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Lives Worth Living
| Lives Worth Living | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eric Neudel |
| Produced by | Alison Gilkey |
| Music by | John Kusiak & P. Andrew Willis |
| Cinematography | Eric Neudel |
| Editing by | Bernice Schneider |
| Distributed by | Storyline Motion Pictures & Independent Television Service (ITVS) |
| Release date(s) |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Lives Worth Living is a 2011 documentary film directed by Eric Neudel and produced by Alison Gilkey, and broadcast by PBS through ITVS, as part of the Independent Lensseries. The film is the first television chronicle [1] of the history of the American disability rights movement from the post-World War II era until the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.[2][3][4]
Background
The disability rights movement is a social empowerment movement wherein people with disabilities fight against discrimination and demand equal access and equal opportunity to everything society has to offer, including employment, housing, transportation, telecommunications and state and local government services.[5]
Synopsis
The documentary intersperses archival footage with first-person interviews with disability rights activists who fought discrimination such as Fred Fay, I. King Jordan, Judi Chamberlin and Judith Heumann, and with legislators who helped draft and secure the passage of the ADA, including Tony Coelho and Tom Harkin. From the beginnings of the disability rights movement, when veterans with disabilities returning home from World War II began to demand an end to discrimination and for better access to employment and other social opportunities, Lives Worth Living traces the history of the movement in the United States in roughly chronological order. The film documents how, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, activists with disabilities began to adopt the some of the tactics and strategies used by civil rights activists a decade earlier, including marches, protests, and civil disobedience.
Using sometimes-disturbing archival footage, Lives Worth Living describes efforts spearheaded by activists and politicians like Bobby Kennedy to shine a public spotlight on the often-horrendous conditions in state institutions for people with mental disabilities, such as Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York, eventually leading to deinstitutionalization and community-based alternative programs. Lives Worth Living also documents how, in 1988, Deaf students at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. protested the appointment of yet another in a long line of hearing presidents, and demanded that a deaf president be appointed instead. People with disabilities formed cross-disability coalitions to demand access to all the things that nondisabled people take for granted, including public transportation, accessible housing, public accommodations, and jobs. All these efforts culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act by Congress, and the ADA’s signing by President George H. W. Bush on July 26, 1990.[6]
References
- Jump up^ “Lives Worth Living Examines History of Civil Rights for Disabled Movement”. Technorati. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- Jump up^ Lecesse, Cheryl (2011-10-27). “Documentary on disability rights tells Concord resident’s story”. The Concord Journal. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- Jump up^ “Lives Worth Living on Independent Lens on PBS”. Independent Lens on PBS. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- Jump up^ “Lives Worth Living — ITVS”. ITVS. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- Jump up^ Switzer, Jacqueline Vaughn (2003). Disabled Rights: American Disability Policy and the Fight for Equality. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0878408983.
- Jump up^ Genzlinger, Neil (2011-10-26). “An American Minority’s Road to Rights”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
Further reading
- Bagenstos, Samuel. Law and the Contradictions of the Disability Rights Movement (Yale University Press, 2009). ISBN 978-0-300-12449-1
- Fleischer, Doris Zames and Zames, Frieda. The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation (Temple University Press, 2nd Edition, 2011). ISBN 1-4399-0743-9
- Longmore, Paul, K. and Umansky, Laurie, editors, The New Disability History: American Perspectives (New York University Press, 2001). ISBN 978-0-8147-8564-5
- Pelka, Fred. The ABC Clio Companion to the Disability Rights Movement (ABC-Clio, 1997). ISBN 978-0-87436-834-5
- Shapiro, Joseph P. No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement (Times Books, 1993). ISBN 978-0-8129-2412-1
- Stroman, Duane. The Disability Rights Movement: From Deinstitutionalization to Self-Determination (University Press of America, 2003). ISBN 978-0-7618-2480-0
External links
URGENT APPEAL
#scrapWCA #WCA #ATOS All we want for Christmas is YOUR SIGNATURE:
Can we make a final push for the last 15k signatures?
If it gets to 100k then it may force a debate in Parliament.
Don’t forget to ‘confirm’ by clicking the link direct.gov will send to your spam folder! Children with their own email accounts may also legitimately sign, the government has said.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154
http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2012/june/scrap-work-capability-assessment-doctors-demand
PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE URGENTLY
*** PETITION CLOSES on 12th DECEMBER ***
10 Responses
It’s about time some of the faceless bastards that work behind the scenes of the DWP, and broke ranks to show they have some sympathy for the people they are sending to their graves……..
Nothing is so easy as pretending you don’t know what’s happening.
