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One of us: exploring the relationship between Hollywood and disability

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One of us: exploring the relationship between Hollywood and disability

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One of Us:
Exploring the Relationship Between Hollywood and Disability
by
Charlotte Phillipp

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND
JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
May 2023

ii
Acknowledgments

Thanks to Kristen Lopez, Rachel Adams, Robert McRuer, Nic Novicki, Kim Davis-
Wagner, Danielle Hollobaugh, Derek Dabkoski, Koura Linda, Robert Baltazar, Lori Samuels and
Amelia Swedeen for their participation.
Special thanks to Oscar Garza, Willa Seidenberg, Alison Trope, J.D. Roth, Rachel
Michelman, Jackson Irvine, my brother and my mom and dad for their support and guidance.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... ii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter One: Episode 1 .................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter Two: Episode 2................................................................................................................ 16
Chapter Three: Episode 3.............................................................................................................. 28
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 38
Films Referenced .......................................................................................................................... 42
Interviews ...................................................................................................................................... 44
Audio Credits ................................................................................................................................ 45

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Abstract
This thesis is a podcast series that serves as an account of the relationship between the
film and television industry and disability. The podcast is titled “One of Us,” named after Tod
Browning’s 1932 film, “Freaks,” a horror movie about an able-bodied trapeze artist who joins a
group of circus performers who have facial deformities and disabilities. The film holds a unique
place in the disability cinema space — although the depiction of the performers with disabilities
is by many accounts negative and derogatory (not to mention the film’s pejorative title), its
casting utilized disabled people rather than actors using prosthetics.
This podcast series consists of three episodes: the first tracks the history of disability
representation in Hollywood films over the past century. Audiences hear from academics and
journalists with expertise in the portrayal that exists of disability and disabled people in both film
and television, as well as in media at large; in the second episode, an actor and two filmmakers,
all of whom identify as having a disability, are interviewed about their experiences working in
the entertainment industry. They discuss specific challenges related to working in this industry
and how they’ve navigated through accessibility and representation challenges while also
discussing how their identities impact their artistic practices; the third and final episode serves as
a piece of solutions journalism, where disabled listeners looking to break into the entertainment
industry hear about training programs, film festivals and other opportunities available for
creatives.

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Introduction
As an actor myself, I decided to include a personal perspective as the host of this series,
on both my own artistic practice as an actor and my disability. I include clips of auditions I’ve
done and discuss my struggles with the casting process as a physically disabled actor.
Additionally, my thesis committee and I discussed two issues relating to disability in this series:
person-first or identity-first language when referring to disability, and whether to hone my
discussion to focus solely on physical disability, as that is my area of expertise and experience.
For the former, I ultimately decided to use identity-first language as that is my preference.
However, when an interviewee expressed another wish, I changed the language in reference to
them. As for the focus on physical disability, I quickly realized throughout the course of my
research and reporting that this scope was incomplete. To understand the full extent of
representation and accessibility throughout all of Hollywood, my coverage would have to
include both intellectual and physical disabilities.
“One of Us” is a deeply personal and meaningful project, and I hope it serves as a
resource and provides insight into what it’s like to be disabled in Hollywood.

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Chapter One: Episode 1
Episode audio
HOST: An average viewer of Hollywood films and TV shows these days might say that
disability representation is experiencing a renaissance.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Special”] “You can fight who you are, but that's a fight you are never
gonna win. ”
HOST: The Netflix original series “Special” is the story of a gay man with cerebral palsy. It was
released in 2019 and marked the introduction of one of the first queer, disabled characters on
television. Two years later, Marvel’s “Eternals” introduced the cinematic universe’s first deaf
superhero. And then there was this recent success…
ARCHIVAL: “And the Oscar goes to… okay, ‘Coda!’”
HOST: “CODA,” which follows a non-deaf child in an all-deaf family, won Best Picture at the
Oscars in 2022.
Disability representation has had its highs throughout Hollywood’s history. When it comes to
movies like “Children Of A Lesser God,” “The Theory Of Everything,” “Born On The Fourth Of
July” or “CODA,” they’re all critically acclaimed films, and some even Oscar nominees and
winners. The Washington Post reported that from 1988 to 2015, a whopping one-third of the
Best Actor awards at the Oscars went to people who played disabled characters. That might
sound like progress, except when you know that nearly all of these characters were played by
able-bodied actors.

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ARCHIVAL: “And the Oscar goes to… Jamie Foxx in ‘Ray.’” “Al Pacino, ‘Scent of a
Woman.’” “Patty Duke, in ‘The Miracle Worker.’” “John Mills in ‘Ryan’s Daughter!’” “Daniel
Day Lewis, ‘My Left Foot.’”
HOST: A 2016 study, done by the Ruderman Family Foundation, found that 95 percent of all
disabled characters are played by able-bodied actors.
Make a guess — how many actors who have disabilities have won an Oscar in the history of the
ceremony? You’d be correct if you said only 3.
So, are we really having a renaissance of disability in Hollywood? Who are the disabled
creatives, whether actors or writers or even sound designers, making this small, but culturally
significant change in how often and how accurately the film and TV industries are portraying
disabled people?
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: My name is Charlotte Phillipp. As an arts journalist, actor, writer, and someone who’s
been an amputee since birth, these are high-stakes questions for me to answer. When I’m acting,
I want myself and all my fellow disabled film, TV and commercial hopefuls to feel that the
material we read for casting directors tells stories that reflect us. I want directors and
screenwriters to create these stories. I want studios to produce and distribute projects that
actually represent disabled people, and for them to call into question how they’ve portrayed
disabled people on screen in the past.
In this series, I’ll explore the history of how Hollywood has shown disability in movies and TV
shows. We’ll hear from activists who are fighting against the lack of representation on screen.

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We’ll hear from actors about the limitations they face trying to work in this industry. And of
course, we’ll look towards the future, and hear how Hollywood executives and activists are
looking to change the landscape for disabled people. Welcome to “One of Us.”
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: Let’s begin with a step back. I want to first define what we mean by “disability” and
“disabled.”
When we talk about the term “disability,” we’re often referring to a physical condition that
impairs someone and, as the World Health Organization puts it, “makes it more difficult for the
person with the condition to do certain activities … and interact with the world around them.” In
academic circles, people tend to categorize disability into two models: social and medical. In the
medical model, disability is considered an abnormality and is something that only exists in
individuals. In the social model, disability is something that happens because society is set up in
a way that only functions properly for able-bodied people.
RACHEL ADAMS: I think disability is a very complicated umbrella.
HOST: That’s Rachel Adams, a professor of media and disability studies at Columbia
University. She says that people under the disability umbrella often disagree about how to define
it.
ADAMS: There's so much variety within it and there's lots of people that feel ambivalent about
being a part of it.

