Comments on: Abigail Breslin’s casting as Helen Keller draws criticism from an advocacy group

By: Em

Em — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

I can understand why they’d be upset, but it’s kind of stupid. Undoubtedly there is someone out there that is blind and/or deaf who could play her. But Abigail Breslin will definitely make them money and pull it off well. And they may not want to go to the trouble of finding a good actress who is blind/deaf. It’s not like films about real people are played by the people they are about.

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By: bragin09

bragin09 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:14:59 +0000

can u guy tell me the wedside to watch this drama plz thank you

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By: wif

wif — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:10:48 +0000

WTF?!? I know that’s the case, I’m just trying to point out how the other side feels. I just don’t want everyone thinking that these advocates are mere whiners. I think that they’ve been put into a position of having to always be fighting for themselves. This is another fight.

(Incidentally, I think the producers are right, it is necessary to cast an actor who will draw in an audience if you want a good run on a production.)

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By: WTF?!?

WTF?!? — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:08:23 +0000

wif– no other actress got that opportunity, she was offered the part, there were no auditions.

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By: wif

wif — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:54:53 +0000

“you’d think these groups would spend their time fighting for people’s rights and actual progress.”

I think this advocacy group would say that a Deaf or blind actress getting a break would be actual progress.

I think the issue is that these problems are an everyday struggle, not an isolated issue for this play. I know a Deaf plumber, laid off from his employer after 25 years when the company closed. Do you think anyone would hire him? No. 25 years of experience and anyone he contacted said “I think the job would be unsafe for a deaf person.” (Well, it clearly hadn’t been for 25 years.) That’s what they face everyday, us saying no due to ignorance and incorrect assumptions.

I honestly don’t think anyone’s saying Breslin can’t do it or understand it, I think they’re saying, “Crap another opportunity we don’t get.”

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By: Oh My

Oh My — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:27:25 +0000

another thing to consider is that you don’t generally cast an unknown in a husg starring role of a well-known play (especially one in which previous performers playing the role received awards). On a side note, could you imagine the brouhaha that would be raised if they cast an advocacy approved actress in the role and she couldn’t quite pull it off?

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By: WTF?!?

WTF?!? — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:48:16 +0000

“deaf and blind people have FAR bigger hurdles to climb with respect to their advocacy rights and the issues facing their community than a little girl playing a role. Considering the massive inequality in education and stereotypes for people with disabilities, you’d think these groups would spend their time fighting for people’s rights and actual progress.”

Zoe wins the smarty-pants award. Brilliantly said.

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By: Zoe

Zoe — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:00:16 +0000

As a professionally trained actor who once played Helen Keller on the stage (and was inspired by the role to later learn American Sign Language and thought about working as an interpreter), I have to say this comment is ridiculous. First of all, it’s called “acting” for a reason. I suppose serial killers should all be played by Ted Bundy and Elvis should come back from the great beyond to play himself. The whole point of the process of acting is creation and becoming something other than what you are. This reminds me of the lame controversy when Zhang Ziyi got all that anger from the Japanese who refused to watch “Memoirs of a Geisha” because she was a Chinese girl playing Japanese. SHE’S AN ACTRESS. It’s what she DOES. Secondly, as someone who spent time volunteering in the Deaf world, I can say that deaf and blind people have FAR bigger hurdles to climb with respect to their advocacy rights and the issues facing their community than a little girl playing a role. Considering the massive inequality in education and stereotypes for people with disabilities, you’d think these groups would spend their time fighting for people’s rights and actual progress.

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By: tiffany

tiffany — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:23:55 +0000

I absolutely LOVE her from the alien movie to no reservations, and she even made the semi sucky ‘The sister’s Keeper’ movie look good. Have they even heard of acting just because you are not blind and deaf does not mean you can’t pretend to be, ugh. critics.

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By: Piper

Piper — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:47:53 +0000

How do you think I felt as a green-skinned individual when they had the audacity to cast a WHITE woman as Elphaba and put her in green-face. Offensive and disgraceful. I can hardly get enough work as it is. You’d think they’d seek out a person who actually possessed this quality as opposed to an ‘actor’ who had to ‘pretend’ to understand what it was like.

Stephen Schwartz has yet to respond to any of my angry letters.

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