Christopher Reeve, 'Super/Man' and Hollywood Ableism
The new Warner Bros. doc on the actor's life illustrates why better representation on-screen is vital
Once again I’m back talking about Christopher Reeve, who I seem to be talking about a lot this month between this, my look at his role in 1998’s Rear Window, and the latest episode of Ticklish Business we just did on 1978’s Superman (which you should listen to). But with the release today of the documentary Super/Man, which explores Reeve’s career and his challenges as a quadriplegic, it’s worth returning to a topic I’ve thought a lot about lately. Reeve is still one of the most famous disabled actors, probably the most famous disabled person, people know. It’s surprising considering our short collective memories and the fact that Reeve has been gone for 20 years now.
Super/Man is a good exploration of Reeve’s work, both as a performer and an (ambivalent) disabled activist. I initially worried the documentary would be the typical Hollywood disabled sob story, illustrating Reeve’s courageousness, bravery and other inspiration porn buzzwords common to disabled narratives. It was surprising how nuanced things are, though. The documentary does present Reeve’s disability in terms of heroism, but it also makes a point of illustrating his own ableism. He talks about not wanting to be disabled and, while researching a disabled role, admitting he knew nothing about the topic.
What’s probably most surprising, particularly to disabled viewers, is how, at times, critical it can be about Reeve. The actor is a controversial figure in disabled activism, as much of his own research and foundation money went towards fixing and curing spinal cord injuries.
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