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HOST: Some people also have identity-based definitions for disability that don’t fit into other
categories, she says. The deaf community has its own languages and cultures, for example.
RACHEL ADAMS: But there is then the identity category, which is different from, you know,
how it's defined legally or medically. And then there's different forms of belonging within that
and the unease of that.
HOST: Adams says there are no easy ways to define disability.
ADAMS: I would say it's complicated and it depends on the context. I think it's okay for it not to
be so precisely defined, because whenever you do that, you're going to leave something out.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Going Hollywood”] “Where you all going? Hollywood!”
HOST: Let’s jump back into Hollywood. One of the earliest instances of a disabled character
appearing on screen is the silent film “Le Faux cul-de-jatte,” which translates to “The False
Cripple.” This short film was released in 1897 by the Lumiere brothers. It’s the first time we see
an able-bodied actor playing a disabled character on screen. It portrays a beggar on the street,
and as police officers approach him, he runs away – revealing he isn’t really disabled. Though
this film is short and arguably doesn’t portray a disabled character with any kind of meaningful
nuance, it marks the beginning of a long and complicated history of disability on screen.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: There’s no shortage of films about disabled people from the early decades of Hollywood.
There was “The Faithful Dog” from 1907, “The Penalty” in 1920, the original “Phantom of the

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Opera” comes in 1925, and of course, whose heart doesn’t swell at Tiny Tim in “A Christmas
Carol”?
ARCHIVAL: [From “A Christmas Carol”] “God bless us, everyone!”
HOST: Something that began early on in the film industry was what scholars occasionally call
“cripface” — disabled characters being portrayed by non-disabled actors. Here again is Rachel
Adams.
RACHEL ADAMS: Almost always in history, people with disabilities in film have been played
by able-bodied actors.
HOST: In 1946, Harold Russell — who lost both hands in World War II — won the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film “The Best Years of Our Lives.” It was the first time
that a disabled actor was significantly recognized by both audiences and the film industry for
playing a disabled character.
ARCHIVAL: [From “The Best Years of Our Lives”] “Say, do you mind if I ask you a personal
question? I know what it is. How did I get these hooks and how do they work? That’s what
everybody says when they start off ‘do you mind if I ask you a personal question?’”
HOST: It’s a bit harder to track the first instance of a disabled person being portrayed on
television. There’s simply less scholarly work on disability and television. Enter Kristen Lopez.
She’s a television reporter and critic who has a disability herself. In an informal Twitter poll, she
asked her followers when the first time was they remember seeing a disabled character on TV.

7
KRISTEN LOPEZ: If we're talking about probably the most commonly identifiable disabled
character in TV, yeah, Raymond Burr in ‘Ironside’ is pretty, pretty much it.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Ironside”] “Theme”
HOST: Ironside aired from 1967 to 1975. It starred able-bodied Raymond Burr as a wheelchair-
bound police detective. Lopez says this era of television, from the late 60s to the early 80s,
marked an interesting shift in the representation of disability.
KRISTEN LOPEZ: There's a lot of these barriers that are being broken down in the ‘70s and
‘80s that I think are partially fueled by the fact that so many veterans were coming back from
Vietnam.
HOST: This period of television eventually tapered out in the 1990s. But Lopez says it was truly
like no other.
KRISTEN LOPEZ: The characters there are calling out stuff like ableism. They are wanting to
be treated like regular people and they're showing off the misconception.
HOST: One of the best examples from this period is the primetime NBC series, “The Facts of
Life.” Geri Jewell, who has cerebral palsy, plays a character who has plot lines that cover
everything from romances to doing stand-up comedy about her disability.
ARCHIVAL: [From “The Facts of Life”] “Hey, I’m a good bowler! I’ve had some high scores.
The only problem was it was never in my lane.”
HOST: So, representation did become more nuanced in the ‘70s and ‘80s — particularly when it
comes to TV.

8
LOPEZ: There was actually a study where they were talking about how seeing characters with
disabilities on television kind of creates a non-threatening environment for people watching it
that allows them to shift the misconceptions that they have and accept accurate information about
disability.
HOST: Despite this, some scholars and activists argue that many portrayals of disabled
characters over the course of Hollywood’s history use harmful archetypes that still prevail in
media today. “Ironside” is a kind of disabled character who is seemingly superpowered and all-
knowing, “despite” his disabilities. One of those harmful kinds of characters is what academics
like Rachel Adams call a “super crip.”
RACHEL ADAMS: “Super crip” is sort of like the disability overachiever and the really famous
— this is a real-life example — is like a Helen Keller-type figure who kind of proves their worth
by doing more than the ordinary able-bodied person.
HOST: Helen Keller was portrayed on screen in the film adaptation of “The Miracle Worker” in
1962.
ARCHIVAL: [From “The Miracle Worker”] “Imitate now. Understand later. Into the first letter.
Ow! You little wretch!”
HOST: There are characters like the titular “Birdman” and the “Rain Man” who are savants
quote-unquote “despite” their autism. One subcategory of the “super crip” is the all-knowing
blind character. In the 2013 season of “American Horror Story,” Sarah Paulson’s witch character
becomes blind after an acid attack and gains psychic abilities.

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ARCHIVAL: [From “American Horror Story: Coven”] “I had to go blind to see things about you
I couldn’t see before. A bad cosmic joke. It’s a different kind of clarity.”
HOST: This archetype appears a lot in superhero films. Professor X in the “X-Men” franchise is
paraplegic and has telekinetic powers. The Marvel character Daredevil is blind and has
superhuman strength.
ROBERT MCRUER: The “super crip” generally is one who has decided to be on his own.
HOST: That’s Robert McRuer, a professor of media studies at George Washington University.
He says a common issue with the “super crip” archetype is that these characters have no sense of
belonging.
ROBERT MCRUER: It's easier for someone to be represented in a Hollywood film as an
individual hero if disability culture or disability community is not present.
HOST: He also says “super crips” aren’t the only characters that deal with isolation or a lack of
community. There’s a similar archetype to the “super crip” that appears throughout film and TV.
This trope is literally referred to as a “Tiny Tim,” named for the character in “A Christmas
Carol.” The sitcom “Speechless” centers around a high schooler named J.J. with cerebral palsy
and his family as they navigate his adolescence. Here’s one moment from a 2017 episode of the
show where a student J.J. doesn’t know calls him inspirational. His brother Ray explains the
archetype rather well.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Speechless”] “Hey, are you friends with a Donald Bronson?” “Who?”
“That’s what I thought. He gave a whole speech about how you’re his hero. He said you’re the
bravest guy he knows, you make him a better person…” “Now I’m someone else’s speech.

