For now, I just want to join the academic discussion and become a graduate student in an MA screenwriting program. My understanding before starting research is that there ARE disabled actors and there ARE respectfully written parts for disabled characters, but the two don't meet often enough. I was hesitant myself to continue studying acting after taking a career test in middle school that informed me that acting is a more physical skill than I thought.
My goals in research are:
- To develop a well-informed perspective on disability to write deep, complicated disabled characters in roles as varied, deep, and well developed as possible.
- To encourage other writers to do the same.
- To convince studios that disabled female leads are not always victims or martyrs.
- To promote inclusion and accessibilty for individuals with varying physical and mental conditions who wish to work in the entertainment industry
- To create opportunities for said individuals and encourage them to pursue them.
- To learn the craft of research and gain an area of expertise in subjects possibly including employment law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, media studies, feminism, and film production safety.
OK, that's all I can think of for now and it feels overwhelmingly unfocused. But that's why I blog. To solve problems and find focus. Onward to complete my writing samples, finish at least one published journal article this year, at least one short film production, and apply for graduate school in a screenwriting MFA.
