Blindness and Sabrina the Teenage Witch

[jesse_the_k]

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry questions the dearth of disability community in a context where it would naturally thrive: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series on Netflix. In the first of snarkbat's Tor.com essays Constructing Blindness she asks why her family seems clueless, since Sabrina’s witchy powers are accompanied by hereditary blindness.

What Sabrina Needs to Do to Depict Blindness Realistically

It’s important to acknowledge that it is scary to lose vision when you don’t know how to cope. Of course it would be frightening to Roz—but what bothers me is that her family treats it like it should be frightening, rather than giving her the adaptive tools to lead a life she’d be happy with. In a family that knows what blindness is like, a holistic approach that would give Roz safety and security seems like something I would expect—and something I’d love to see depicted on screen. A family that copes through knowledge and adaptability; a family (like the one in A Quiet Place) that understands and utilizes interdependence to create access.

Comments

[ambyr]

Thank you for the link! That was a great article, even if it resulted in me banging my head on the wall a few times.

One of my favorite depictions of a family drawing together around accessibility is in the documentary Dealt, about a blind stage magician who has spent decades steadfastly refusing to admit that he's losing his vision. Midway through the movie, his sister shows up--his sister who is also blind and has spent those same decades embracing accessible technology and learning O&M skills--sits him down, and reads him the riot act. And then they learn new skills, together. It's heartwarming in a way I don't see very often for its depiction of disability as a community.

[lokifan]

That sounds great!

[davidgillon]

It's a good piece, I recommended it on twitter, forgot to do it here. I also like the other point it makes, that disability should not be used as a punishment.

And almost every point it makes seems to come down to a single point, writers who don't do even the basic research when approaching disability.

[allchildren]

Thanks for the link! Small correction to your post: the characters Sabrina and Roz have been accidentally conflated here. Sabrina's witchy powers are not accompanied by blindness. The essay is about Sabrina's friend Roz, whose psychic powers are accompanied by blindness.

[jazzyjj]

Thanks for the link. Just another reminder that I need to brush up on my O&M skills. Not to stray too off topic here, but my independent travel skills are lacking to a certain degree due to circumstances beyond my control.