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Stupid… I… N… S… inspiration porn.” “What’s that?” “It’s a portrayal of people with
disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the mind of
able-bodied people.” “I blame Tiny Tim.”
HOST: The term “inspiration porn,” as J.J. calls it in the clip, was coined by the late disability
activist Stella Young. Here’s part of her Ted Talk:
ARCHIVAL: “The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you. So that we can
look at them and think, ‘Well, however bad my life is, it could be worse. I could be that person.’
But what if you are that person? I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been approached by
strangers wanting to tell me that they think I’m brave or inspirational.”
HOST: Many, many characters across film and TV have been written for the explicit purpose of
making us feel all sappy and warm inside.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Wonder”] “Via”
HOST: The 2017 film “Wonder” is about a young kid named Auggie with facial deformities. It
was met with lots of social media pushback because of its use of inspiration porn. The fact that
the actor playing Auggie wore prosthetics didn’t help, either.
ARCHIVAL: “Why do I have to be so ugly?” “You are not ugly, Auggie.” “You just have to say
that because you’re my mom.” “Because I’m your mom it doesn’t count?” “Yeah.” “Because I’m
your mom it counts the most, because I know you the most. You are not ugly and anyone who
cares to know you will seeection that.”

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HOST: Hollywood also has a tendency to write disabled characters as evil villains, hellbent on
exacting their revenge on the world. Here’s Rachel Adams again.
RACHEL ADAMS: This would go back to silent film, where you didn't have words or you didn't
have as many words to establish the narrative. So the idea that just by looking at someone, you
can tell, like, who's a villain, who's a hero, who's the love object?
HOST: This disabled, deformed villain trope isn’t something that originally comes from film and
TV. These stories can be found throughout literature spanning back centuries — as in “Moby
Dick.”
RACHEL ADAMS: Like a really well-known American example is Captain Ahab, who is
missing his leg and is, you know, the evil mono-maniac who sacrifices the ship and the
company's money and all his men for this one quest. And there's lots of other examples of that
where the disabled body is kind of a signifier of evil or corruption.
HOST: Here’s a clip from the police show “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” from 2004. In it, the
detective blames the murderer’s actions on his need to use a wheelchair.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”] “You can’t even manipulate your own
body. What’s left? The manipulation of everyone around you.” “They came back because they
loved me.”
HOST: This episode of “Law & Order” uses a common archetype that writers use to portray
villains. Their disability is framed as the reason that they’ve become evil. We see a film’s foe
who has turned to the dark side because they became disabled or disfigured again and again, as

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early as “Phantom of the Opera” in 1925, in “The Dark Night” franchise, and even as recently as
“Get Out” in 2017.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Get Out”] “I want your eye, man.”
HOST: What’s interesting about these villainous depictions of characters, though, is that they
can be sometimes really well-loved and thought of as campy by disabled communities. Again,
here’s media studies professor Robert McRuer.
ROBERT MCRUER: It kind of denies or negates the pleasures that those figures might generate
in disabled or crip audiences. You know, it takes a kind of insider knowledge to read films that
were not designed with disabled people in mind, that were designed to use the trope of the
disabled killer.
HOST: One film in particular that stands out as a unique case of representation in early
Hollywood is Tod Browning’s 1932 film “Freaks.” The horror film follows a group of circus
sideshow performers. And despite the pejorative title, unlike many other movies then, and now
for that matter, the so-called “freaks” are all portrayed by disabled actors. Here’s a scene from
the movie where the able-bodied female lead joins their dinner and they accept her into their
group.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Freaks”] “We accept her, one of us, we accept her, one of us, we accept
her one of us! Goo goo, gah goo.”
HOST: That clip, aside from being where our show gets its name, felt representative. The circus
performers have to accept an able-bodied woman into their crew, in a world where they are cast
out and made to perform for the masses. Bringing things around to contemporary Hollywood, I

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have the urge to ask the same question again: are we really having a renaissance of disability in
Hollywood?
The answer is complicated. After CODA’s Best Picture win last year, the advocacy group
Filmmakers with Disabilities, Documentaries, or “Forward-Doc,” released a statement
demanding that researchers from UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report start including data about
“D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse talent in Hollywood.” The study relies on data from
organizations that collect information on diversity in entertainment, like Comscore and
Talkwalker, which historically haven’t studied disability.
The co-director of the documentary “Crip Camp,” Jim LeBrecht is the co-founder of FWD-Doc.
Here’s an excerpt of what he wrote, as read by an actor.
ACTUALITY: “UCLA’s report that stands for promoting diversity is an egregious case of
exclusion and perpetuates the misconception that people with disabilities do not exist in the
entertainment industry. In light of CODA’s three Oscar wins at the recent 94th Academy Awards
ceremony, this oversight reinforces FWD-Doc’s assertion that this report is incomplete and not
comprehensive.”
HOST: Just last month, UCLA researchers announced they will, in fact, be adding data about
disability to their study. Other studies, like the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, have also
announced that they will finally be including data about disability in their reports later this year.
Massive strides have been made when it comes to casting disabled actors in roles that allow for
nuance and the exploration of three-dimensional characters since the early days of Hollywood. In
2019, Netflix released Ryan O’Connell’s “Special.” This series was written by and stars

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O’Connell as a fictional version of himself. It explores his comedic journey “coming out” to his
friends and coworkers as having cerebral palsy. The show was praised by critics and it earned 98
percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s O’Connell talking about his show on Netflix’s YouTube
channel.
ACTUALITY: “I always knew I wanted to make this show because I thought it was crazy that
there wasn’t more disabled representation in the media.”
HOST: There have been ebbs and flows when it comes to representation. Each time you get a
film cast as diversely as “Freaks,” you get “A Christmas Carol.” Each time there’s a movie
where a disabled actor has the chance to explore a role that doesn’t solely revolve around
disability, like “Speechless,” you get something that’s considered superficial, like “Wonder.”
Activists such as Jim LeBrecht continue to call for change. Writers or actors such as Ryan
O’Connell create new opportunities for disabled actors to play interesting and multifaceted
characters. But I’ve found there is consensus that there’s a lot of work to do when it comes to
achieving well-rounded disability representation in Hollywood.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: On the next episode, we’ll hear from creatives with disabilities about the issues that
impact them when they’re making a film, ranging from everything from the roles they get
considered for as actors to what it looks like to direct a film when you have a disability. Our
music is composed and performed by Jackson Irvine. Rachel Michelman contributed her voice to
this episode. I’m Charlotte Phillipp, thanks for listening to “One of
Us.”

