Glamorizing the Hospital: Why the Red Band Society Does Harm - Inglourious Fiction
▻http://www.inglouriousfiction.com/2014/09/glamorizing-hospital-red-band-society-harm
The Red Band Society is the same kind of fodder. Not only does it play into all of the tropes about disability and illness that many of us in the disability activism community have been attempting to eradicate, or at least educate others about, so they can help us eradicate it, but it also plays into the ” black hero(ine)” trope. This trope explores the idea that a nonwhite person, typically someone who is black, basically serves as a person who sees to the needs of the primarily white, (rest of the) cast of characters. In this case, Octavia Spencer, as the nurse to this wily group of kids, plays the hero role. We often see Denzel Washington playing these kinds of roles, where the character is desexualized, and has little else going on for them beyond serving the needs of the white folk, in the film or television show. Why do we relegate black people to take care of or do the bidding of primarily white people? It’s just not cool. I digress.
For many people with chronic illnesses, this kind of exploitation is disturbing. For me, it is a reminder of the fish bowl syndrome, many of us who spend a significant amount time at the hospital experience. With each new doctor that comes in, we are poked and prodded. We are made to perform, so the new doctor can see the most visible of our symptoms. We are in a fish bowl, on display,for the able-bodied world to see, to gawk, to stare, and to marvel in wonderment. We are not yours, to put on display. Our stories are not yours to exploit. Often, what happens, is that allows able-bodied people to ultimately feel better about themselves and their own situations, because at least they don’t have it as bad as we do, or at least that is what they think.
We need to stop our fascination with lives we think we understand. Instead of able-bodied or non-sick individuals writing what they think our experiences are, maybe they should consult with us or let us write our experiences, in our own words.
