Here's my annual "Hey, guys...I'm back" thread
Oct 11, 2013 20:02:37 GMT -5
Pisti, Dee Dee, and 5 more like this
Post by mcc2121 on Oct 11, 2013 20:02:37 GMT -5
It seems like every year or two I come back to this board and write the "Hey, people...I'm Michael" thread, but here it goes...
(ahem)
I'm Michael and live in Texas. I was a fairly active user here seven or eight years ago (different screenname) and had a chance to become friends and more with quite a few people.
My day job is real estate, but I've been a long time performer: acting, stand up, improv. Part of what's brought me back here is getting the pulse of this community because, suddenly, the entertainment industry is different in terms of people with disabilities. And I mean suddenly, as in the last two months, there has been an epic shift in the approach to what is a very "closed shop" industry. The idea of featuring a PWD in an ad or as a character in a mainstream show (able-bodied fakers like in Glee don't count) just wasn't even considered. Now every third ad seems to feature a PWD.
I've done several national ads before (blink and you'll miss me), but my participation always had a "tokenish" feel.
The WRONG Approach:
"We need one from Column A, one from Column B and...oh, one from Column Z (disabled). Now let's throw them all in a blender and sell our sh-tty product."
The RIGHT Approach:
"We have a product and would like to feature a PWD prominently in our ad. Lets find a 'slice of their life' that illustrates how our product is incorporated into their experiences." The Guinness commercial did this brilliantly -- This was real to me as growing up I had a wheelchair graveyard and my friends, exactly like the ad, would get in the chairs and we'd play basketball on the driveway.
Just in the last month I've done two commercials and my agent has said that casting agents are now actively trying to seek out talent who have disabilities -- and not as "token" roles, but as, you know, actual living, breathing humans who just happen to have certain other characteristics. I, and people like me, are being considered for things that just didn't happen before. In other words, if you want PWD on your TV more, my normally skeptical self believes that day is coming soon (and, no, I don't mean fakers like Blair Underwood in Ironside either. Pathetic.)
Hollywood has always been a "flavor of the month" club. It was women, then blacks, then gays/lesbians, then... It's just interesting to know that it seems to now be our flavor and our month.
I'm always open to chatting and PMs (sometimes it may take a few days to get back to you).
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(ahem)
I'm Michael and live in Texas. I was a fairly active user here seven or eight years ago (different screenname) and had a chance to become friends and more with quite a few people.
My day job is real estate, but I've been a long time performer: acting, stand up, improv. Part of what's brought me back here is getting the pulse of this community because, suddenly, the entertainment industry is different in terms of people with disabilities. And I mean suddenly, as in the last two months, there has been an epic shift in the approach to what is a very "closed shop" industry. The idea of featuring a PWD in an ad or as a character in a mainstream show (able-bodied fakers like in Glee don't count) just wasn't even considered. Now every third ad seems to feature a PWD.
I've done several national ads before (blink and you'll miss me), but my participation always had a "tokenish" feel.
The WRONG Approach:
"We need one from Column A, one from Column B and...oh, one from Column Z (disabled). Now let's throw them all in a blender and sell our sh-tty product."
The RIGHT Approach:
"We have a product and would like to feature a PWD prominently in our ad. Lets find a 'slice of their life' that illustrates how our product is incorporated into their experiences." The Guinness commercial did this brilliantly -- This was real to me as growing up I had a wheelchair graveyard and my friends, exactly like the ad, would get in the chairs and we'd play basketball on the driveway.
Just in the last month I've done two commercials and my agent has said that casting agents are now actively trying to seek out talent who have disabilities -- and not as "token" roles, but as, you know, actual living, breathing humans who just happen to have certain other characteristics. I, and people like me, are being considered for things that just didn't happen before. In other words, if you want PWD on your TV more, my normally skeptical self believes that day is coming soon (and, no, I don't mean fakers like Blair Underwood in Ironside either. Pathetic.)
Hollywood has always been a "flavor of the month" club. It was women, then blacks, then gays/lesbians, then... It's just interesting to know that it seems to now be our flavor and our month.
I'm always open to chatting and PMs (sometimes it may take a few days to get back to you).
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