Discussion: Sensory impairments and disablement

Much of the readings and media this week goes a bit further to provide both contexts to disability history as well as to ground disability experience in the lives of actual disabled people. The short film “Annie Dearest” does this in a very explicitly satirical spoof of the film The Miracle Worker (a ‘classics’ Hollywood movie). Many students respond negatively to this film, arguing that it is too violent. What do you think about this? Why would the film-makers, all of whom were disabled, would want to create this film at all, and why do it in this fashion?

Further, what sorts of cultural work do you think Lynn Manning’s poetry is trying to perform?