it on your own.  

Gil believes differently about Nemo's capabilities because he has a scared fin and is more confident in Nemo than he is in his own abilities because Gil has been there. The mentoring relationship is not heavily focused on, but Nemo clearly looks up to Gil and learns confidence from him. Representation matters because the relationship Nemo has with Gil can happen  in real-life between two disabled people or just between a character and a  child who identifies that character as "like me." Confidence in one's abilities grows over time for nearly everyone, except those with disabilities who come from overprotective homes and are told what they cannot do by themselves. 

On July 26th, 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities  Act. The ADA is a law that gives people with disabilities protection against  discrimination in the workplace, public transportation, restaurants, schools, and  much more. In addition, the law mandates accommodations that provide access  and independence to people with disabilities to live their lives. That’s why July is  disability pride month. It is a celebration of the diversity within the disabled  community. The law prevents discrimination against all types of disability; mental  illness, cognitive, intellectual, sensory, and physical. Each type is represented in  the disability pride flag. 

Why is it pride month and not awareness month? Awareness is acknowledging a  diagnosis, and pride is a celebration. You might donate money to foundations  during awareness months, but in pride months, you march and find community.  July is a month to recognize all the feelings of people with disabilities. You don’t  have to be proud of your disability to be included. July raises up voices of  disabled people to tell their stories. 

For me, people have always been “aware” of my disability. Because they can  see my mobility aids. The questions like “What happened?” or “what’s wrong  with your legs?” gets old quickly. Those situations made me resent my mobility  aids for “outing” me as disabled. I learned over time that not using them made  me slower and maybe look more “special” because of how I naturally walk. In  the end, mobility aids provide more independence than unwanted questions. 

My workaround for hiding my orthotics was to never under any circumstance wear shorts to school as a child. 

"Just over 6.8 million community-resident Americans use assistive devices to  help them with mobility. This group comprises 1.7 million wheelchair or scooter  riders and 6.1 million users of other mobility devices, such as canes, crutches,  and walkers." (Disability Statistics Center).

While the disability community is diverse, ”the disabled guy" stereotype generally involves being in a  wheelchair. It's visual storytelling shorthand. There are more specific disability  stereotypes, such as being blind giving you a 6th sense, and autism accompanied by savant syndrome. 

The wheelchair-bound stereotype is the most prevalent in my life because my form of cerebral palsy has always included mobility aids. I had the most exposure to the  disability community at camp every summer. 

Even through those experiences of  making friends and seeing what they could do, I still saw it as a failure when I first sat in a wheelchair. 

Just because you know a disabled person, an Asian  person, etc. it doesn't mean you can't be ableist or racist. Accepting an individual is different than being aware of how stereotypes might affect your  behavior. People don't like to acknowledge our failures.  

As a child, I was at least as "curious" about other disabilities as my able-bodied peers. Everyone learns from the media. I have the same questions about specific disabilities, such as visual impairments or hard-of-hearing people, that  others without disabilities have. 

However, that doesn't make it right for me to ask invasive questions of other disabled people.

Internalizing ableism is complex. In the media, a hierarchy of identities is reinforced, and I am set up to  internalize where society "fits me in”, among the disabled. "Disability hierarchy is  not about disability type alone, but rather a complex, intersectional differential  valuation of disabled people regarding who can and cannot or should and  should not be accommodated and integrated into a society based on various  factors." (Schalk, 408)

I can only speak from my experience. What I know about  disability stereotypes and what questions annoy me the most do not necessarily transfer to other people.

Sources

Schalk, S. (2020). Wounded Warriors of the Future Disability Hierarchy in Avatar and Source Code. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, 14(4), 403-420.http://samischalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Schalk_Wounded-Warriors-of-the-Future_JLCDS-2020.pdf