Disney Does Not Crip Cast, Instead Presents An Authentic Portrayal of Disability In “Out of My Mind” By Jason Hahr
“Casting call! Casting call! Calling all actors and actresses. We are looking for someone to play someone with a disability.” Anyone who knows me knows I'd jump, not literally, unless we are talking about a spasm, if I saw a casting call flyer with the criteria listed above. The sad reality is, crip casting is a thing. Crip casting, for example, happened in the movie The Upside. Bryan Cranston, who I am not denying is a great able-bodied actor, was chosen to play the disabled character Phillip, even though it does not appear as if he has a physical disability himself. The example of crip casting in The Upside is not unusual. For the most part, disabled characters in TV and film are not portrayed by people with disabilities but rather by the able-bodied community. Perhaps this is why there are three archetypes of disability. We are either portrayed as someone who needs saving, needs to be cured, or is a villain. Let me further illustrate what I mean. The earlier example...