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MUSIC: “Think Tank”

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Chapter Two: Episode 2
Episode audio
HOST: On any given weeknight, you might find me in my bedroom … recording a video of me
… talking to myself.
ACTUALITY: [Tripod clicking, clearing throat] Okay. Ready…
HOST: For any actor working in Hollywood, the self-tape is all too familiar. It’s a remote way of
holding auditions, where an actor is asked by a casting director to read some lines or perform an
action on video, usually taped at home on a cell phone. You set up the tripod, remove
distractions from the background, and introduce yourself. In the casting world, this is called a
slate.
ACTUALITY: I’m Charlotte Phillipp. I’m based in Los Angeles, California.
ACTUALITY: I’m 5’5”.
HOST: You then follow the set of instructions telling you what to do or say from the casting
director. This could be a script or even answering questions about yourself. Here’s a piece from
one of my at-home auditions, where my friend is on Zoom reading lines with me:
ACTUALITY: [Reader, on Zoom] “Molly, this copy’s dynamite. It’s so you. How’d you like a
ridiculously huge promotion?” “We’d love it!” “Um, who’s your little friend?” “Um, nobody.”
HOST: I was first taken on by an agent in the summer of 2022. I started off auditioning for roles
like “college student” in a school software ad, “young copywriter” in a tech commercial – and
what I assume would have been the award-winning role of “young woman” in a cable

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commercial. But as the months went on of self-tape after self-tape, I noticed a pattern. Instead of
getting requests for auditions that any woman in my age range could be called for, I was being
asked to audition for roles described as…
ACTUALITY: “Gen Z Differently Abled Talent.”
HOST: or…
ACTUALITY: “People with Disabilities.”
HOST: or…
ACTUALITY: “Talent with Physical Disabilities.”
HOST: So, then my slates began to change…
ACTUALITY: I am a congenital amputee of the right hand.
HOST: I was suddenly only getting called to audition for disabled roles. As it turns out, this
wasn’t just my experience. Here’s Danielle Hollobaugh.
DANIELLE HOLLOBAUGH: My agent, she kind of told me that's how it's going to be at first.
HOST: Danielle has been blind since birth. As someone who has been acting since she was a kid,
this kind of casting was nothing new to her. Most roles she gets asked to audition for are for
blind characters.
HOLLOBAUGH: I submit to everything. But most of the auditions I get, most of the bookings I
get, are for blind roles specifically.

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HOST: This isn’t the only problem disabled actors in Hollywood are facing. This isn’t even a
problem impacting only actors. Other disabled creatives, including directors and producers, are
seeing what they consider representation and accessibility issues, too. In this episode, we’ll hear
from Danielle about her experiences working as a disabled actor in the industry today. Directors
and producers will also share their experiences on how their disabilities impact their work in film
and TV, from the beginning of development all the way to post-production. This is episode 2 of
“One of Us” — a podcast about disability in Hollywood.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: In 2022, the film “CODA” won best picture at the Oscars. The movie is about a hearing
daughter in an all-deaf family. The hearing daughter, Emily, hopes to get into Berklee College of
Music. She sings a Joni Mitchell song for her audition:
ARCHIVAL: [From “CODA”] “Both Sides Now”
HOST: Troy Kotsur plays the father in “CODA.” He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for
his role in the movie. This is only the third time in the history of the Academy Awards that a
disabled actor has won. In 1986, Marlee Matlin won Best Actress for “Children of a Lesser
God.” By the way, she also co-starred in “CODA.” And the first disabled winner was 39 years
prior — when Harold Russell won for “The Best Years of Our Lives.” Compare that to the
number discussed in our previous episode: one-third of the Best Actor awards from 1988 to 2015
have gone to people who played disabled characters. “CODA” was highly regarded by critics
and it won Best Picture. But for some disabled actors, it highlights the fact that this was an
exception and disabled actors aren’t often considered for disabled roles. And when they are cast,
the only characters they can play are disabled.

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Danielle says she’s frustrated that she gets asked to audition for the same type of character over
and over again.
HOLLOBAUGH: Yeah, it's basically all blind roles.
HOST: In recent years, Danielle’s been more willing to take on roles meant only for blind actors.
But when she started acting as a kid, this sort of typecasting, along with the lack of roles for
blind actors in general, was intolerable. So intolerable, in fact, that she quit the film and TV
business altogether.
HOLLOBAUGH: This is a tough mountain to climb. I'm not someone who quits anything. So
like, I think it really speaks volumes, I think to the people who know me most, that I did quit like
that really says how terrible it is.
HOST: Danielle switched to theater for a while, but has now returned to film and TV acting. She
hopes that by taking on blind roles, she will also be considered for more nuanced and interesting
characters. In fact, she’s hoping conversations like the one she and I had can open new doors for
her.
HOLLOBAUGH: My dream actually is to be in a “Hallmark” Christmas movie. That is my
number one dream role. I love everything Christmas. So, I'm over the moon excited for this
because I can get some good footage to, like, give my agents like, ‘Please submit me for
“Hallmark” things.’
MUSIC: “Think Tank”

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HOST: Kim Davis-Wagner is a casting director for film and television. She is pleased that
studios like NBCUniversal and Sony have announced initiatives aimed at casting more disabled
actors. But she says sometimes it takes a while to see that work in action.
KIM DAVIS-WAGNER: Working with Amazon, working with Netflix, there's a definite
consciousness and mindfulness around being more accommodating, but I'm not seeing it
reflected necessarily in the scripts that we're reading.
HOST: For actors, there’s the long and tedious process of sending self-tapes to a casting director
and waiting to hear whether you got the part. If you’re cast, then comes production, or actually
getting on set to begin filming. Danielle says she feels tremendous pressure to be prepared and at
the top of her game simply because so few blind actors get the chance to be in film and TV.
HOLLOBAUGH: Blindness is still so inauthentically cast, so often, I feel a lot of pressure when
I'm on set to, like, show people that we can do it.
HOST: Danielle brought one of her scripts for me to see in plain paper format. Most of the time,
she needs a digital script to have her computer or a friend read it to her. In this case, she had
already memorized some lines and took some time to rehearse.
ACTUALITY: [Pages turning, Danielle speaks to herself] You're the one who taught me music.
Why you're so proud of me. Why aren't you proud of me anymore? Okay. Why aren't you more
supportive of my career? You're the one that taught me music. So. Okay, what am I trying to say
with this?
HOST: Danielle sometimes has to teach able-bodied cast members and crew what her character
might do as a blind person.

21
HOLLOBAUGH: I sometimes will have my cane if we're doing an outdoor scene or whatever,
but a lot of projects I've done have been inside a house and that's not realistic. I've had to tell
people, “Blind people don't use their canes in their house.”
HOST: Danielle also has to come up with inventive workarounds during the shooting process —
particularly when blocking: when a director marks where actors are going to move around a
space.
HOLLOBAUGH: I personally like tape markings a lot, but there have been sets I've been on
where you're not allowed to take off your shoes, I guess, for liability reasons or whatever. So, in
that case, they actually laid down a rug and that was so good because I could feel the line and
just follow that with my feet. And especially with practice, you know, we always do like a
couple rehearsals before we do the actual shot to make sure the blocking's right.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: Actors aren’t the only creatives with disabilities to face accessibility issues during the
production process, either. Getting a project made as a disabled director is also difficult. Derek
Dabkoski is a filmmaker who sustained a traumatic brain injury the summer after he graduated
from film school at NYU.
DEREK DABKOSKI: On the precipice of making a movie, I became disabled. So, so, that in a
way, kind of has shaped my direction as a filmmaker. It had not stopped my passion for the craft,
but it has led me in a different direction than I probably would have taken prior to that, and
helped shape my unique identity as a filmmaker with a disability.

