It’s rare that Hollywood films touch on some of the typical everyday experiences a disabled person goes through. Such material isn’t usually considered acceptable for modern audiences there due to a lack of interest on the part of filmmakers or simply due to a lack of confidence in accurately tackling the concept.
However, there seems to be one film which is finally tackling the concept of life with a disability in a straightforward, honest way. It’s a film called I Didn’t See You There, and it’s a powerful commentary about life for disabled people, many of whom often feel excluded from society and detached from the world.
The film was the brainchild of Reid Davenport, a disabled filmmaker who has leant heavily into the way he lives his life to create something different for the world to look at. The film often shows him trying to navigate normal parts of society, to be met with forced politeness or uncertainty from the rest of the world. It’s a tough look at a world which is – deliberately or not – apathetic to the struggles of disabled people.
Davenport himself is often presented as an inconvenience to the public, with many bickering over trivial things like which direction he should sit while travelling on a bus or his struggle to navigate things like the subway.
As a film, there isn’t any real music, and the entire thing is shot on a single camera held by Davenport, who is constantly on the move. For many people, it’s not a pleasant viewing experience because it serves to highlight some of the apathy and often lack of tolerance that disabled people face every day. Not everybody is bright and cheery, and accommodating; many people on the sidewalk or public transport regard him as little more than an annoyance. It’s a very uncomfortable film for those who are forced to examine their position in society in the way that they interact with people who are differently abled from them.
As disability support workers Gold Coast, we find a film like this to be inspiring. We like the fact that it presents a realistic, often uncomfortable, take on the way disabled people navigate the world because it’s a conversation that needs to happen. These types of glimpses into the world of disabled people are difficult for some, yes, but at the same time, it’s a needed discomfort.
If we’re ever going to bring about real change for disabled people, we have to use films like this as vehicles to put across a message. The truly tragic part of the film is that this is a real person showing everyday experiences – nothing is made more dramatic for Hollywood or artificial. If people sit up, pay attention, and take note of how unfair some of what disabled people deal with really is, then we might make some real headway on changing things.