9/6/21, 4:03 AM On screen and on stage, disability continues to be depicted in outdated, cliched ways https://theconversation.com/on-screen-and-on-stage-disability-continues-to-be-depicted-in-outdated-cliched-ways-130577?fbclid=IwAR268MdvYe… 1/3 Academic rigor, journalistic flair On screen and on stage, disability continues to be depicted in outdated, cliched ways November 2, 2020 8.25am EST • Updated November 2, 2020 12.12pm EST The #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements have forced Hollywood and other artists and filmmakers to rethink their subject matter and casting practices. However, despite an increased sensitivity to gender and race representation in popular culture, disabled Americans are still awaiting their national (and international) movement. “Disability drag” – casting able-bodied actors in the roles of characters with disabilities – has been hard to dislodge from its Oscar-worthy appeal. Since 1947, out of 59 nominations for disabled characters, 27 won an Academy Award – about a 50% win rate. There’s Eddie Redmayne’s performance as Stephen Hawking in “ The Theory of Everything”; Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Christy Brown, who has cerebral palsy, in “ My Left Foot”; and Dustin Hoffman’s role as an autistic genius in “ Rain Man” – to mention just a few. In recent years, however, we’ve seen a slight shift. Actors with disabilities are actually being cast as characters who have disabilities. In 2017, theater director Sam Gold cast actress Madison Ferris – who uses a wheelchair in real life – as Laura in his Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ “The Author Magda Romanska Associate Professor of Theatre and Dramaturgy, Emerson College Actress Claire Danes playing CIA officer Carrie Mathison, who struggles with mental illness, on the set of ‘Homeland.’ Showtime