22
HOST: Throughout film school and his early career, Derek saw himself directing narrative
fiction films. But coping with his brain injury was so impactful that it took him into the
documentary realm, partially because it was the simplest genre for him to tackle from an
accessibility perspective. Derek’s film is aptly called “Derek Changes His Mind.” He wrote,
directed and starred in the project.
DABKOSKI: This, for me was the most — pun-intended — accessible project to work on,
having to do with my personal experiences trying to help myself regain functionality, post-
injury. I participated — I volunteered to be a part of this — a medical study to implant the stem
cells in the hope that I would, not necessarily get back to my old self, but just to improve my
quality of life. As a filmmaker, that curiosity never ends.
ACTUALITY: [From “Derek Changes His Mind”] “There’s some birds flying.” “Okay Derek,
you’re an hour from surgery.” What do you think?” “I’m exhausted. Ready to get sedated.”
HOST: In a lot of ways, Derek’s switch from narrative to documentary served as an experiment
to see how he could do filmmaking differently as a disabled director. The documentary genre
allowed him the freedom to shoot what was available and what happened in the moment —
rather than trying to set a perfectly regimented shooting schedule.
ACTUALITY: [From “Derek Changes His Mind”] “I don’t know what I feel.”
HOST: Something I keep hearing from people in the industry is that disabled people have to
pave their own way to get a foot in the door.
DABKOSKI: I think it’s important for people with disabilities to understand, is that if you want
to keep working and doing something, you just have to do it.

23
HOST: Having to pave your own path is a common sentiment for filmmakers with disabilities
across the board. Koura Linda is CEO of the independent production company Space Dream
Productions. For the majority of her career, she was a set rigger — building sets and working in
various art departments. But after she became disabled in 2011, she found that the industry
wasn’t accommodating in the way she needed. The solution? Become her own producer.
LINDA: The reason that I produce is so that there is a space that I can operate in as a director.
I'm in complete control of our schedules. I'm in complete control of our accessibility. I'm in
complete control of my schedule.
HOST: Traditional film production schedules can be grueling. It’s not uncommon for the days to
stretch out to the 12-, 13-, 14-hour range, and crews sometimes end up skipping meals. In recent
years, crew members have said that these conditions are unsafe, after several crew members, all
working on different projects over different periods of time, died when they fell asleep while
driving home after a long day. But when a producer is in charge who understands that many
disabled folks can’t work under these conditions, a film or TV set can function completely
differently.
LINDA: When I set a schedule for a shoot, I plan my life in such a way that I know that I can do
it, and that I have the space around the shoot to recover from the impact of the shoot on my body
in a way that doesn't necessarily affect my work. I have to pay even more attention to details
because a mistake doesn't just mean “Oh, oops.” It could mean many more problems, and it
could mean endangering my own health or safety, which could jeopardize the shoot if it's a shoot
that I'm running.
HOST: These working conditions also benefit the able-bodied cast and crew.

24
LINDA: It makes working with me great because you know that you're going to for the most
part, have meals, have breaks — it's going to be a fairly humane set. And there may be days
where I do a long day or a long couple of days, but I then spread it out.
HOST: There are certain sets where having a director or producer who understands the
intricacies of disability is crucial. Koura argues that filmmakers should be much more flexible
about making small changes to a project’s content that don’t impact the story. She once directed
a music video and during the shoot, one dancer was struggling with certain movements because
she had scoliosis.
LINDA: I just pulled her aside and I was like, “Is this…?” And she was like, “Oh…” — I think
all she said was “my back.” And I was like, okay. I was like, “Let's not do that. Let's change the
choreo-.” Like, it's not going to destroy the project if she doesn't arch her back at 180 degrees,
you know, it's one moment in the choreography. Let’s rework the choreography to something
that she can do comfortably.
HOST: Sometimes, long, hard shoot days are inescapable when you’re a filmmaker. But,
because of her disability, Koura knows how to say no when necessary.
LINDA: I just have to be really careful with them and a lot more conscientious of them.
HOST: One film Koura has in the works right now is funded by a grant that requires it to be shot
in a certain state. One of the characters was supposed to be played by an actor in a wheelchair.
But they couldn’t be flown out because there weren’t any wheelchair accessible flights.
LINDA: Well, what's unmovable is that the aircrafts in America, and the literal structure of
airports that fit certain sized planes, do not accommodate electric wheelchairs at every single

25
airport in America. I can't move that problem. What I can move is: Why are we getting on a
plane? Why are we flying this person? Why are we going to this place? Okay, well, we're going
to that place because we have a grant and they're giving us a lot of money to go to that place.
Okay, So we need to go to that place. But do we need to go to that place for the entire movie?
No. Great. Don't go to that place for this week.
HOST: Koura also takes a different approach to casting than some of her able-bodied
counterparts. Her philosophy is that if there’s no specified reason in a script, why couldn’t a
character be disabled?
LINDA: For example, if you work with a deaf actor who is an Oscar winner and that means
either having the crew learn sign language or having interpreters on set, maybe you spend a little
bit more to pay for interpreters, but how much money is your movie going to make because
you've got an Oscar-winning actor in it?
HOST: I've heard filmmakers say that providing accommodations can incur a huge cost during
production. But actually, that’s a myth according to the Inevitable Foundation, which aims to
help disabled screenwriters. It conducted a study on what these costs actually are, and it found
that most accommodations “[cost] little to nothing.” A lot of the time, the project budget
increases less than 3 percent. And, it can actually cost less than on-set COVID protocols.
Keeping disabled people in mind while casting is important for reasons outside of financial ones,
too. In one instance, Koura was approached about re-casting a role in one of her upcoming films
with someone who has name recognition. She simply declined.

26
LINDA: We have a project open right now, and I've had so many people who love the script and
they're like, “Are you opening to recasting the lead so I can drop in a name?” And I say, “No.
That actress is perfect for that role, and I do not know any name actress who is going to do a
better job of playing that role than she will.” And if that means that I have to work harder to
make the money to make the movie, then fine, I'm going to work harder.
HOST: We mentioned in our last episode that a sense of community is an essential part of being
disabled. And now there are a lot of groups, organizations and even film festivals that have been
launched with the purpose of creating opportunities, networks and employment for filmmakers
with disabilities. One example is the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.
ACTUALITY: [From “Seven”] “We will start with the mental, which includes your attitude.
Your mindset must be renewed. If you believe you can do it, you will. But if there are any doubts
or hesitation, you will fail.” “Excuse you?” “Feel me without seeing me.”
HOST: That’s from the short film “Seven,” which was created in just a week for last year’s
Challenge. The competition is meant to give filmmakers with disabilities a chance to increase
representation and produce something they can be proud of on a small budget and a short
timeframe.
ACTUALITY: [From “Seven”] “Hello? Mr. Gordon? I'm ready now.”
HOST: Yet another group helping disabled actors find a community is simply called “Trained
Actors with Real Disabilities for Film & TV.” It’s mostly run out of a Facebook group. This is
where I met Danielle. They aim to connect actors with opportunities, in an industry that they feel
is not so kind in the casting process.

