TY - JOUR
T1 - Talking about The Shape of Water: three women dip their toes in
AU - Wilde, Alison
AU - Crawshaw, Gill
AU - Sheldon, Alison
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - This article is about a film called The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, which was released in 2017 and won the Best Picture award at the 2018 Oscars. The three authors of this article, all friends, had each enjoyed The Shape of Water, so went for a second viewing together. Our enjoyment had been somewhat at odds with criticisms of the film, mostly made by other members of the disabled people’s community/disabled academics. After seeing the film again, we found it to be a ground-breaking portrayal of a disabled woman. This article is a summary of the discussion which ensued. Our discussion of The Shape of Water is a current issue because we found ourselves disagreeing with, and questioning, a number of complaints about the representation of disability and impairment within the film. At a time when the film industry is making noises about inclusion, it is important that we know what we are asking for, and avoid demands which may be counterproductive to the cultural recognition of disabled people. This film is still being shown in cinemas in the UK and elsewhere.
AB - This article is about a film called The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro, which was released in 2017 and won the Best Picture award at the 2018 Oscars. The three authors of this article, all friends, had each enjoyed The Shape of Water, so went for a second viewing together. Our enjoyment had been somewhat at odds with criticisms of the film, mostly made by other members of the disabled people’s community/disabled academics. After seeing the film again, we found it to be a ground-breaking portrayal of a disabled woman. This article is a summary of the discussion which ensued. Our discussion of The Shape of Water is a current issue because we found ourselves disagreeing with, and questioning, a number of complaints about the representation of disability and impairment within the film. At a time when the film industry is making noises about inclusion, it is important that we know what we are asking for, and avoid demands which may be counterproductive to the cultural recognition of disabled people. This film is still being shown in cinemas in the UK and elsewhere.
KW - cinema
KW - disabled women
KW - human
KW - impairment-matching
KW - pleasure
KW - subjectivity
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/2de0f573-4bae-38a2-80b1-a3c8b558f27b/
U2 - 10.1080/09687599.2018.1488406
DO - 10.1080/09687599.2018.1488406
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 1528
EP - 1532
JO - Disability and Society
JF - Disability and Society
SN - 1360-0508
IS - 9
ER -