I recently won the Samuel Goldwyn award for screenwriting for some reason. As part of the first place prize package, the PR people provide you with an interview with the Union Tribune, one of San Diego’s biggest newspapers.
What bugs me is how focused the writer was on my disability, when that was the exact antithesis of my “message.” I didn’t really have a message to begin with, I was just trying to write a screenplay that, gosh golly, included a disabled character. During the interview, the author kept asking me personal questions like “Can you dress yourself?” “How do you eat?” “How do you go to the bathroom?” “Did the kids tease you growing up?” How is that relevant to the story? The paragraph with the physical description of me is particularly unnecessary and borderline offensive.
Contrast that article with this one, written by my school paper. See the difference? It actually, like, talks about the competition and not how strange I look.
I decided not to put this in the pit because part of me is very thankful for the publicity this has provided me. I’m getting emails from people who want me to speak at high schools and such. The author meant no harm either, but sort of, well, missed the point entirely. So what do you think? Is this typical of big news media? Am I being overly sensitive? Do you think I should email the author? I don’t want to sound unappreciative.
I just have to congratulate you on the honor you’ve received. I hope somebody uses your screenplay some day. I think your storyline sounds great, and I hope it will open people’s eyes to the commonality of human beings, whether disabled or not.
I couldn’t begin to comment upon your questions, not having your own life experience, but I can certainly understand why you would want the focus to be on your considerable achievement. If the reporter had hoped to highlight the difficulties you face, perhaps he might have asked you how you would like yourself portrayed.
I wonder though, based on some of your quotes, if it’s so unreasonable for the interviewer to think you were sending a “message” with your script. You say, “I want people to know my view of the world, and what it’s like to be disabled” and “I just want people to treat us like we weren’t disabled…Don’t be extra nice to us. Don’t patronize, and don’t try to be too politically correct. Be our friends. Talk to us,” and talk about how every scene was drawn from your personal experiences with stupid waitresses and student aid workers.
Now obviously some of that was elicited by the interviewer, and it’s completely ridiculous for her to be asking you about your toilet capabilities (although you apparently answered some of those personal questions, such as whether you’re able to dress yourself), but I don’t think it’s wrong for her to think that you had something of an agenda in writing the story that you did.
“I crack jokes all the time, but I can’t smile, so sometimes people don’t know when I’m being funny or when I’m being serious.” Same with some of us here!
When I was 17 and 18, I did two PHAB courses, where some of the physically handicapped had severe handicaps. It took a while to realise they weren’t mentally handicapped. Not so long for me, actually, as I played one of these guys drafts, and sort of let him beat me. Second time, I tried my best, and he still beat me. He couldn’t speak or use his arms, and had this stick attached to his forehead which he used to spell out letters on a board to speak, as well as push the pieces around the drafts board. Like you, he had a great sense of humour - very dirty.
Congratulations! I hope this is the first of many writing successes for you.
Of course, these successes will probably bring more interviews. Probably other interviewers will ask questions you don’t want to answer (as do people in your everyday life, right?). You can be assertive in redirecting the interview and refusing to answer questions on subjects you don’t want to discuss.
I guess you have long since figured out that feature writers need to turn damned near everything into “so and so is winning the battle against adversity! Isn’t that cuuuuute?” Sucks, but there it is. Plus, as you probably also know, writers’ early works seem to be presumed to be autobiographical until proven otherwise. Once you’re established as a pro and have a wider body of work, I suspect that the tendency to turn you into a token or a symbol or what-have-you will die down a bit, though I’m sure it will never completely go away.
Finally, sucky though it is, characters in movies rarely “just happen” to be disabled. I real life, sure. In movies, at least those that make it to the screen, nope. It’s similar to the way, not so long ago, characters in movies and TV never “just happened” to be Black and the way that it’s still relatively rare for them to “just happen” to be gay. (I’m not saying that’s right, I’m just saying that it is true of most mainstream movies.) So I guess it’s not surprising for a feature writer to fall all over him/herself looking for your “message.” Annoying and patronizing, perhaps, but not surprising.
Anyway, huge congratulations on your accomplishment! It’s so cool to find out so much about what a Doper is up to in real life.
I’ll put this advice at the top: write a Letter to the Editor and tell them what you’re telling us. If you want to reach the same people who you feel didn’t write about you properly, and also the people who read the story, that’s the way to go. If you’re worried about ungrateful, you can do that without slamming the writer, who I’m sure meant well. Be calm, but thorough, but polite, but brief, but sparklingly witty.