Cowardice, while others are subjected to pure evil, is akin to witnessing a murder and failing to come forward with evidence to nail the perpetrator……….
Most of the DWP staff are part of a union, Unions were structured to help others from the wrath of unpleasant employers by combining their unified strengths and speaking as one……………
The word YELLOW comes to mind, cowering behind their desks as the letters of social hate spew forth into the arms of the most vulnerable……
The question of MAN or MOUSE seems totally appropriate.
“WILL YOU SIT BACK AND WATCH YOUR MASTERS DESTROY THE LIVES OF INNOCENT VICTIMS, KNOWING YOU ARE PART OF THE MECHANISM THAT ENABLES IT?”
or will you cower in fear of what might be said by a bullying boss?
“WAS TAKING LIVES PART OF THE REMIT OF YOUR EMPLOYMENT?”
FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, START TO REALISE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
IT’S NO GOOD GIVING EVIDENCE AT AN INQUEST, IF YOU WERE IN A POSITION TO STOP IT BEFORE IT HAPPENED.
“Let your consciences be your guiding light”………………..
CHRISTMAS IS COMING,
THE TREASURY’S GETTING FAT,
AND SO IS DUNCAN SMITH,
THE EVIL FUCKING TWAT…….
TRY BURYING THE EVIDENCE,
ESTHER USUALLY DOES,
WHILST KILLING THE DISABLED,
FOR A TORY SEASONAL BUZZ……..
START LOOKING RIGHT BEHIND YOU,
WITH JUSTICE ON YOUR TAIL,
AND G4S YOUR WARDENS,
IN A SHABBY, CRUMBLING JAIL…..
MURDER IS A CRIME,
THAT CAN’T BE OVERLOOKED,
SO TRY TO SEE IT IAIN,
YOU’RE WELL AND TRULY FUCKED….
Bah Humbug Geoff. I like a spot of poetry but seriously Christmas? And already? Shudder!
There once was a bit of a scrounger
who spent his days sat on a lounger.
In front of the telly, tinned beer in his belly. . .
And when spotted through the uncurtained window, IDS thought, Goodness gracious me what a state of affairs! I must take a closer look. When Cameron crept up behind him and asked what he was up to spying on folks, he said ‘Oh! . . Mr Prime Minister, you won’t believe what the lower orders get up to while we all all hard at work. I’ve been investigating, in my spare time of course. I think we must put a stop to all this Scum-Baggery at once. See there’s all this Scrounging and Lounging going on at the expence of the hard working tax payer, it’s very bad. Some of them don’t even get dressed. Hm, very bad! I think we should throw a shed load of money at the problem to stamp out such slovenly behaviour. You can trust me to make sure it’s done properly, I’ll personally volunteer to check on progress.’ Please?
Whilst some people find it funny that the disabled and poor are struggling to survive;
This is the sick heartbreaking reality of today when an 80 plus year old gentleman has been evicted by his landlord because he could not pay his rent with no help what so ever. He has been let down by this tyrannical government thrown on the street and left to die. He was found by one homeless person who gave their hot meal and blankets to this now homeless 80 plus year old gentleman who has been thrown out on to the streets with nothing but his shirt on his back and left to die. Has lost everything he owned and probably fought for. You know something this fucking sick depraved government has got to go. THIS HAS TO STOP NOW.
http://humanrightspoliticanjournal.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/a-stark-reality-of-today-as-elderly-man-evicted-and-left-to-die-23112013/
Simon, Tried wathcing the film, I just want to buy Lem-sip and I don’t even like the stuff. I gave up. But I don’t see what the harm is? We on this forum don’t have any money to spend on films, or any other frivolities. Most of us are struggling to feed ourselves and keep warm. We have had the rights we paid for, stolen! By law! Why should we stick to the rules when the rules no longer look after us? The people making that film were showing brave people fighting for their rights, doing stuff they weren’t supposed to be doing, being a nuisence. Perhaps it was felt to be motivating and uplifting to suggest we see it? If you have a problem with that film being accessed for free, use your anger and get the site that’s showing it for free, shut down, don’t give people who thought they were doing a good thing in raising awareness, a hard time. Frankly, if the few people who visit this site cause the film company to go out of business then they were going anyway. Perhaps if you are an expert on the law you could try helping and not berating people on this site? Did you visit for a reason or just to vent your anger at illegal free film watching? I’m not angry at you just sorry because most of us here are trying at the very least to help one another.
……and another person dies as a result of the evil that permeates from the secret state killing machine, the DWP……….
atos_kills_bannerA woman stripped of benefits after being found ‘fit for work’ by Atos has taken her own life the Bristol Post have reported today.
