Macalester College is hosting a screening of The Real Story, the Access Press documentary about media coverage of disabilities in Minnesota. The screening, which is free and open to the public, is 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 13 at the John B. Davis Lecture Hall, Lower Level, Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center. The campus center is fully accessible. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion. For details on the event, contact wulff@macalester.edu For a campus map, visit here.
Access Press produced The Real Story, a 30-minute, broadcast-quality documentary on the role of small, independent news media in covering the underrepresented stories of the disability community in Minnesota. The documentary was made in collaboration with Verso Creative, with funding from UCare.
The documentary explores the history of disability advocacy, activism, struggles and accomplishments over the past 40 years. Many sources were drawn on to make the documentary, including early newsletters of nonprofit organizations, the beginning of Access Press in 1990 and the mainstream media. The topics examined include stereotypes, biases and successful self-advocacy efforts.
The documentary depicts attempts to change attitudes by creating an environment where people can realize that individuals with disabilities deserve to be treated with respect, not with pity. Those who see the documentary can learn more about how “pity” works against people with disabilities, and how news coverage depicting people as heroic or inspirational can hurt more than it can help in dispelling stereotypes.
The documentary features many individuals who made and reported on the news. reported on the events and told their stories. It highlights the power of media in promoting the social inclusion, legal rights and well-being of those with disabilities.
This documentary matters because the disability community is the largest minority and is very diverse. Irv Zola, Brandeis University sociologist and polio survivor, said “Disability is the one minority group that we can all become a member of at any time. We are all just one banana peel away from joining the disability civil rights movement.”
Access Press is one of the very few disability news sources in the country and it is widely regarded as a source of balanced disability news. In the film, one individual interviewed said, “What I love about publications that focus on disability issues is that they focus on the facts. They focus on what’s going on. They don’t get caught up in the emotional aspects of disability.”
Access Press can facilitate additional showings of The Real Story and can provide copies of the documentary for $25. Contact the newspaper office for more information, at 651-64-2133 or dawn@testing.accesspress.org
Visit The Real Story website for more information.
