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Casting of Alex Baldwin in "Blind" critcized

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ASPartOfMe
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06 Jul 2017, 12:36 pm

Disability Organization Slams ‘Blind’ for Casting Alec Baldwin in Lead Role

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The upcoming film “Blind,” starring Alec Baldwin as a novelist who loses his sight in a car crash, has drawn criticism for casting an able-bodied actor as the blind lead.

The Ruderman Family Foundation, a leading organization advocating for disability rights, spoke out against the film, accusing it of “crip-face” — a comparison to blackface — in having Baldwin portray the main role. The private philanthropic group is known for advocating on behalf of casting disabled actors.

“Alec Baldwin in ‘Blind’ is just the latest example of treating disability as a costume,” Jay Ruderman, the foundation’s president, said in a statement to the L.A. Times. “We no longer find it acceptable for white actors to portray black characters. Disability as a costume needs to also become universally unacceptable.”

Last summer, the foundation released findings that reveal although those with disabilities represent almost 20% of the country’s population, 95% of disabled characters on television are played by able-bodied performers.


Playing roles is the actors job description. The attitude that an able bodied actor can not play a disabled character is a form of prejudice. The film has not been released yet. If the character is an inaccurate or condescending portrayal of a blind person justifiably criticize away.


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EzraS
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06 Jul 2017, 2:08 pm

I say from now on, any character shot in a movie must be played by an actual gunshot victim.



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06 Jul 2017, 2:30 pm

Goes to show you, even people with disabilities can be weiners, just like anyone else.


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cyberdad
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07 Jul 2017, 1:27 am

Reminds me that Ben Affleck was cast as an autistic in "The Accountant"

Not only was he nuerotypical but he has very unflattering views of disability



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07 Jul 2017, 1:35 am

cyberdad wrote:
Reminds me that Ben Affleck was cast as an autistic in "The Accountant"

Not only was he nuerotypical but he has very unflattering views of disability


Really? I hadn't known that about him having less than charitable views on disabilities.


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07 Jul 2017, 1:37 am

Kraichgauer wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
Reminds me that Ben Affleck was cast as an autistic in "The Accountant"

Not only was he nuerotypical but he has very unflattering views of disability


Really? I hadn't known that about him having less than charitable views on disabilities.

He used the r-word to describe his own drunk behavior while hitting on a female reporter, it's not pleasant viewing



ASPartOfMe
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07 Jul 2017, 4:50 am

cyberdad wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
Reminds me that Ben Affleck was cast as an autistic in "The Accountant"

Not only was he nuerotypical but he has very unflattering views of disability


Really? I hadn't known that about him having less than charitable views on disabilities.

He used the r-word to describe his own drunk behavior while hitting on a female reporter, it's not pleasant viewing


He used a politically incorrect word to negativly describe his own behavoir. He should have used idoit or moron. Oh wait those words are offensive to dead people who were diagnosed with those conditions in the 1800's.What matters is not that the actor is an a**hole but his portrayal of an autistic. It was plausable. The positive is it was more realistic then in that it showed more then social ackwordness. The negative it was yet another savant, a higher functioning Rain man in a way.


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EzraS
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07 Jul 2017, 8:32 am

I mentally use the R word sometimes. I've rarely heard it used as an insult to a disabled person. I usually hear it used regarding stupid behavior or a stupid situation.



cyberdad
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07 Jul 2017, 7:48 pm

EzraS wrote:
I mentally use the R word sometimes. I've rarely heard it used as an insult to a disabled person. I usually hear it used regarding stupid behavior or a stupid situation.


ASPartOfMe wrote:
He used a politically incorrect word to negativly describe his own behavoir. He should have used idoit or moron. Oh wait those words are offensive to dead people who were diagnosed with those conditions in the 1800's.


As with the n-word which is derived from a country in Africa where slaves were captured the origin and use of the r-word is not the issue. The issue is the intent behind using it (i.e. what it's code for). I tend to disagree that its use is always harmless as the intent when used often carries an underlying belief that people who are slow to process/cognitively challenged are inferior



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07 Jul 2017, 7:56 pm

First, I think criticizing Alec Baldwin is appropriate for any role he's offered. The only decent thing I've ever seen him in was a SNL clip acting as an NPR host talking about his "Schweddy balls", and I was 17 so I probably thought he was better than he actually was due to my age and the content.

Second, I did not buy Ben Affleck as an autistic, perhaps due to the fact that I've never seen an autistic-accountant-assassin, or perhaps due to the fact his forehead is larger than the dimensions on my screen and very distracting.

Now, for a more critical look...



cyberdad
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07 Jul 2017, 8:45 pm

Aristophanes wrote:
Second, I did not buy Ben Affleck as an autistic, perhaps due to the fact that I've never seen an autistic-accountant-assassin, or perhaps due to the fact his forehead is larger than the dimensions on my screen and very distracting.
.

The Affleck character is (when you looker deeper) a little demeaning. The character is super smart but was conditioned by his father to lack empathy when killing people.



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08 Jul 2017, 11:38 am

cyberdad wrote:
EzraS wrote:
I mentally use the R word sometimes. I've rarely heard it used as an insult to a disabled person. I usually hear it used regarding stupid behavior or a stupid situation.


ASPartOfMe wrote:
He used a politically incorrect word to negativly describe his own behavoir. He should have used idoit or moron. Oh wait those words are offensive to dead people who were diagnosed with those conditions in the 1800's.


As with the n-word which is derived from a country in Africa where slaves were captured the origin and use of the r-word is not the issue. The issue is the intent behind using it (i.e. what it's code for). I tend to disagree that its use is always harmless as the intent when used often carries an underlying belief that people who are slow to process/cognitively challenged are inferior


The issues with use of words are always intent and context.


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08 Jul 2017, 7:31 pm

EzraS wrote:
I say from now on, any character shot in a movie must be played by an actual gunshot victim.

LOLOLOL EXCELLENT!!

The article / organization in the OP, is utterly ridiculous, IMO. Jamie Foxx played a blind person, in "Ray", and got, IMO, a well-deserved Oscar, for it. The whole idea of acting, is that an actor should be able to play ANYTHING----besides, who's to say there was a blind actor, available, who was capable of playing the part (NOT that I think Alec Baldwin, IS - YUCK).




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08 Jul 2017, 8:46 pm

Campin_Cat wrote:
EzraS wrote:
I say from now on, any character shot in a movie must be played by an actual gunshot victim.

LOLOLOL EXCELLENT!!

The article / organization in the OP, is utterly ridiculous, IMO. Jamie Foxx played a blind person, in "Ray", and got, IMO, a well-deserved Oscar, for it. The whole idea of acting, is that an actor should be able to play ANYTHING----besides, who's to say there was a blind actor, available, who was capable of playing the part (NOT that I think Alec Baldwin, IS - YUCK).

It's also interesting the choice of David Mazouz playing a mute autistic character in "Touch". His performance was convincing in that I really wasn't sure if he really was autistic. Affleck on the other hand was nowhere near convincing.



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08 Jul 2017, 8:49 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
The issues with use of words are always intent and context.

Which for those who are victimised, bullied and harrassed is cold comfort. I don't think an autistic child should be left to fend for themselves in a school yard when they hear the r-word even if they told later that it's only a joke.



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08 Jul 2017, 9:01 pm

There's nothing wrong with actors portraying disabilities they don't have. They're actors after all.

What's wrong with advocating for actors with disabilities to at least be chosen to play these roles though? The statistics about the lack of actors with disabilities speak for themselves.

BTW, I'm blind.