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I think it’s time to take a break from my usual chat about disability and have what I have christened one of my HRRs, that is a Holly’s Random Review. This is when I use my blog to give my thoughts on a show, film or other piece of entertainment that I’ve seen. I do this normally when it’s been a big treat or something I have particularly enjoyed or just when I haven’t found a news story that had piqued my interest. So I have decided to give my opinion on the film I’ve just seen: La La Land
La La Land (PG-13)
This modern take on the classic 1940s Hollywood musicals follows the love story between frustrated jazz musician Seb (Ryan Gosling) and waitress and wannabee actress Mia (Emma Stone) as they struggle to build and maintain their love affair while at the same time pursuing their individual careers in tinsel town. The movie has been showered with acclaim by critics who seem enraptured by director Damien Chazelle’s attempt to take the genre in new directions for the modern era but personally I found the work problematic. While the film starts of on a sunny, upbeat note with a number in which drivers stuck in traffic on the Los Angeles highway jump out of their cars to sing and dance, followed closely by another featuring our heroine getting ready for a night on the town with her girlfriends. The film quickly sags into a tone more fitting to an semi-serious examination of modern relationships with large periods of realistic dialogue and acting during which it is easy to forget you are watching a musical at all. I don’t have anything against realistic drama, though it is not a genre I particularly enjoy, nor am I against heightened realities on film as long as the hyped-up style is constant throughout the piece. But the two married together is very jarring for a watcher of modern musicals, who perhaps needs the cartoon burlesque factor of Chicago or Hairspray or the overblown melodrama of the screen versions of Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables to feel comfortable with characters bursting into song at any moment. It is almost too comical to have our leads exchanging natural dialogue about their lives and dreams one minute and then floating up to dance on the ceiling the next.
Of course Chazelle is trying to reference something great here, looking back to the great ‘put on a show’ shows of MGM such as Singin’ in the Rain or A Star Is Born. But while audiences of the time were happy to believe the puffed dream of Hollywood glamour, viewers in the 21st century are perhaps a little more savvy as to what goes on behind the silver screen, and trying to address this more sophisticated view on the world Chazelle perhaps loses something. Seb and Mia are very modern characters with all the flaws, hang-ups and ego drives of modern performers trying to be a success, they behave and are played like a hundred other romantic leads in other comedies and dramas. The performances by Gosling and Stone are subtle and not overblown so when they do suddenly burst into song out of the blue its seems frankly bizarre. Maybe if everything had been ramped up to ten with violent declarations of love and hysterical sobbing the addition of songs wouldn’t seem so out of place. But La La Land wants to have its cake and eat it, being both naturalistic for long stretches and then diving half-heartedly into fantasy when it remembers it isn’t simply a drama. The setting is very much a Hollywood version of Hollywood; back lots and palm trees, where the seedier side of struggle and failure is only hinted at, a Hollywood that perhaps did exist once upon a time but is unbelievable in 2017.
The overall atmosphere of La La Land is that of a unenthusiastic smugness. The film gives the impression that its doing something deep and marvellous while in fact no-one seems to be trying that hard. The songs are melodic and hummable but easily forgettable once the credits roll which is bizarre as Gosling’s character is meant to have a passion for jazz. Likewise, Gosling himself does a passable job in the role. He can hold a tune but that’s no challenge as the melodies are so marshmallow light that they can be spoke-sung without much effort, although his whole demeanour gives of the air of someone who isn’t really comfortable as a song and dance man. Whenever he performs, you are given the distinct impression that he finds it all rather embarrassing and would be much happier if this was just a straight drama. As for Stone, the word to describe her, and so much else in this film is ‘nice’. She looks very pretty crying in the close-ups and her voice is sugary and a lot better than some past actors and actresses roped into the rebirth of the big hit musical (see Richard Gere in Chicago). But what the film highlights is that these days a big name doesn’t guarantee the skills needed to carry off a musical performance and for those who have seen real singers and dancers who have to come up to scratch night after night on stage, the flaws show. This is especially the case with much of the dancing which seems lacklustre and walked-through, making you realise just how much effort and skill is put in to something like say Strictly. Because Chazelle has borrowed so much from the greats of the past; Astaire, Kelly, every number leaves you with the reminder that it’s all been done many years before and so much better.
What makes La La Land differ from those golden movies of the past is that it lacks heart. I don’t have a problem with it creating a highly false edifice so long as there are some true emotions behind it. The problem is the story of Mia and Seb’s very modern romance doesn’t seem to fit within the reality the film tries to create.
2/5 Overhyped and boring. Nice background film for grandmas.
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Working within any industry can have advantages and disadvantages for any individual, but especially if you have a disability. As mentioned in my previous blog about the impact of Unconscious Bias in recruitment and selection, it might be harder to get shortlisted for an interview if you’ve spoken openly about your disability in your cover letter. But what happens once you’ve got the job? When you get through the front door of your new career? Is everything ready for you?
