Link piece for 1996

Darke at the Cinema

Back in March I was invited to a seminar at the BBC by Charles Denton (the retiring head of BBC Drama), Portrayal and Participation, and being ever inquisitive (and a bit of a celebrity spotter) I went. The event was organised by The 1 In 8 and led by Richard Rieser, a leading activist in trying to get better images of disability in all forms of the media, especially on our television screens.

The seminar lasted the entire day and a sumptuous lunch was provided (I easily got my television license fee back); the first part of the day involved us sitting through a very lengthy lecture by Rieser followed by a discussion of that lecture and in the afternoon we had an open 'creative thinking' session where an ideal drama was imagined which did not tread on the sensitive toes of us critics of the negative portrayal of disabled people. There was no lack of talent in the audience: most people involved in the DPU (Disability Programmes Unit) at the BBC; those involved with ITV's flagship disability programme LINK; representatives of RADA and Equity; people from the soaps Emmerdale and Eastenders; and numerous actors (for example, Gareth Hunt and Arrabella Weir), executives of the BBC (Alan Yentob) and distinguished writers and producers (Kieran Prendiville and Kennith Trodd).

The lecture covered the usual ground - disability used to signify evil and dependence etc. - but even so it was a revelation to many there and, to their credit, they were prepared admit their ignorance. Kennith Trodd (the producer of most of the late Dennis Potter's dramas) made an interesting point when he noted that the representation of disability in the work of Dennis Potter is ignored because it is so realistic and astute, and not in any sense clichÈd. The writer of Soldier, Soldier, Lucy Gannon, noted the responsibility writers have and also connected images of disability with images of black people; in fact, her eagerness to take on board issues of disability made me very keen to see what she writes in the future.

All in all it was a very useful day which will no doubt enable a few more disabled actors to get roles in television, and in movies, along with material made that is more sensitive and aware of disabled people's feelings and perspectives. It was also encouraging to see many disabled writers vocalising their existence along with an openness on behalf of the able-bodied producers both within and outside of the BBC, the most open of media broadcasters in relation to disability at the moment, to listen to and consider projects about and by people with disabilities (so get those scripts and ideas in now!). The only danger for the future - and it is a very real danger, if not a reality already - is the creation of a disability media Mafia. Watch this space.

480 Words