CCATMEG014 - Analysis on The Story of My Life And Ray Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

I do not have a disability, I have a gift! Others may see it as a disability, but I see it as a challenge. This challenge is a gift because I have to become stronger to get around it, and smarter to figure out how to use it; others should be so lucky.”(Bryan ) The way of defining, constructing and interpreting disability has been subject to many changes throughout ages. According to Ann Cameron Williams ( 2005 ), tracing the evolution of views on disability in the course of ages, one can notice that initially persons with disabilities were located outside the ‘global society.’ In traditional conceptions disability was seen as medical non- conformance, which thanks to appropriate medical, pharmacological and rehabilitation- oriented actions could be cured. In extreme cases, pupils with disabilities were isolated from the rest of the society. Otherpeople believed that impairment was a visible stigma, which stood for the moral paucity of the person bearing it. Due to their dissimilarity with the commonly accepted social norms , pupils with disabilities were refused the right to make independent choices, to have families, in extreme cases, also to live. Even today persons with disabilities are still exposed to negative attitudes, marginalization, and social exclusion. The reasons for this are to be found firmly rooted stereotypes and mistaken beliefs regarding disability. External and psychological traits of the human which differ from the commonly accepted social norms usually determine the way of perceiving and interpreting the reality of persons with disabilities. As aptly noted by Jenny Morris ( 1991 ), we often differ physically from what is considered the norm. In general, our bodies look and behave differently from the majority of other people. It is not normal that we have walking or we cannot walk at all. It is not normal not to be able to see or hear. It is not normal to experience extreme fatigue and pain. It is not normal not to have the limbs. People with disabilities seen as worse, less valuable and more dependent on others through the prism of external differences.

In opposition to disability seen in this way is the new thought treating disability in the personal, social, cultural and political dimensions. Developing knowledge of disabilities, increasing social awareness of fundamental citizen rights of disabled persons and development of comprehensive activities supporting pupils with disabilities cause the tolerance of the members of the society to ‘otherness’ to increase; now it is seen from different perspectives.We see, hear and respect disabled persons from their important contribution to humanity, with a history worth telling, culture worth celebrating and value worth social interest. Such an approach to persons with disabilities is presented through the perspective of Disability Studies. (Williams, 2005, p.8)

Disability studies is an academic discipline which analyzes the significance, nature and consequences of disability understood as a social construct. It has been created partially to counter- balance the conventional, medical approach to disability and in response to the marginalization and social exclusion of persons with disabilities. Disability studies undertakes research of disability as a social, cultural and political phenomenon. As opposed to clinical, medical and therapeutic perspectives they focus on how disability is defined and described in the society. From this perspective, disability is seen as a construct, which finds its relevance in the social and cultural context. According to Hellen Meekosha and Russell Shuttleworth disability studies can be considered as criticism of specific approaches to disability; Steven Taylor and Pamela Walker ( 2003 ) point out that disability studies is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field of research which covers many specific disciplines, such as history, sociology, literature, political sciences, law, economics, culture studies, anthropology, geography, gender studies, study of the media and communication as well as arts. The consequence of such a dispersion of disability studies is the comprehensive approach to understanding disability. Disability studies encompasses an incredibly diverse group of persons with disabilities, thus considering very different experiences and perspectives. The social dimension of disability is stressed also by the World Health Organisation is International Classification of Functioning, disability and health, stating that disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence the management of the problem requires social action, and it is the collective responsibility of the society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life.

Humans have always shown great interest in seeing anything and everything around him, which makes him comfortable and happy. A pair of Eyes- an extraordinary special sense with its function makes the human heel to his surrounding and the surrounding serves him. There is so much in variation as colors, size, shapes, designs, moving objects, non moving objects, when known, serves human as knowledge and sustaining asset for the rest of his life. A gift of God in the human creation is all the special senses and the highest order of special sense is the pair of eyes, and when this special sense is absent or not present or does not function then the human is said to be “ BLIND.” It is important for everyone to understand “Reality of Blindness” and not just blindness- which means cannot see or no vision. Human, when never had vision from birth gets accustomed to not being able to see, but adapts pretty well to learn and has knowledge to sense and picture what is going on around him but in a mental picture of his own configuration. Most of the details a blind follows is by adaptation. A constant practice of anything to learn by touch sense or by hearing, frames the learning platform for the blind to set the mental picture of understanding. Each and every blind who are at normal mental health when asked about their ambition of what they want to become- the answer of 76% of blind say that they want to be supported by any means to make a living and become independent of their earning and supporting themselves.