27
There’s no shortage of organizations meant to help disabled people break into the industry —
and most of them are run by other disabled filmmakers. This is the way barriers are slowly being
broken down. And the opportunities are growing, even if it’s slowly and creatives are still facing
challenges from writing to the casting processes to post-production. Oh — just as I was
producing this episode, my agent forwarded me a request for a self-tape. Of course, it’s for
“adults with disabilities.”
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: On the next episode, we’ll hear from studio executives looking to make big changes to
how disabled creatives can get their foot in the door, accessibility advisors who work with these
massive studios, and the creator of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Our music is
composed and performed by Jackson Irvine, and he lent his voice for this episode. I’m Charlotte
Phillipp, thanks for listening to “One of Us.”
MUSIC: “Think Tank”

28
Chapter Three: Episode 3
Episode audio
HOST: Getting a foot in the door in entertainment is not easy for anyone. Actors can spend years
taking classes, searching for agents and auditioning for casting directors before they even get a
callback, much less a role. Screenwriters spend years writing and rewriting scripts, pitching them
to studios and getting rejected before they might get a small writing job on a TV show. Folks
hoping to be directors or producers have to work their way up the ladder, starting out as a
production assistant before they can get close to supervising anything. And what can be even
more difficult is getting started as a disabled person in the entertainment industry. A 2016
Ruderman Family Foundation Study found that 95% of disabled characters are played by able-
bodied actors. The Writer’s Guild of America West, the biggest union of Hollywood writers,
found that only 1.7% of their TV series writers have a disability. And most studies conducted by
academics and research organizations only look at gender and ethnicity when it comes to behind-
the-scenes crew.
Nic Novicki is an actor and comedian. He’s also a little person who felt pigeonholed by the roles
and opportunities he was getting.
NIC NOVICKI: Because early in my career I was like, “Look, I'm three foot ten, and if I want to
be the romantic lead or a gangster, I'm going to have to create it and produce it myself.”
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: As we’ve heard time and time again from disabled filmmakers and creatives, doing it
yourself is the best way to get your foot in the door. In this episode of “One of Us,” we’ll hear

29
from Nic on how he took the problems he faced in Hollywood as a challenge. Also today, studio
executives will talk about the training programs available to film and TV hopefuls, and one
screenwriter who was able to take part in a studio’s program tells us about her journey all the
way to a network writer’s room.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: Nic Novicki writes, produces and acts in tons of shorts and feature-length films. It was
the only path he saw where he could be involved in the kind of projects he actually wants to be a
part of, rather than acting in small, bit roles. Then, something hit him:
NOVICKI: Ten years ago, I looked around. I was like, Why aren't more people with disabilities
creating their own content? So I created the Disability Film Challenge.
HOST: The project was meant to give a few of Novicki’s friends — also disabled filmmakers —
the chance to make a film and get it seen.
NOVICKI: But right away I saw the impact that it had on those people with disabilities that were
a part of it, but also on the entertainment industry because casting directors and producers took
note and they were like, “Who is this actor?” And “Wow, what a great film.” And so all of a
sudden there was a year two, and it kept growing and it kept growing. And then in 2017, I
partnered with Easterseals Southern California.
HOST: Easterseals is the nation's largest disability services organization. And its support, along
with Novicki’s knowledge of producing and developing films, was the perfect setup. Disabled
creatives — whether screenwriters, actors, directors or crew members — all get the chance to
make something with the support of a full crew and a marketing team from Easterseals.

30
NOVICKI: But they can, through this challenge, enter it and, and tell people about all the great
opportunities — the mentor meetings that we offer, the computers, the screenings at Academy
Award qualifying festivals — to use this as an opportunity to motivate people in their network to
help them create a film.
ARCHIVAL: [From “Hit On”] “Do people always stare at you like that?” “Yeah, pretty much,
every day.” “That’s ridiculous.” “Yeah, you get used to it.”
HOST: That’s from one of the 2018 winning films, “Hit On.” Each year, the genre for the
competition changes. That year, the genre was buddy comedies. This year, it’s romance.
NOVICKI: Because really, I think as people with disabilities, we don't see romance enough and
that we fall in love, we fall out of love, and we're just regular people that deal with relationships.
HOST: It helps that these filmmakers get a chance to produce something that may find its way
onto the desk of a studio executive. Many people in the audience at the Easterseals Disability
Film Challenge and its festival are people who actually have hiring power and can bring a
feature-length film to fruition.
NOVICKI: We're now sponsored by so many amazing Fortune 500 companies and entertainment
studios and networks. And now when they're looking to bring people with disabilities in for jobs
and opportunities, they will literally go to our database, which is the films themselves, and be
like, “Who is this actor or actress from this film?”
HOST: One of the many partners that supports Easterseals — and recruits from its talent pool —
is NBCUniversal. The company has a program that helps get new writers, actors and filmmakers

31
working on network shows or studio films. It’s called NBCU Launch. One of the people who
runs it is Robert Baltazar.
ROBERT BALTAZAR: We are the TV DEI team. So diversity, equity and inclusion. I oversee
the writer's program and the director's program. A colleague of mine oversees below-the-line
initiatives as well as unscripted. So, we are just making sure that there is representation across
the board, whether it be above-the-line, below-the-line, in front of, or behind the camera — at
any level.
HOST: NBCU Launch has been around in various forms for decades. It has training programs
for all kinds of talent, including TV writers, directors, casting and so-called below-the-line crew
— such as assistant directors, line producers and costume designers. It doesn’t only focus on
disability. There are programs specifically geared towards training women, and all people from
diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Once accepted, participants shadow professionals
and get on-the-job training.
BALTAZAR: We don't create programs just for the sake of creating programs. It's our job to
make sure that there is a job after the program. So, all of the writers in our current program are
all staffed now and they are now story editors, executive story editors. We just want to be
mindful and make sure that there are opportunities and actual jobs after the program.
HOST: After going through programs like NBCU Launch, many participants do indeed find jobs
in entertainment. Amelia Swedeen, who identifies as disabled, is a staff writer on the Starz show
“Power Book IV: Force.” She says the program helped hone her writing skills, but also to
develop her career.

