Five films to talk to children about disabilities

Although it may seem anachronistic, until just a few weeks ago people with disabilities in Spain appeared in the Constitution as

disabled

.

The supreme norm of the Spanish legal system, the alpha and omega of your rights and freedoms, considered, for example, that that co-worker who travels in a wheelchair or your daughter's class friend who needs a curricular adaptation Because when she was little she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, they were diminished, minimized, demeaned people.

Poor, in any case.

The reform of article 49 has, of course, been a milestone in the treatment that society offers to people with disabilities.

However, it still represents nothing more than a small speck of dust in an etymological universe that does not fully offer the collective the precise conceptual consideration.

There are still statutes of autonomy, media style books or legal texts in which terms such as

handicapped

or

disabled

are used .

But, above all, there remains the street, the place where we all interact, and where the way we have to express ourselves really comes from.

More information

Letter to my disabled son: the first blow comes without warning

The only way for this to change, to provoke a transformation in the uses and forms with which we manage the reality of people with disabilities, necessarily involves the education of the citizens of the future, that is, of the children and girls.

And, for that, there are few tools as powerful as the stories offered by cinema or literature.

Here are five proposals to see as a family, ideal to lay the foundations for a new approach based on empathy and respect.

Enjoy them.

'The Eighth Day' (1996, for ages 12 and up)

Cover of 'The Eighth Day'.

Can a businessman and a kid with Down syndrome become friends?

Can a businessman and a kid with Down syndrome become friends?

The answer, in this delicious film made by the Belgian Jaco Van Dormael, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1996 Cannes Festival. A comedy that avoids sensationalism and shows intellectual disability as it is, drawing a fable anarchic ideal for the teenage audience.

'

Strings

'

(2014, for all audiences)

'Cuerdas' has been one of the most awarded short films in Spain.

The wonderful story of friendship between María and Nicolás obtained the Guinness Record in 2019 for being the most awarded short film, with awards such as the Goya or the Silver Biznaga for best animated short.

And

Cuerdas

, directed by Pedro Solís García in 2014, tells in just over 10 minutes a beautiful story about inclusion, values ​​and respect that engages from beginning to end, and which will be adapted into a feature film in the summer of 2024 with the

Buffalo Kids

tape

.

'

Wonder

'

(2017 - for all audiences)

'Wonder' tells the story of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare disease.

There could not be a list of films that deal with the issue of disability without this cinematic gem appearing, directed in 2017 by Stephen Chbosky, and based on the novel by RJ Palacio.

The film tells the story of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare disease that causes craniofacial malformations due to a genetic mutation.

Beyond that, the film does not address disability from a sentimental or protectionist perspective, but instead places the little protagonist as the master of his own destiny, demonstrating at the same time that kindness and understanding are the only way to relate to others. .

'

Witch Hunters

'

(2018, ages seven and up)

In 'Witch Hunters', Jovan is a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.

Jovan is a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.

However, in his imagination, he sees himself as a superhero capable of breaking the barriers that his own body imposes on him.

His life is shaken when Milica, an outgoing girl, arrives at her class who soon convinces Jovan to help him on a mission: to free her father from his new girlfriend who, according to the little girl, is a dangerous witch.

Over the course of the adventure, Jovan will discover that the first step to becoming a hero is always accepting yourself as you are.

'

Josee, the tiger and the fish

'

(2020, ages 13 and up)

In 'Josee, the Tiger and the Fish' we talk about tetraplegia in childhood.

Another audiovisual treasure, especially suitable for small

otakus

—people with passionate interests in anime/manga.

Tsuneo is a Marine Biology student who accidentally meets Josee, a girl with paraplegia since childhood, whom his disability has turned into a lonely, demanding and selfish person.

Little by little, Tsuneo will discover to Josee a world that he did not know and that he dreamed of, without the wheelchair in which she moves having the slightest importance.

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