Throughout the history of film, characters with disabilities have been constantly present. But the character's functionality has been used mainly such as metaphors or stereotypes. Research on film and functionality from the last 20 years shows that characters with disabilities in films are often portrayed as deviant. The disability community has long advocated and called for more versatile, complex and nuanced characters, preferably played by actors with their own disabilities.
Catherine J. Kudlick is Professor of history at the Department of History, San Francisco State University, USA, where she is also director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability. From November 11 to December 10, she is a Visiting Professor at Umeå University and will participate in a film screening and a panel discussion on the theme of film and functionality together with Karin Ljuslinder, Department of Cultural and Media Studies, and Josefine Wäälivara, Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Umeå University.
Panel discussion: Film and functionality
(17:00-18:00)
Film screening of “Aerobics - A Love Story”, a Swedish film in Swedish.
(18:15-19:30)
More information in the complete program for the Umeå European Film Festival at: http://ueff.se/visning/
Read more about Professor Catherine J. Kudlick in the news feature: Distinguished Disability Scholar is Guest Professor at Umeå University 11 November to 10 December
