Films, TV, & Documentaries

Mass media about people with disabilities and disability issues

for use in university courses

(All these are available in DVD format or online. Disability or issue is listed in parentheses. Also listed are links to its website or Disability Studies analyses of it. You can find films specifically about intellectual disabilities through the Sprout Film Festival here: http://sproutflix.org/. Please contact me if you have additions or links for the list: bhaller@towson.edu)

Documentaries

• • Alicia (living with brain injury) (A promising 18-year-old drama student sustains brain damage; her response to her disability was to start a theatre group and become an active member of the community) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87F1B11B7EB06A34
  • Autie: An Autism Documentary (A documentary about autism, rights and neurodiversity) Free online here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRibeoE8HDA
  • Autism in Love (A 50-year-old autistic man finds self acceptance and love0 http://www.michellefriedline.com/films/autisminlove/
  • Autism: The Musical (Follows the lives of five LA children on the autism spectrum over the course of six months as they prepare for a musical production)  http://www.autismthemusical.com/
  • Autistic Like Me (Fathers of autistic children talk about their family lives)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2438862/
  • Becoming Bulletproof (The film documents the making of a Western with actors with and without disabilities)  http://www.becomingbulletproofmovie.com/
  • Best Kept Secret (The POV documentary follows students in a special education program at a NJ high school)  http://www.pbs.org/pov/bestkeptsecret/
  • Big Enough (10-years-later profiles of several Little People from the 1984 film of the same name) http://www.jankrawitz.com/big-enough/
  • Body & Soul: Diana and Kathy (Two women with disabilities support each other and live independently) http://www.dianaandkathy.com/
  • Body of War (Focuses on returning disabled veteran Tomas Young, 25, who became paralyzed from a bullet to his spine – wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week) http://www.bodyofwar.com/
  • Bong & Donnell (A friendship between a disabled boy and a nondisabled boy) http://www.videopress.umaryland.edu/disability_awareness/bongdonnell_PERCH1004.html
  • Born Freak (Disabled actor Mat Fraser explores how disabled performers survived working in freak shows) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/575/752
  • Breathing Lessons. The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien (Polio survivor Mark O’Brien, who was a writer and poet) Watch free online here: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/breathing_lessons
  • Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children (Free online documentary about Bulgaria, which has more institutionalized mentally and physically disabled children than anywhere else in Europe.) http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/bulgarias-abandoned-children/
  • Cinemability (Examines the evolution of disability portrayals on film and TV) http://www.cinemability.com/
  • Citizen Sam (A quadriplegic man, who is an elected city official in Canada, runs for mayor.)  https://www.nfb.ca/film/citizen_sam/
  • Code of the Freaks (Examines Hollywood images of disability, tracing themes from the 1920s to the present) http://vimeo.com/36204424
  • Dakota’s Pride (A father searches for the truth about Down syndrome) Free online here:  http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/dakotas_pride
  • Darius Goes West (Teen with muscular dystrophy and his friends travel cross country to get him a customized wheelchair)  http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/the-film/
  • Deaf Jam (A deaf teen begins to perform ASL poetry and decides to perform at a poetry slam) http://www.itvs.org/films/deaf-jam & http://www.deafjam.org/
  • Deej (A nonspeaking autistic young man graduates high school and attends college.) https://www.deejmovie.com/
  • Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America (Behind-the-scenes look at the 2010 Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant) http://definingbeautydoc.blogspot.com/
  • Do you dream in color? (Four blind high school students navigate the challenges of an inaccessible U.S. educational system.)  http://www.doyoudreamincolor.com/
  • Enable (People with disabilities and technology) http://www.rehabtool.com/video/
  • Educating Peter & Graduating Peter (Follows a boy with Down syndrome through his inclusive educational experience) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XbvNuCy6-o
  • Emmanuel’s Gift (Tells the story of an orphan in Ghana who is an amputee)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0447016/
  • Employment Matters & Employment Matters Too (Discusses the benefits of hiring people with intellectual disabilities) Free online here:  http://employmentmatterstoo.com/
  • Freedom Machines (About the significant impact of technology in the lives of people with disabilities) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/559/736
  • A Friend Indeed-The Bill Sackter Story (True story of Bill Sackter, who left a lifetime in an institution to emerge as an international hero for people with disabilities) Full documentary online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUfaB41xjao&list=FLS3YJgvIPKYs7nM-7y4ylTA&index=6&feature=plpp_video
  • Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement (Film looks at human enhancement through bionic limbs, prenatal screening, technology for disabled people, and neural implants) http://www.fixedthemovie.com/
  • F**k the Disabled (Gay, disabled comedian Greg Walloch chronicles his life and comedy career) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_VvygUaEiQ
  • Going Blind (Blind people tell their personal stories) http://www.goingblindmovie.com/
  • Heavy Load (A year in the life of the mixed ability punk band, Heavy Load)  http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/heavy_load_in_new_york
  • Her Name is Sabine (A French actress/filmmaker tells the story of her sister who has autism) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031928/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
  • The Horse Boy (Tale of family resilience in the face of a young boy’s autism) http://www.horseboymovie.com/
  • How to Dance in Ohio (Young autistic adults learn about social skills before a big dance) http://www.howtodanceinohio.com/
  • How to Die in Oregon (Focuses on physician-assisted suicide in Oregon) http://www.howtodieinoregon.com/
  • I Can’t Do That But I Can Do This (Kids with learning disabilities discover their abilities) http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/i-cant-do-this-but-i-can-do-that-a-film-for-families-about-learning-differences/synopsis.html
  • I Have Tourette’s But Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me (Children and young teens with Tourette’s Syndrome describe their lives) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756661/
  • Including Samuel (A film about inclusion. The family of Samuel, who has CP, works to include him in all facets of their lives.) http://www.includingsamuel.com/home.aspx
  • Invitation to Dance (Christian von Tippelskirch and Simi Linton’s film about disability justice told through Simi’s personal story.) http://www.invitationtodancemovie.com/ To order: http://www.kinolorberedu.com/film.php?id=1787
  • Journey into Dyslexia (Profile of dyslexic professionals, thriving students and compassionate educators) http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/journey-into-dyslexia/synopsis.html#/documentaries/journey-into-dyslexia/index.html
  • The Key of G (Man w/ Mowat-Wilson syndrome & independent living) http://www.lateralfilms.com/keyofg/about.html
  • The Kids are All Right (Online documentary about protests against the MDA Telethon)  http://www.thekidsareallright.org/watch.html
  • King Gimp (Artist w/ CP Dan Keplinger; education access) http://www.videopress.umaryland.edu/King_Gimp.html
  • Little People (a view of the LPA from 1984) http://www.jankrawitz.com/little-people/
  • Lives Worth Living (The disability rights movement in the USA) http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lives-worth-living/
  • Loving Lampposts (A film about children and adults “living autistic”) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533081/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
  • Marwencol (Artist with TBI, PTSD creates elaborate miniature scenes depicting WWII) http://www.marwencol.com/
  • The Mars Project (A rapper diagnosed with a psychological disorder rejects the label.)  http://marsprojectmovie.blogspot.ca/
  • Monica & David (A couple with Down syndrome marry and start life together) http://www.monicaanddavid.com/
  • A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism (Discusses facilitated communication and the Rapid Prompting Method) http://www.amotherscourage.org/
  • Murderball (Athletes with disabilities; Paralympics) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/706/883
  • Music by Prudence (African musicians with disabilities) http://www.musicbyprudence.com/mbp/
  • My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette (An autistic man becomes an outsider artist after leaving a life in an institution) http://myclassiclifefilm.com/
  • My Country (It profiles three people with disabilities whose lives have been shaped by the struggle for equal rights) Watch it here: http://www.ada.gov/mycountryvideo/hi_speed_rp/mycountrydslgallery.htm
  • My Way to Olympia (A film about the Paralympics, the international sporting event for athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities, by Niko von Glasow, the world’s best-known disabled filmmaker.) http://www.pbs.org/pov/olympia/trailer.php#.VLRGTnuHp-0
  • The Nerves of Us  (focuses on Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), a surgery for people with CP) http://rhizotomyfilm.com/The_Nerves_of_Us/The_Movie.html
  • Neurotypical (An exploration of autism from the point of view of autistic people) http://www.pbs.org/pov/neurotypical/
  • No Bigger Than a Minute (Little person describes his life & societal attitudes)  http://www.nobiggerthanaminute.com/
  • Nobody’s Perfect (German film about people with disabilities caused by Thalidomide) http://www.nobodysperfect-film.de/en/home.html
  • Normal People Scare Me (Documentary about autism with some short films by autistic kids) http://www.normalfilms.com/NPSM.html
  • Normal People Scare Me (Interviews with autistic people about their lives) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903000/
  • Not Home (About disabled kids forced to live in nursing homes) http://www.nothomedocumentary.com/
  • The Other Child (Short documentary about brothers and sisters when one sibling has autism)
  • A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/a_paralyzing_fear
  • Petra’s Poem (Toronto artist with Down syndrome) http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=57811
  • Plain Jane the Shockumentary (Jane, a little person with OI, takes an irreverent look at her life.) http://plainjanetheshockumentary.blogspot.com/
  • Plan F (Blind man who is an occupational therapist turned auto mechanic) http://www.blogger.com/goog_1178832309
  • Praying with Lior (A teen with Down syndrome prepares for his bar mitzvah) http://www.prayingwithlior.com/
  • The Punk Syndrome (A film about Finland’s most kick-ass punk rock band, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, a group of musicians with intellectual disabilities.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM58kP_JHkQ
  • Raising Renee (A woman with an intellectual disability becomes more independent after living with her artist sister) http://westcityfilms.com/raising_renee.html
  • The Real Helen Keller http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/filmedia/play/2920/The-Real-Helen-Keller
  • Refrigerator Mothers (Documentary about the blame placed on mothers of autistic children) http://kartemquin.com/films/refrigerator-mothers
  • Rollaball (About Ghana’s disabled skate soccer team) http://rollaballmovie.com/
  • Rolling (Documentary shot from people with disabilities’ wheelchairs)  http://www.thirteen.org/rolling/thefilm/
  • See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary (It follows the journeys of four extraordinary deaf entertainers over the course of a single year as their stories intertwine and culminate in some of the most important events of their lives) www.seewhatimsayingmovie.com
  • Scarlet Road (Australian documentary about a sex worker who serves people with disabilities.) http://www.scarletroad.com.au/about/
  • Shameless: The Art of Disability (Art, activism and disability) http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=51620
  • Sins Invalid (A performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and queer and gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized.) http://www.sinsinvalid.org/index.html
  • Smile Pinki (Indian girl’s life is changed when she finally gets surgery for her cleft palate) http://www.smilepinki.com/
  • Sound and Fury (Two families, one deaf and one hearing, make decisions about cochlear implants for their children) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/
  • Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim (Christine Sun Kim is a Deaf performance artist working to reclaim the world of sound for herself. Todd Selby is a blind filmmaker) View here:http://disabilitymovies.com/2011/todd-selby-x-christine-sun-kim/%20
  • There’s Still Hope For Dreams…a Phamaly Story (It follows a theatrical group comprised entirely of disabled performers.) http://differentfromwhatfilm.com/node/18
  • Through Deaf Eyes (200-year history of Deaf life in America) http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/
  • Touch the Sound (A sound journey with internationally known deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie) http://www.touch-the-sound.com/
  • Tying Your Own Shoes (Short animated documentary about four adult artists with Down Syndrome)  http://www.nfb.ca/film/tying_your_own_shoes_trailer 
  • The Undefeated (Documentary in 1949 from England about men and women disabled in the World Wars) Watch free online here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLJk5wEmsx8
  • The United States of Autism http://usofautism.com/
  • Vectors of Autism (About being an adult with autism in a world that is not autistic) http://www.lauranagle.net/Film.htm 
  • Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back (Disability culture; disabled artists) http://www.fanlight.com/catalog/films/230_vs.php
  • War Torn 1861-2010 (Documentary about the disabling effects of war) http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/wartorn-1861-2010/index.html
  • We Are PHAMALy (Follows members of the musical theatre troupe PHAMALy (the Physically Handicapped Amateur Musical Actors League) as they prepare for their production of Once Upon A Mattress) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/909/1084
  • When Billy Broke His Head (A man with TBI explores the disability rights movement) http://www.brainline.org/multimedia/video/transcripts/Billy_Golfus-When_Billy_Broke_His_Head.pdf
  • When I Walk (Jason DaSilva’s documentary about his life as his MS progresses)  http://wheniwalk.com/
  • When I’m Not Alone (A transgender disabled man becomes a disability advocate) http://www.whenimnotalonefilm.com/
  • Where’s Molly? (A brother finds his disabled sister in an institution after 47 years and re-establishes a loving relationship) http://www.wheresmolly.net/
  • Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace (Short documentary about the notorious institution for people with disabilities on Staten Island, NY) http://sproutflix.org/node/323
  • Wretches and Jabberers (Two autistic men travel the world as advocates) http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/
  • Yellow Brick Road (Theater program for people with intellectual disabilities) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/733/910%20

Narrative Films (This is not a list of films that are all positive portrayals. Sometimes bad disability films spark good discussion.)

• Adam (Autism)
• Any Day Now (stars an actor with Down syndrome)
• Assisted Living (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/594/771
• Avatar (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1353/1473
• A Beautiful Mind (Mental illness)
• Beeswax (Wheelchair user)
• Beyond Silence (Deaf community)
• Canvas (Mental illness)
• Charly (Intellectual disability)
• Children of a Lesser God (Deaf community)
• The Color of Paradise (Blind person)
• The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (Locked-in syndrome) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/101/101
• Door to Door (cerebral palsy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIUnHFk_xcY
• Down Under Mystery Tour (Intellectual disability)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512775/ 
• Dumb & Dumber (Blind person) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/895/1070
• The Elephant Man (Neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome)
• Fanaa (Blind person)
• Finding Nemo (Memory problem; disabled fin) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/873/1048
• Forrest Gump (Intellectual disability; amputee)
• Freaks (Multiple disabilities) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/581/758
• Frida (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1274/1304
• Gattaca (Wheelchair use)
• Girlfriend (Stars an actor with Down syndrome) Watch here for $5: https://www.thewatchbox.com/movies/2-girlfriend
• Harvey Krumpet (Tourette’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s)
• The King’s Speech (Stuttering)
• Mabul – The Flood (Autism)
• Margarita, with a straw (Cerebral palsy)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2929690/
• Mary and Max (Asperger’s, obesity)
• The Mighty (Morquio’s syndrome)
• Million Dollar Baby (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/590/767
• Mozart and the Whale (Autism)
• Music Within (CP; hearing loss)
• Musical Chairs (Wheelchair use; amputee)
• My Left Foot (CP) Longmore, P. K. (1990). The glorious rage of Christy Brown. Disability Studies Quarterly, 10,  23-25.
• My Name is Khan (Autism)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Multiple disabilities) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/149/149
• The Other Sister (Intellectual disability)
• Passion Fish (Wheelchair user)
• Quid Pro Quo (Wheelchair user)
• Rain Man (Autism)
• Ray (Blind person) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/591/768
• The Ringer (Intellectual disabilities) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/movies/11bauer.html?_r=1
• Rory O’Shea Was Here (CP) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/703/880
• Rust and Bone (Amputee)
• Saved (Wheelchair user)
• The Sea Inside (Wheelchair use)
• Seabiscuit (Visual impairment, cane use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/908/1083
• The Sessions (biopic of writer Mark O’Brien, who used an iron lung)
• Shallow Hal (CP; obesity) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/895/1070
• Shine (Mental illness)
• Silver Linings Playbook (bipolar disorder)
• Simon Birch (Little person) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1014/1227
• Sling Blade (Intellectual disability)
• Snowcake (Autism)
• The Soloist (Mental Illness)
• The Station Agent (Little person) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/576/753
• Stuck on You (Conjoined twins) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/895/1070,%20http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/494/671
• The Tic Code (Tourette’s syndrome)
• There’s Something about Mary (Intellectual disability) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/895/1070
• Tropic Thunder (Intellectual disability) http://www.disaboom.com/movies/quottropic-thunder-hollywood-still-doesnt-get-it/
• Welcome to Me (bipolar disorder)
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape(Intellectual disability)Whole (BIID)
• X-Men, X2 (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/874/1049
• Yo, Tambien (Down syndrome)