32
AMELIA SWEDEEN: So we did weekly workshops, which were with Carol Kirschner, who is a
legend in Hollywood career development. So a lot of the program was really focused on
professional development and helping us learn how to really sell ourselves as writers because we
put so much effort into our own writing.
HOST: Swedeen says that people in the program come from all backgrounds — experience in
entertainment isn’t even necessarily a requirement.
SWEDEEN: All of these programs, the participants, some of us do have the Hollywood and
assistant backgrounds, and others come from completely different career tracks, life experiences.
So it's a diverse — the diversity of experience and background as well as identity.
HOST: Some of the career-building skills they develop are as simple as learning what to say
when someone asks you: Tell me about yourself.
SWEDEEN: But it's remarkable, honestly, how I never really thought about really fine-crafting
an answer to that prior to the program. Regardless of whether you're in the program, any general
meeting or staffing meeting, you're going to open with the question, “So tell me about yourself.”
You should have an answer for that.
HOST: Mentorship is also a huge part of the Launch program.
SWEDEEN: We start working on a new script, a new pilot, and we each get two executive
mentors — one on the studio side, one on the network side — and one is also in current and the
other is in development. And so as a pair, they are our mentors. They give us notes and feedback
on the new scripts that we write over the course of the program.

33
HOST: Swedeen’s advice to disabled filmmakers for getting into programs like Launch is to not
seek pity in order to make your voice heard.
SWEDEEN: I think it's a common misconception that we need to tell sob stories or perform as
much trauma as possible in our applications for these programs. That tends to be the impression
that a lot of folks applying have. And I'm not bullshitting, I promise that’s genuinely not what
they're looking for. What they're really looking for is someone who can tell a story about
themselves in their application. You should be able to effectively communicate who you are.
And if you're a comedy writer, your application should probably be funnier.
HOST: Once creatives such as Swedeen are hired to write a show or film, there is still the worry
about issues like accessibility. Will disabled actors on set have access to the resources they need?
Will directors and producers have to work 12-hour days, like indie producer Koura Linda talked
about in our previous episode? Lori Samuels is NBCU’s director of accessibility. She says trying
to prevent challenges for their disabled employees — whether writers, actors, crew members,
editors, or beyond — is an ongoing and ever-changing process at large studios like theirs.
SAMUELS: We want to kind of look at a blended approach and making sure that we're
providing mechanisms for people with disabilities to participate.
HOST: Samuels says that a lot of the time, accessibility problems are systemic.
SAMUELS: Collectively, I think we have to look at whether that process for applying is
accessible, whether what we're asking people to do, if they want to participate in these programs,
is accessible. Just things like, can everyone produce a short video? Maybe, maybe not. You

34
know, are there alternative forms? Oftentimes in accessibility, we're looking for equivalents, but
slightly adapted mechanisms to, kind of, allow people to participate.
HOST: The move to remote work during the pandemic created new opportunities for
accessibility. But now certain steps of the production process, such as callbacks for auditions, are
moving back in person.
SAMUELS: People with disabilities are often — there's all kinds of reasons why remote work
and remote opportunities were incredibly good for accessibility and for inclusion. And we're
starting to see that pull back, right? Or revert or, in some cases, regress. One might even put it
that way.
HOST: When accessibility challenges are on an individual level instead of a system-wide one,
teams like Samuels’ work to figure out how everyone can have access.
SAMUELS: You know, if we're asking for someone who's deaf to be part of the team, are we
providing an ASL interpreter if that's what they need? Or captions if that's what they need. or
both, etc. So thinking things through, trying to increase the default amount of accessibility that's
there to begin with, and then making sure that we're ready to offer solutions for those cases
where we need to go a little bit further.
HOST: NBCU Launch isn’t the only program of its kind for disabled filmmakers looking to
make inroads. Sony Pictures also has a trainee program. The Inevitable Foundation has a
screenwriting fellowship specifically for disabled writers, and Fox Entertainment has its writer's
incubator for diverse voices. Both the Writer’s Guild Foundation and the Director’s Guild of
America create master lists of training programs that specify the kinds of diverse voices the

35
organizations are looking for. And disability pops up often. Entertainment unions such as the
DGA and the Writer’s Guild of America tend to have extensive resources for all kinds of
disabled filmmakers. Amelia found community in a meeting held by the WGA for disabled
writers.
SWEDEEN: As soon as I was admitted to the WGA, I was attending a disabled writers
committee meeting. And that was such an honestly profound experience for me — just getting on
that Zoom and the level of comfort. And it was something I haven't actually experienced before,
both in terms of, I've been in screenwriting circles, I've been in disability circles. But having
them converge was really incredible.
HOST: Other unions, such as the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists — or SAG-AFTRA — convened a task force on how performers with
disabilities can know their rights on set. They discussed how laws like the Americans with
Disabilities Act protect actors from discrimination, and how performers can go about seeking
accessibility or reporting problems on sets. Here’s SAG’s Executive Director of Equity and
Inclusion, Franklin Sablan, answering questions for the task force in October of 2022.
ARCHIVAL: So what usually happens when a member files a complaint with their employer,
their employer is responsible to respond, review that complaint, investigate it thoroughly. They
may ask for additional names with regards to the issue of the complaint. Review it, investigate it,
and come up with an outcome. Whether it's substantiated or not, the member should then be
given information with regards to the outcome of the investigation.
HOST: In 2008, there was also a joint campaign launched by SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity
— the theater actor’s union. The campaign was called “I AM PWD,” or “person with a

36
disability,” and it aimed to create casting and other employment opportunities for disabled
performers.
There’s plenty of evidence that says the effort to bring more disabled people into entertainment
has been highly successful. One network TV show that has made behind-the-camera strides is
ABC’s “The Good Doctor.” Variety published a piece in 2018 that detailed how a large
percentage of the show’s crew have disabilities. What won’t shock you if you’ve been listening
to this podcast is that disabled people have proven to be “expert problem solvers.” Here’s a short
clip of the show, which follows an autistic man who is a surgeon.
ARCHIVAL: [From “The Good Doctor”] “I don’t know. Just do your work, be a good surgeon,
be an excellent surgeon, over time he’ll forget about the autism.” “Why would that happen?”
“He’ll see that you have skill, you have talent, dedication.” “I have autism. It’s a part of who I
am.”
HOST: Much of the training for these disabled crew members comes from Inclusion Films. It’s
run by Joey Travolta — yes, the brother of John — and offers people with developmental
disabilities the opportunity to work with below-the-line professionals.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: Across the board, there are many ways for disabled creatives to make their way into the
industry at all levels. From entertainment unions, to big studio training programs, even to indie
film competitions — there are paths for disabled people to find their footing in Hollywood. I’m
part of the disability community. And even though accessibility challenges exist across the