According to the newspaper:
“PARTIALLY-sighted and only able to walk with the aid of a stick, Jacqueline Harris suffered crippling pain due to slipped discs in her back and neck. Her mobility was reduced further when a dog savaged one of her wrists.
“Despite being in agony which strong pain relief could not ease, the 53-year-old was deemed to be fit for work following a government health assessment and told to find a job.
“Her sister claims the verdict that she was ineligible for disability benefits drove her to take her own life earlier this month.”
Predictably both the DWP, and Atos have attempted to wash their hands of the affair. There will be no apology for this tragic loss of life and Atos claim it is nothing to do with them: “we do not make decisions on people’s benefit entitlement, nor are we involved in the appeal process.”
If this were a banker, or businessman who had been driven to suicide over a Government policy then this story would be on the front page of every newspaper. When a yuppy jumps out of a skyscraper, or a celebrity has a breakdown, we are all invited to share in their tragedy. The rich ‘feel’ things more than the poor the media narrative suggests. Meanwhile reports of suicides due to welfare reform are shrugged off by right wing newspaper columnists as the “act of someone in a fevered, unstable state of mind.” If the poor cannot cope with their poverty then that is a personal failing, not a problem with how society is structured.
Only the wealthy might be troubled by losing their income – the horny-handed working class are expected to get on with things, make do and mend, or queue outside foodbanks with a stiff upper lip. Hunger and homelessness is just a triviality compared to a dent in the investment portfolio or having to sell the second home.
When campaigners have warned that Atos Kills this has not been hyper-bole. The problem is that the ruthless assessments for sickness and disability benefits kill the wrong people to have any major media impact. There is more sympathy for the squeezed middle-classes having to cut down skiing holidays than there is for people driven to desperate acts due to having nothing at all. Atos merely culls in the eyes of this Government and those who support them, and many of them see nothing wrong with that.
This suicide is so upsetting. Thanks for highlighting it. We at least can acknowledge it as the tradgedy it is. So unnecessary. I hope her sister takes comfort from the fact some of us care for her suffering. Frustratingly her suicide won’t grab the attention it deserves. The desperate last act of a human being, being driven out of their own life. And it’s seen as though she was some nutter, not someone driven crazy by cruel treatment. Sometimes death seems very sane. I hope she found peace. Those that read posts here, take note. This is not the way. If you want to make a point, not prove the cuts are working because one less person is claiming benefit, then you have to find another way. I like to think in my own delightful and polite fashion, I am a thorn in the side of as many officials as possible. If I was fitter I would be a force to be reckoned with. I know pain and I’ve felt desperation hit over and over but I have always put it off. I’m not better than those that take their lives but I just keep telling myself i’m gonna fight no matter what. And I want my friends to hang on too. Don’t think I’m gonna achieve much by myself. Can anyone think of anyone that hasn’t signed wowpetition ?it’s starting to look possible. 7500 ish to go,
We haven’t got a pot to PISS IN!
Perhaps you would prefer that this film was not seen or talked about at all!
Yours, EXTREMELY ANGRY with your ARROGANCE and LACK OF COMPASSION!
GET STUFFED!
“Why don’t you think a little before you break the law and ruin other people’s lives in the process. I hope the law has a very long arm. Yours disgusted and very angry..!!”
Simon, your comments are rather surprising and show a complete disregard for the people, who I assume you felt some empathy and decided to highlight this by making the film. I haven’t watched it and I assume it was merely being reposted here from somewhere else.
Your film would be better watched by those who know nothing about disability to give them some knowledge and understanding as to what it is like to live a life with diminished faculties.
You talk about the law and ruining people’s lives. Really?
What do you think is happening in the UK right now?
The government cuts and propaganda against the sick, disabled and unemployed are demonising us and leaving many in abject poverty. They are responsible for thousands of deaths. The actual figures are being blocked from official publication. Ask yourself why?
Many have lost all hope of a decent future and as a result have been driven to kill themselves, as they feel life is no longer worth living.
This fascist government is invoking an ideology that belongs in pre-war 1930’s Germany. I would call it State terrorism.
But perhaps you think money is more important?
JEREMY HUNT HAS TWICE BEEN TOLD THAT HIS ATTEMPTS TO CLOSE LEWISHAM HOSPITALS A & E, WAS ILLEGAL.
NOT HAPPY WITH THIS, HE IS NOW TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT OPINION BY GRANTING HIMSELF THE POWER TO DO IT ALONE.
BLOCK HIS ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE LAW BY ADDING YOUR OUTRAGE TO THIS MOVE……….
PLEASE SIGN THE 38 DEGREES PETITION AND SEND THIS ARSEHOLE TO HISTORY.
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/nhs-section-75#petition
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