We received another ray of hope this week. On March 25 Netflix released Crip Camp, a documentary that dives into the wild lives of disabled teens who grapple with isolation, find love at a summer camp, build community, and grow into fierce advocates for equality. Their joyous laughter, their tenacity, their creative ways of supporting each other across disabilities will lift your spirits. Executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, directed by Jim Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, this film is exactly what we need right now.
Several months back I asked the directors if they could include a transcript. Because I’m Deafblind I watch films by reading the transcript, and it’s extremely difficult to find transcripts for films. The Crip Camp team embraced the challenge, incorporating my accessibility recommendations. The doc has captions for Deaf viewers, audio descriptions for blind viewers, and a fabulously detailed transcript for Deafblind viewers. This week, for the very first time, I watched a Netflix film. Crip Camp is everything!
Crip Camp resonates with me at a deep level because I attended a similar camp. All disabled kids should have the opportunity to spend time in an accessible place where they can develop community with other disabled kids. For many of us it’s our first time meeting confident disabled adults. We learn to stop hiding and start shining. The growth that occurs during these summer days is extraordinary. A whole chapter in my memoir captures one of these enchanting summers.
Watching Crip Camp on Netflix is the perfect stay-at-home, physical distancing activity. Do it! And once you’ve watched it, tell me what you think.