Ep 028: The Devil’s Backbone & Spina Bifida
We had the pleasure of interviewing Respectability alum, Michael J. Dougherty, about spina bifida & hydrocephalus and discussed disability representation in Guillermo del Toro films such as The Devil’s Backbone and The Shape of Water. Michael is a film person, screenwriter, essayist, occasional actor, and advocate living & working in Hollywood. He’s also the co-founder of the ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles, entering its 6th year, which presents films and discussions by and about the disability community.
Listen to Braaains on these platforms (or anywhere you listen to podcasts!)
Music: Deppisch
Design: Perpetualnotion.ca
Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao
Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast
DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT FOR THE SHOW (coming soon)
MORE ON OUR GUEST
Blessed with spina bifida & hydrocephalus, Michael J. Dougherty is a film person, screenwriter, essayist, occasional actor, and advocate living & working in Hollywood. He has a bachelor's degree in Film from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, a Master's in Screenwriting from the National University of Ireland - Galway, and a Master's in Special Education from Touro College. He is the co-founder of the ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles, entering its 6th year, which presents films and discussions by and about the disability community. He has written and directed several shorts, including the PSA, "Look Around," meant to encourage disability inclusion in the entertainment industry. A person who "writes dark," Michael has written several feature and short screenplays across multiple genres, with an emphasis on the uncanny.
His feature, "No One Is Looking," about homicidal disabled kids, was included on the 2020 Disability List as one of the best unproduced disability-related scripts. An Irish New Yorker son of a former Catholic priest and nun, Michael's earliest memory was his mother taking him to see "E.T." while he was recovering from brain surgery at age three, which led him to draw a clear line between the experience of art and the relief of pain. He's learned everything about love from Charlie Brown's pining for the Little Red-Haired Girl. everything about courage from Frida Kahlo, and everything else from Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," which confirms Michael's great belief, "If we're all going over the edge - and we are - shouldn't we laugh on the way down?"
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Article — The Shape of Ableism: Why I’ll Never Watch Another Guillermo Del Toro Movie By Anna Wall (Cripple Media)
Article: The Black List, Media Access Awards, Easterseals Disability Services, WGA Writers with Disabilities Committee Unveil 2020 Disability List (Deadline)
Listen to recent episodes on Apple podcasts: