KEY 4. Authentic Representation

Link to hear article read aloud.

Insight

Authentic Representation is so important.  Authentic is key because you can have representation without it being authentic.  Allow people to tell their story, how they want to be represented, share the stage and let people show up as their true self.  

Authentic Representation Articles

1. Teenager, 14, with bionic arms who lost her hands to meningitis as a baby lands job as TV presenter to front news show for youngsters

Quote from the article: “It’s a great opportunity for me to report on the things I care about most, climate change, equal rights, racism and of course I hope I can inspire others kids with a disability that everything is possible.”

2. New Netflix Documentary Captures History Of The Paralympics

If you have not seen Netflix Documentary Phoenix Rising, I highly recommend watching it, I loved how there were U.S. Paralympians telling their own story and it talked about the history of the Paralympics too.  I have watched it twice.

3. Kmart’s inclusive doll win: ‘It has a cane like me!’

Quote from the article:  “Emma Evert took to the  Kmart Mums Australia Facebook group  and shared photos of her son Harlen with a doll that is vision impaired, just like him. She wrote, “absolutely killing it with the new range of inclusive dolls. It is so important that kids with disabilities are represented in TV, books and toys.”It’s equally important [their] typical developing peers have exposure to these things.” “It empowers kids to celebrate ability!” She added that her son was “one super happy boy this afternoon.”

4. An Open Letter to Hollywood: Inauthentic Representation of Disability Isn’t Representation At All

Quote from the article: “Perhaps this is because I rarely saw anyone who looked like me on my screen. Watching disabled people on screen achieving their goals might have helped me build more intricate dreams of my own. When I say “disabled people,” I mean characters played by actors who live with a disability. As soon as I learn that a non-disabled actor is playing a disabled part, it reinforces for me that the world literally doesn’t think people with disabilities can play ourselves.”

5. Madagascar: A Little Wild” Takes Deaf Representation to the Next Level

Quote from the article: “My favorite moments from this collaboration has been watching performances of the ASL dialogue in this show, when Jevon plays Dave, a deaf chimp, in a way that only a deaf person can, and Justin plays Pickles, a hearing chimp who has a deaf brother, in a way that only a relative of a deaf person can do justice,” Delbert Whetter said. “Some of the funniest moments have been from watching them throw themselves into these roles, drawing on their own personal life experiences to create these hilarious scenes, some of which you will see in these episodes.”

Insight Question

How can we move towards having more authentic representation in society on screen and off screen?