Over the past few months, the Film Industry has been creating films centered upon a character with a Disability.  These films include Me Before You, The Fundamentals of Caring, and Don’t Breathe. Don’t Breathe has been called a new Horror thriller film where 3 individuals decide to break into a wealthy blind man’s home to steal a large amount of money that is rumored to be in the basement of the blind man’s home.  Once they enter the home though, they realize the blind man is far from a helpless disabled war veteran, but is a serial killer who makes the 3 kids his newest victims.  The Blind Man is not even given a name except for “The Blind Man” and he is portrayed by Stephen Lang as being someone who keeps inside his home, who must be feared and will attack the kids who have broken into his home.  I understand the part about being protective of your own property, but it is clear this is certainly not what the film producer or director was after when creating this film.

This film creates the image that the blind are people to fear who never leave their homes, living in a dark world of their own.  As a Legally Blind individual, I and my fellow blind individuals take offense of this incorrect portrayal of the Blind Community.  The blind have held several lines of work in multiple diverse fields, thereby ensuring we remain active members of our community.  As stated by the National Federation of the Blind, “every day we raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.”  This movie promotes the image that the blind wish to accept low expectations placed upon them, which also is not true.  The Blind, like every other person in the world, can achieve whatever we wish to achieve thereby living the lives we want.

I think it is important to point out these actors do not have a disability and it adds to the already long-term misconception of the Disability Community playing upon the stereotypes related to the disability the film is about.  I think it is time if Hollywood and the rest of the Film Industry continue to make Disability related films, they have a disabled actor or at the very least a consultant who has that specific disability they are trying to discuss ensuring it is correctly portrayed by the non-disabled actor.  It is films like Don’t Breathe that promote the image the Disability Community must be feared, pitied, and treated like second class citizens.  These same fears are the result of Disabled Parents having their children taken from them by Social Services simply because they have a Disability.  It is time the Film Industry stop making awful films which incorrectly represent People with Disabilities and stand with the Disability Community ensuring they can be as successful as their non-disabled peers!