There’s a certain Catch-22 at work here. You can’t say “people with disabilities are just like everyone else” without drawing attention to the disabilities at the same time, in part just because you’re mentioning it.
That’s a much better gripe, in my opinion. Not everybody who is part of a minority needs to be a spokesman for that group, carrying a message - and it’s always the same message, “We’re people too, so please treat us accordingly.” But journalists do have a habit of assuming everyone who tries to live his life in spite of being “abnormal” is doing it to send a message instead of just doing it because it’s what he wants to do. Tenar is right that when you do enough of these stories, I guess you tend to lump them together mentally and put in a one-size-fits-all message.
Now, despite my first response, I can see why you’re unhappy and uncomfortable with that, and you have every right to be. My advice for next time (and here’s hoping there are many ‘next times,’ you successful sumbitch) is to explain that you aren’t comfortable talking about it. Steer the conversation in a different direction, or flat-out say “I didn’t do this to send a message.” I think most journalists would keep that in mind and maybe even print it.
Although in part, you know, journalists are not trying to make you uncomfortable - we want to have our facts straight and can’t assume things, and I know sometimes that I’m obligated to ask questions that I wouldn’t ask if I was trying to be polite.
To some degree, an artist’s personal life is always fair game in an article, and in particular that’s true when the artist’s personal life has clearly informed their work, including some negative experiences you’ve had.
Garfield is correct about the differing focus, and let’s face it - it’s a school newspaper. I’d expect them to take a less objective and more polite angle when writing about an alumnus. I’ve written a college paper and an alumni magazine, and it’s a different animal from an independent newspaper.
What I got from the Yang story is that you are very well-spoken. A real credit to your disability. Funny that someone named Yang would write something like that. You’d think she’d know better.
Anyway, now that we know you won an award and can bitch about bad screenwriting with authority, I hope you’ll join us in bitching out more screenwriting. Also, try to sell your script and tell us what happens. That could probably be good for another screenplay or two.
Some people think if disabled people go grocery shopping or something somehow that’s “inspirational” or some crap like that. I’ve run into that attitude. Why, no, I am not a walking 4’2" message. I need to buy food. Or go to work, or school.
Maybe you should write something with a disabled character who is also a major asshole. Blow the whole stereotype to hell, ya know?
Write a letter thanking the writer for the story. Then tell her how you thought she had wonderful tits. Tell her how you thought worked masterfully into her interview skills. Describe the actions of her tits during your interview in every bouncing, gently upward curving, perky, detail. Wrap it up noting that living with such spectacular tits must have given her insight as a writer, and that you hope to read more of her work.
Um. Caption says that OP would buy professor a new lamp if he won. (and please buy him a new lamp–that one is hideous).
And, congrats on your success!
I would hazard to guess that along with those who want to play up the maudlin melodrama of a “challenged” individual achieving success, there will be those who will say that you succeeded BECAUSE you emphasized those challenges (IOW, “he just won because it’s PC to give the award to a handicapped person.”)*
Aren’t people great? :rolleyes:
I do not share this odd belief. I just wondered if this hasn’t been bandied about.
I know that – that’s why I asked the question. (I don’t think it’s hideous). And hideous or not, and no matter how cute a story it is, the lamp shouldn’t get top billing. You can hardly see Carnick in that picture.
Nah, you got off easy. As a writer, you certainly know the value of a hook. Admittedly, the scene did drag a bit, and probably 60% could have been left on the cutting room floor, but eventually they did settle down to the story.
Seriously, I’ve seen so many stories about poor little cripples confined to their wheelchairs blahblahblah, that this thing is matter-of-fact by comparison. But, yeah, if someone did a piece on me (fat chance) and spent that much time on my body, fer chrissakes, I’d be inclined to pitch a hissy.
I can see why it bothers you. The physical description paragraph does seem over the top, especially since there is a photo of you right there - do we need a detailed description of you when I can just look at the photo and see you? I think the journalist was looking for an angle and got carried away.
If it helps, I read the article and came away from it with a sense of your accomplishment more than your disability. It is up to you whether or not to complain, but I wouldn’t let it get to you, the award is the big story here and the most impressive part.
Maybe you could put her character into your next screenplay and have your revenge .
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