Around 8% of the blind want to become a professional in the music industry as they have already chosen an instrument or get self trained to be a vocalist. Their success also hinges on how you view them. Psychologists say that success in life, education and jobs of visually impaired individuals are directly proportional to the expectations that people around have of them, and the degree of positive attitudes they encounter. The more capable and able you believe they are, the more they will shine. Self- esteem, self- belief, and self- image are partially formed through social interactions and it is important that people encounter empowering experiences. Although there are a number of famous people who were blind, Helen Keller is by far one of the more well known. Most people are familiar with her story from early childhood and the illness that left her both deaf and blind, but less are familiar with her ater life that included contributions to the field of blindness that continue to impact people with visual impairments today. Her story is one of overcoming overwhelming odds and becoming an inspiring person for many.“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”( Keller ) Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on june27, 1880. When she was 19 months old, an unknown illness caused her to lose her hearing and sight. The Keller family lived fairly modestly, as they lost part of their wealth during the civil war ( Helen’s father Arthur H. Keller, served in the Confederate Army ). After the war, he bought and became editor of The North Alabamian, a weekly local news paper. When Keller was 6 years old, her parents took her to Julian John Chisolm, Professor of Diseases of the Eye and Ear at the University of Maryland .The renowned physician recommended that Keller see Alexander Graham Bell. Bell’s wife was deaf, the inventor founded schools for the Deaf as well as their teachers ) and was involved with teaching deaf children. Following Bell’s suggestion , Keller’s parents enrolled her at the Perkins Institution for the blind, through which she met her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Bell mentored Sullivan and was friends with both her and Keller until his death in 1922. Keller was a major globetrotter. She travelled to 39 countries, from the UK to Japan to Syria. During her travels, Keller met with presidents, prime ministers, and other government leaders to advocate for educating blind people, deaf people, and people with disabilities. In 1952, during her visit to the Middle East, she gave lectures at medical schools, visited schools for disabled students, and met with organizations that helped blind people. Keller wrote about her experiences in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, emphasizing the kindness of the locals and the majesty of the places. As she wrote: “ It was more wonderful than I had dreamed for us to travel through semi- legendary lands…I could still feel something of the old picturesqueness, the poetry, the oriental atmosphere and the spirit of prophecy, and I was fascinated by the power of the Moslem religion”. Helen Keller’s life story inspired a Bollywood film released in 2005. The Bollywood film Black is about a young deaf- blind girl named Michelle, her relationship with her teacher, and how she deals with her inability to hear and see. Inspired by Keller’s life, Black’s director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, read her autobiography and visited The Helen Keller Institute for the deaf and blind before writing and directing the film. It premiered at the Cannes Festival, and won both lead actors Indian Filmfare awards.

“ The Story Of My Life” is a tale of the courage and unbreakable will of Helen Keller. In the book she reveals her frustration and rage over her condition. It details her educational achievements and her introduction to the world through her breakthrough into communication. The story was written by Helen Keller when she was just 22 years old. Ray Charles Robinson another young blind man who lost his sight at age 9, two years after witnessing the drowning death of his little brother. In a memory that haunted his life, he stood nailed to the spot while the little boy drowned absurdly in a bath basin. Why didn’t Ray act to save him? For the same reason all 7 years olds do dumb and strange things: because they are newly in possession of the skills of life and can be paralyzed by emotional overload. No one sees the scene in “ Ray”. Taylor Hackford’s considerable new musical biography, would think to blame the boy, but he never forgives himself. If he had already been blind, he could not have blamed himself for the death and would not have carried the lifelong guilt that, the movie argues, contributed to his eventual drug addiction. Certainly he was so attuned to the world around him that he never used a cane or a dog; or Charles blindness was more of an attribute than a handicap.“ I did to myself. It wasn’t society..it wasn’t a pusher, it was being blind or being black or being poor. It was all my doing.”( Charles ) Jamie Foxx suggests the complexities of Ray Charles in a great, exuberant performance. Ray Charles was deeply involved in the project for years, until his death in june, and the film had access to his recordings, so of course it should use them, because nobody else could sing like Ray Charles.

In the movie “Ray” and in life, he was adamantly present in body as well as spirit, filling a room, physically dominant, interlaced with other people. He was eccentric in his mannerisms, especially at the keyboard. The movie places Charles at the centre of key movements in postwar music. The film is two and a half hours long- not too long for the richness of this story- but to cover the years between 1966 and his death in 2004 would have required more haste and superficial summary than Hackford and his writer, James L. White are willing to settle for. When we leave him, Ray is safely on course for his glory years, although there is a brief scene set in 1979 where he receives an official apology from his home state of Georgia over the concert incident, and “Georgia on My Mind” is named as the state song. The movie would be worth seeing simply for the sound of the music and the sight of Jamie Foxx performing it. That it looks deeper and gives us a sense of the man himself is what makes it special. There are moments when an incident in Ray’s life instantly inspires a song ( I doubt “What’d I say?” translated quite so instantly from life to music ). But Taylor Hackford brings quick sympathy to Charles as a performer and a man, and we remember that he directed “Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll,” a great documentary about Chuck Berry, a performer whose onstage and offstage moves more than braced Hackford for this film. Ray Charles was quite a man; this movie not only knows it, but understands it. The aim of the project is to show disability is not a handicap, many people have raise in their life by overcoming these challenges and disability is seen as a challenge, Helen Keller and Ray Charles explores their life and they seen disability as a gift, through their life many people could fought against such situation and raise in their life. The introduction deals with the representation of the life of disabled people and analyzing disability study theory. The first chapter focuses on the theory. The second chapter explores Helen Keller’s life and her biography from the book “The Story of My Life”. The third chapter focuses on the life of Ray Charles from the movie “Ray”. The conclusion explains the comparison between “The Story of My Life” and “Ray”,shows a possible connection of blindness in literature and the changes of society towards disabled ones.

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