Hi my lovelies, welcome to the first ever Disability Allyship BONUS newsletter.
The bonus newsletters will be additional things that I want to talk about, that either don’t fit in the main newsletter or that can’t wait for the next Monday to go out. As this is additional work that I want to do for you, but does take more of my time, it would be great if you could buy me a cuppa here - Buy Me A Coffee. Or if funds a tight right now, a like and/or a share of this newsletter is also really helpful.
I see you Luca.
(Image from the Disney movie Luca)
[ID: A blue and green sea monster is floating in the ocean, it’s face, which is that of a little boy with brown hair and brown eyes, is above the surface of the water. Clouds float in the sky above.]
I am shooketh.
I have to talk to you about the Disney movie Luca, because wow did I feel seen watching this film and I think you should watch it, whether you have kids or not. What this film does is subtle, but so so good in terms of representation of difference and how that can make you feel, make you seen, and make you belong. The main focus here is going to be on Massimo, but read on to find out why…
Meet Massimo.
(Image from Disney movie Luca)
[ID: Massimo, a big Italian man with a missing right arm is sitting at his kitchen table. Opposite him is his daughter Giulia, who has red hair and wears a blue beanie, Luca and Alberto, two young sea monsters disguised as human boys. On the table are plates of pasta.]
Massimo is Giulia’s father, he is a bulky, strong Italian fisherman, who loves his daughter, loves cooking and loves fishing. He also happens to be limb different. Yes, he is limb different. Even writing this I want to weep with joy. Disney have done what so many other *recent movies have failed to do - they have represented disability as something that is a part of life, that is normal, and not to be made a big deal out of. What Disney has also done is not use harmful disability tropes such as pity, tragedy, or making Massimo the evil character out for revenge because of his disability. Disney, in this case, have hit disability representation out of the ballpark and I cannot be more pleased!
The mundanity of Massimo’s life is what makes him so special, ironically. As a viewer, like the characters Alberto and Luca, you meet Massimo and clock he’s missing his right arm. Alberto becomes the non-disabled viewer stand-in, he can’t help but stare at Massimo’s arm, zooming in on it uncontrollably. When Massimo catches Alberto looking, Alberto quickly looks away in shame, before attempting a sneaky look again. So far so much like my own experiences when I am meeting new people.
Massimo tells Alberto that the sea monster took his arm, to Alberto’s horror (Alberto being a sea monster and all). Massimo then laughs and states simply “it was how I came into the world.” Watch the seen below, it starts at about 1 minute and 5 seconds into the video.
[Video description: moments of Massimo being a kick arse dad. We have focused on the scene where he is on his rowing boat with Luca and Alberto, he is busy getting ready to fish when Alberto keeps looking at his arm. Massimo catches Alberto looking and then tells him that this is how he came into the world.]
My own experience with limb difference is very similar, and the way I react to stares and questions is also very similar. When I was a child I used to tell people I had been hit by a train… when I was a teen I used to say I got bit by a shark, and in my adult years I sometimes tell people that my arm and leg simply fell off one day and like a lizard tail, I’m waiting for my arm and leg to grow back.
Yes, we limb different folk have very dark senses of humour.
It is this matter a fact, “yes, I’m limb different and so what,” attitude that I resonate with. Massimo has had and is living a full life. He has been a fisherman his whole life, adapting his way around his fishing boat like no-ones business. He was married (now divorced) and is a father, proving that yes, disabled people can be in romantic relationships and have families. His limb difference is a part of him, but it isn’t all of him. The fact that Massimo exists shows that authentic representation of disability is possible in ways where the characters are interesting, part of the story, have their own back story, and can stand on their own two feet in the movie - I’d watch a full movie about Massimo any day of the week.
Massimo isn’t the only character that is portrayed as different. Certainly, Luca and Alberto are positioned as outcasts due to their being sea monsters… and their characters unveil a very real lived experience for a lot of disabled people - passing. When Luca and Alberto are out of the water they appear to the rest of the world as human, as “normal.” And yet, with just a slight drop of water, their true selves are revealed. It can feel a lot like this for disabled people, especially those of us that can pass as non-disabled. Even I attempt to pass sometimes, wearing long, loose trousers, jumpers with long sleeves that I can pull over my arm. And at the same time I live with a fear that I will be found out, that people will discover my limb difference and recoil in horror… I hate that I still feel the urge to pass and that I live with that fear of discovery, as my limb different body is a strength, is an opportunity creator, is such a core part of me and should be celebrated, not hidden away.
And then there is Giulia, Massimo’s daughter, who is also cast as an outsider, a child of divorce, and also a girl who is possibly autistic (it is never outrightly said or suggested, but I have my suspicions). Giulia shines bright in the film, as a character who embraces her difference, even whilst she is told often, by the adults in her life, that “she is too much sometimes.” I think Giulia is just enough and brilliantly her authentic self throughout the film.
Have you seen Luca? Were you aware as you watched it about the importance of this film for disability representation? Let’s keep the discussion going, pop on over and leave a comment.
*The Witches (2020) and Music (2020)
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Check out the magazines I edit - Disability Review Magazine, Not Your Monolith, and Conscious Being for more thoughts, advice, and insight into disability lived experience.
Liz x