37
board, I have faith that we can problem-solve our way into meaningful representation, inclusion
in the workplace, and get the chance to tell hilarious, powerful and personal stories.
MUSIC: “Think Tank”
HOST: Our music is composed and performed by Jackson Irvine. I’m Charlotte Phillipp, thanks
for listening to “One of Us.”
MUSIC: “Think Tank”

38
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“Our History: 2000s.” SAG-AFTRA, https://www.sagaftra.org/about/our-history/2000s.
“Patty Duke Winning Best Supporting Actress.” YouTube, Oscars, 29 Mar. 2011,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhlxTkTYwvQ.
Plank, Liz. “How the Airline Industry Still Refuses to Accommodate Disability.” MSNBC,
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industry-still-refuses-accommodate-disability-n1273650.
Pulrang, Andrew. “Disability Movies Aren't What They Used to Be. That's Good!” Forbes,
Forbes Magazine, 14 Feb. 2020,
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they-used-to-be-thats-good/?sh=1def15255efa.
Robb, David. “Sony Pictures Entertainment Signs Ruderman Family Foundation Pledge to
Audition Actors with Disabilities on Every New Show.” Deadline, Deadline, 3 Sept. 2021,
https://deadline.com/2021/09/sony-to-audition-actors-with-disabilities-on-every-new-
show-ruderman-family-foundation-1234827115/.
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2021, https://disabilityarts.online/directory/trained-actors-with-real-disabilities-for-film-
tv/.

41
Wanger, Walter, and George Cunningham. Going Hollywood. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
1933.
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Hollywood Workplace Accommodations.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood
Reporter, 20 Apr. 2022, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/the-
inevitable-foundation-disability-accommodations-cost-study-movies-tv-1235131680/.
“Why the Hollywood Diversity Report Focuses on Race, Ethnicity and Gender Data.”
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2022.pdf.

42
Films Referenced
Brest, Martin, director. Scent of a Woman, Universal Pictures, 1992.
Browning, Tod, director. Freaks, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932.
Chaney, Lon et al, directors. The Phantom of the Opera, Universal Pictures, 1925.
Chbosky, Stephen, director. Wonder. Lionsgate, 2017.
"Cousin Gerri." The Facts of Life, written by Ann Gibbs, Joel Kimmel, and Dick Clair,
directed by Asaad Kelada, NBC. 1980.
Dabkoski, Derek, director. Derek Changes His Mind. 2022.
Daredevil, Netflix, 2015–2018.
Daniells, Day, director. Hit On. 2018.
"Fearful Pranks Ensue." American Horror Story, written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk,
and Jennifer Salt. Directed by Michael Uppendahl, FX. 2013.
González Iñárritu, Alejandro, director. Birdman. Searchlight Pictures, 2014.
Hackford, Taylor, director. Ray. Universal Pictures, 2004.
“Inert Dwarf.” Law & Order, Criminal Intent, written by Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, and
Warren Leight, directed by Alex Chapple, NBC, 2004.
Heder, Sian, director. CODA. Apple, 2021.
"H-E-R-HERO." Speechless, written by Scott Silveri, Carrie Rosen, and Matt Roller,
directed by Victor Nelli Jr., ABC. 2017.
Ironside. NBC, 1967–1975.

43
Lean, David, director. Ryan’s Daughter. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1970.
Levinson, Barry, director. Rain Man. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1988.
Mankiewicz, Joseph L., et al. A Christmas Carol. Warner Bros., 1938.
Nolan, Christopher, director. The Dark Knight. Warner Bros., 2005–2012.
Peele, Jordan, director. Get Out. Universal Pictures, 2017.
Penn, Arthur, director. The Miracle Worker. United Artists, 1962.
“Risk and Reward.” The Good Doctor, written by David Shore, Park Jae-beom, and Liz
Friedman. Directed by Freddie Highmore, ABC. 2019.
Rodriguez, Marie Alyse, director. Seven. 2022.
Sheridan, Jim, director. My Left Foot. Miramax, 1989.
Special, Netflix, 2019–2021.
Vaughn, Matthew, director. X-Men. 20th Century Studios, 2011–.
Worsley, Wallace, director. The Penalty. Goldwyn Pictures Corp., 1920.
Wyler, William, et al. The Best Years of Our Lives. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 1946.

44
Interviews
Adams, Rachel. Personal interview. 23 February 2023.
Baltazar, Robert. Personal interview. 28 March 2023.
Dabkoski, Derek. Personal interview. 13 March 2023.
Davis-Wagner, Kim. Personal interview. 20 February 2023.
Hollobaugh, Danielle. Personal interview. 8 March 2023.
Linda, Koura. Personal interview. 15 March 2023.
Lopez, Kristen. Personal interview. 10 January 2023.
McRuer, Robert. Personal interview. 3 March 2023.
Novicki, Nic. Personal interview. 27 January 2023.
Samuels, Lori. Personal interview. 27 March 2023.
Swedeen, Amelia. Personal interview. 29 March 2023.

45
Audio Credits
Irvine, Jackson. “Think Tank.” 2023.
“Polite Applause.” joedeshon, Freesound,
https://freesound.org/people/joedeshon/sounds/119026/.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis is a podcast series that serves as an account of the relationship between the film and television industry and disability. The podcast is titled “One of Us,” named after Tod Browning’s 1932 film, “Freaks,” a horror movie about an able-bodied trapeze artist who joins a group of circus performers who have facial deformities and disabilities. The film holds a unique place in the disability cinema space — although the depiction of the performers with disabilities is by many accounts negative and derogatory (not to mention the film’s pejorative title), its casting utilized disabled people rather than actors using prosthetics.
This podcast series consists of three episodes: the first tracks the history of disability representation in Hollywood films over the past century. Audiences hear from academics and journalists with expertise in the portrayal that exists of disability and disabled people in both film and television, as well as in media at large; in the second episode, an actor and two filmmakers, all of whom identify as having a disability, are interviewed about their experiences working in the entertainment industry. They discuss specific challenges related to working in this industry and how they’ve navigated through accessibility and representation challenges while also discussing how their identities impact their artistic practices; the third and final episode serves as a piece of solutions journalism, where disabled listeners looking to break into the entertainment industry hear about training programs, film festivals and other opportunities available for creatives.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Phillipp, Charlotte Elizabeth (author)

Core Title One of us: exploring the relationship between Hollywood and disability

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Specialized Journalism)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 05/02/2023

Defense Date 05/02/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Disability,Entertainment,Film,media,OAI-PMH Harvest,television

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Garza, Oscar (committee chair), Seidenberg, Willa (committee member), Trope, Alison (committee member)

Creator Email cep53384@usc.edu,charlotte.phillipp@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113097095

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Legacy Identifier etd-PhillippCh-11754

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Phillipp, Charlotte Elizabeth

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Source 20230503-usctheses-batch-1035 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu