Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Less Than Whole simplified plot
Following some of the suggestions we made in class, I wanted to write out a short post about my vision for Less Than Whole.
Front cover idea: Main character or random person in wheelchair is straining to reach a sign saying "Less Than Whole." With a pen in one hand, they are caught in the act of trying to scratch out the "Less Than."
Plot arc:
Main character (Ed Roberts or Judith Heumann) is holding a meeting within the sit-in.
Exposition about the background of why they're doing it, flashback to the main character growing up, experiencing life in ableist culture. Graphic depiction of the daily effect of physical disability on life.
Other characters make their appearances, Black Panther members bring meals and talk about their experiences/ why this is an intersectional issue. Members of sit-in with invisible disabilities struggle with internalized ableism/ wondering if they really belong within this movement (possibly). People are sleep-deprived, dirty and idealistic.
Flash to what's happening outside the building: much more violent protests with people chaining themselves together and being arrested. Young people with various disabilities seeing and reacting to the news, backlash from people without disabilities.
Within the sit-in, people are beginning to lose hope, get dragged down by the horrible living conditions of the building. Ed Roberts gives a speech (http://www.disabilityworld.org/12-02_05/news/roberts504speech.shtml), news coverage begins to take notice.
End of sit-in, the protestors make their way out of the building, hold a press conference and give a verbal smack-down to newscasters who think it isn't a big deal. America as a nation is startled by eloquence from people with disabilities-- they do not fit the mold the media paints.
Protestors fly to Washington to make sure the legislation passes in its entirety.
Final epilogue: Follow main character through their career as they continue to fight for accessibility for all. Make it abundantly clear that they are fighting against ableist culture, rather than letting their disabilities define them. Show examples of the concessions that these activists brought, pointing out how much further we still have to go.
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I think that if we're to do this story, we need to challenge ourselves to tell this story in a way that is radically different from the way that stories about disability are usually told. This pitch is a challenge for us to reach out and construct means of empathy, to tell a different story, to talk about empowerment through a story other than resolution.
ReplyDeletehttps://dredf.org/504site/histover.html
ReplyDeleteKitty Cone's personal summary of the protest, potentially important points include:
"People with disabilities, ourselves didn't think the issues we faced in our daily lives were the product of prejudice and discrimination. Disability had been defined by the medical model of rehabilitation, charity and paternalism. If I thought about why I couldn't attend a university that was inaccessible, I would have said it was because I couldn't walk, my own personal problem. Before section 504, responsibility for the consequences of disability rested only on the shoulders of the person with a disability rather than being understood as a societal responsibility. Section 504 dramatically changed that societal and legal perception."
"The composition of the sit in represented the spectrum of the disability community with participation from people with a wide variety of disabilities, from different racial, social and economic backgrounds, and ages from adults to kids with disabilities and their parents."
"All the participants met daily to make tactical decisions. These were flowing, creative meetings but they often went on for hours, which meant very little sleep. But they were important in developing consensus and arriving at a course of action.
Some of the issues taken up in the mass meetings were: what to do if we were arrested, a hunger strike in sympathy with the Washington demonstrators who had been starved out, which we decided would be voluntary, how to deal with the bomb scare, the decision to have congressional hearings in the building on HEW's list of proposed changes, who would speak at the hearing, who would speak at the rallies outside, the decision to send a contingent from the building to Washington DC, a process for choosing the 12 or so people who would go."
...And then basically she goes on to describe a courtroom curb-stomp
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