Scripted TV

• American Horror Story (Down syndrome, physical disability)
• Atypical (autism)
• Bojack Horseman (mental illness)
• Boston Legal (Little person; autism)
• Breaking Bad (CP; cancer)
• CSI (Amputee; hearing loss) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/921/1096
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (mental illness)
• Deadwood (CP) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/593/770
• Empire (mental illness)
• Family Guy (Wheelchair user)
• Friday Night Lights (Wheelchair user)
• Game of Thrones (Little person, mobility impairment, amputee)
• Girls (OCD)
• Glee (Down syndrome; wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1354
• The Good Doctor (autism)
• Growing Up Fisher (Blindness)
• Heroes (Wheelchair use)
• House (Cane use; substance abuse) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1583/1549
• The Inspectors (Wheelchair use) http://www.newmobility.com/2015/11/the-inspectors/
• Ironside (Wheelchair use)
• Jericho (Deaf person) http://www.meryl.net/ci/archives/004780.html
• Joan of Arcadia (Wheelchair user) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/499/676
• The L Word (Deaf person)  https://bethhaller.wordpress.com/l-word-nca-paper/
• Legit (Wheelchair use)
• Life Goes On (Stars an actor with Down syndrome)
• Life’s Too Short (Little person) http://www.hbo.com/lifes-too-short/index.html
• Lost (Wheelchair use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/540/717
• Michael J. Fox Show (Parkinson’s)
• Monk (OCD)
• Nip/Tuck(Multiple disabilities; Little person)
• Parenthood (Autistic child)
• Pelswick (Wheelchair user) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/431/608
• Private Practice (Wheelchair use; substance abuse)
• Quads (Wheelchair users)
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager (Down syndrome)
• Sesame Street (Wheelchair user; Deaf person)
• Silent Witness (Wheelchair user) British show so may not be available in the USA.
• South Park (Wheelchair use; walker use) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/628/805
• Speechless (CP, AAC use) http://abc.go.com/shows/speechless
• Switched at Birth (Deaf community)
• Temple Grandin (Autism) http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1659/1610
• United States of Tara (Mental illness)

Reality TV & Web series

• The Amazing Race (Little person; Deaf person; Autism)
• Born This Way (young adults with Down syndrome) http://www.aetv.com/shows/born-this-way 
• Dancing with the Stars (Amputee; Deaf person)
• The Disability Film Challenge films on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0PQTVAsQpJCPOm4_QYqqQ
• Extreme Home Makeover (Many episodes make over home for disabled adult or child)
• Fridays web series (Two Deaf best friends tell the stories of their lives) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1885707914/fridays-the-web-series
• How’s Your News? (All stars have intellectual disabilities) http://www.mtv.com/shows/hows_your_news/series.jhtml
• The Specials (UK Web series about group home of adults with intellectual disabilities)  http://www.the-specials.com/home
• Last Comic Standing (2006 winner, Josh Blue, has CP) http://www.joshblue.com/
• The Little Couple (Little people) http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/little-couple
• Little People, Big World http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/817/992
• Little Women LA (Little people)
• Little Women NYC (Little people)
• My Deaf Family http://www.youtube.com/user/MyDeafFamily
• My Gimpy Life Web series (wheelchair user) https://www.youtube.com/user/MyGimpyLife
• Push Girls, (A group of female friends who are wheelchair users) http://www.sundancechannel.com/push-girls/
• Riding Shotgun with Zach Anner web series (Comedian with CP travels and has adventures) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKid_CNBQaE7cw-MQX-kjiupEFmsijqgh
• The Specials web series (The lives of a group of people with intellectual disabilities who live in a British group home. The show is told from their perspective.) http://www.the-specials.com/
• Stare at Shannon web series (Wheelchair-using actor/comedian Shannon DeVido’s show about her life)  https://www.youtube.com/user/shannonleigh327/featured

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