Today, SAG-AFTRA — the world’s most influential entertainment union — released a series of video vignettes presented by the union’s National Performers with Disabilities Committee. Launched during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the videos shine an entertaining light on some common stereotypes that performers with disabilities face in the entertainment industry. (View the press conference.)
The series is designed to be a light approach to a serious subject. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one-in-four adults reportedly have a disability, yet on screen, people with disabilities are not only under-represented, they are misrepresented. According to a 2022 Nielsen study, the total share of screen time for people with disabilities was 8.8% and people with visible disabilities made up only 0.4% across all media channels.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, "The Performers with Disabilities Committee has done a phenomenal job of creating a number of short films that address essential issues within the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA is committed to amplifying the needs of performers and other workers with disabilities not just during National Disability Employment Awareness month, but always."
“People with disabilities are America’s largest minority, representing nearly 26 percent of the nation’s population. Yet disabled performers are not afforded equal opportunities in entertainment and media and remain among the least represented in the industry,” said SAG-AFTRA National Performers with Disabilities Committee Chair Christine Bruno (Law & Order, God Friended Me). “National Disability Employment Awareness Month not only celebrates the work of performers with disabilities, it is an opportunity to call attention to inaccurate, inauthentic portrayals of disability and the lived experience of disability. Most importantly, it is a call to action for the industry to commit to making the changes necessary to ensure disabled performers are authentically represented as an integral part of the American Scene."
The new video PSA series was announced during a virtual press briefing today by Bruno, SAG-AFTRA National Performers with Disabilities Committee Vice Chairs Nicole Cyrille (Grey’s Anatomy, A Christmas Prayer) and Sheila Ivy Traister (Brothers, Giant Void), and Los Angeles Local Performers with Disabilities Committee Vice Chair Jack Patterson (Criminal Minds), as well as SAG-AFTRA National Board member Michelle Hurd (Kemba, Anyone But You). The group offered insights into the experiences of performers with disabilities and highlighted why National Disability Employment Awareness Month is so important.
The short video series — Inclusion: Time To Get Real — includes three vignettes at launch, with two additional videos to be released throughout the remainder of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. All videos will be released in English, English with Audio Description, Spanish and Spanish with Audio Description. Viewers can use the closed caption feature in the YouTube video player and social media versions will include open captions. The National Performers with Disabilities Committee thanks the National Latino Committee for lending their time and talents to do the dubbing.
The three vignettes releasing today are:
“True Cringe” — Featuring Michelle Hurd, Jason T. Gaffney, Michael Bunin and Khristina LaMonte, with Audio Description by Jack Patterson. Spanish dubbing by Natalia Castellanos, Memo Sauceda and Vanessa Morales, with Spanish Audio Description by Natalia Castellanos.
“Can’t Do What?” — Featuring Jason George, Angel Giuffria and Brian Dietzen, with Audio Description by Nicole Cyrille. Spanish dubbing by Natalia Castellanos, Memo Sauceda and Vanessa Morales, with Spanish Audio Description by Natalia Castellanos.
“You’re So Brave” — Featuring Jeri Ryan, Toni Nelli, Sarah Anne Masse and Diana Elizabeth Jordan, with Danny Gomez, Sam Lazarus, Skyler Davenport, Evelyn Stokes, Dr. Cynthia Lea Clark and Nicole Cyrille, with Audio Description by Nicole Cyrille. Spanish dubbing by Natalia Castellanos, with Spanish Audio Description by Natalia Castellanos.
People with disabilities represent a major financial market. In North America and Europe alone, the total disposable income of persons with disabilities is $2.6 trillion. When you include the friends and family of people with disabilities, that figure jumps to $18.3 trillion. These are all people who want to support productions that include performers with disabilities. It is an untapped market that shouldn't be.
The videos were conceived of as an effort to not only remind the entertainment industry of the value and extraordinary talent that performers with disabilities provide, but also to challenge limiting misconceptions about the types of roles that are “appropriate” for them. The committee hopes that the series will inspire performers, casting directors, filmmakers, employers and allies to call for equal opportunities for performers with disabilities.
The video vignettes are now available on SAG-AFTRA’s website at sagaftra.org/timetogetreal and will be posted to our social media channels:
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.
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