A study in 2016 found that 1 in 5 claimed employers failed to make adequate provisions to accommodate their, or their colleagues’, disabilities. This statistic is shocking in a time when 20% of the UK have either a genetic or accidental disability.
According to the Equality Act 2010, an employer must consider making “reasonable adjustments” for a disabled employee or job applicant if:
- It becomes aware of their disability and/or
- They ask for adjustments to be made and/or
- A disabled employee is having difficulty with any part of their job and/or
- Either an employee’s sickness record or delay in returning to work is linked to their disability.
So does this mean 1 in 5 employers aren’t showing signs of equality in their workplace, or does it mean that they haven’t shown adequate change within their business for their employees?
So once those changes have been made, you’d expect that you would join in with your colleagues on the progression ladder of your new career? According to a study commissioned by the PMI Health Group in 2016, this may not be the case. The study showed that 37% of UK workers believe disability is still a barrier to career progression.
So while you may be completing the same work as your colleagues, you may not get the promotion you deserve.
However, this may not be pinned down to a lack of equality within your office. There may be other factors at hand – born out of lack of knowledge from the employer who only has your best interest at heart.
Purple, an organisation that provides bespoke advice to employers and disabled employees, found that 45% of UK businesses are nervous about hiring a disabled person, citing further concerns about the interview process, not knowing whether to help with tasks such as opening doors or pulling out chairs and falling foul of discrimination law.
So what can be done?
There are many solutions to this issue, but one that ranks higher above all is the need for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion training within organisations.
The common reason for inequality against yourself, or a member of your team with a disability, can stem from a lack of knowledge from both sides. You understand what assistance you need, but are unable to communicate it in an efficient way. Maybe you feel as if you are being awkward, or “don’t want to be too much of a hassle.”
But it can also come from the employer. They may be unable to communicate with you in a way that doesn’t come across as insensitive. They may not understand that you are used to this conversation, and feel comfortable talking about it openly.
Enhance The UK provide Disability Awareness Training in Organisations, and my organisation Righttrack Consultancy creates bespoke Equality and Diversity Training. Both these programmes are designed to help alleviate the awkwardness in these types of conversations, as well as providing practical knowledge, skills and awareness to champion fair, non-discriminatory practice.
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As well as delivering disability awareness training for Enhance the UK, I also give motivational speeches, mainly in schools, for presentation evenings and assemblies. It is quite possibly my favourite kind of work, as I feel that there, just by being merely present as a 20-something in a wheelchair, I am making a difference. Disability awareness starts in schools, and this is where we need to focus our efforts, collectively. This is why:
- Children listen, and can still develop their own opinions.
Children are by far the most interactive and engaged when it comes to my impairment. They marvel at my pink and purple spokes, and find all the similarities between my chair and their pram, rather than focusing on the differences between us. They are still open to new ideas and forming their own opinions. To me, it is vital that I give them a positive and welcoming view of disability, especially before their parents ‘shoo’ them away!
- They can teach adults too!
Young people are often the ‘ice breaker’ that enables an older person to become flexible with their own thoughts. If a child knows how to help a visually impaired person cross the road from what they learnt at school, for example, there is no reason why they can’t educate those around them, too.
- Preparing for a more inclusive future generation.
The youngest amongst us have the pressure of providing the brightest future they can for all. That future is one that I want to be accessible, inclusive and welcoming. Let’s focus on making our school children so disability aware that, finally, it is normalised and accepted.
I’ve now been volunteering for over ten years, for causes I care deeply about and with friends I’ve made from all over the world. As a wheelchair user, a huge focus has been on disability awareness and its importance, which has ultimately led me to a brilliant role with Enhance the UK, but still I am often asked why I volunteer when I could be spending that time and energy bettering my bank account. Granted, I have a mortgage to cover and a car to run, but nothing quite compares to the ‘buzz’ of helping out at a major sporting event, a gig, or cheering others on from marathon sidelines…
Volunteering became a meaningful part of my life at the age of 16 when I travelled to southern Africa with the Journey of a Lifetime Trust, a charity that takes young disabled or disadvantaged people literally on a ‘Journey of a Lifetime’ to an exotic location. We rode elephants in Lesotho, climbed sand dunes in Namibia, and cage-dived with sharks off the coast of Capetown, but we also taught in schools and visited HIV/AIDS clinics. This made me want to come back home, share a little bit of what I had experienced overseas, and encourage others to look out for opportunities to help others.
I then joined lots of great societies at Queen Mary, University of London, where I studied English Literature. I also went on a year’s exchange to Melbourne, Australia and helped out in a juvenile prison. All of these experiences opened my eyes. I was no longer going through life in search only of my own progression, and ventures that would help me to succeed. When you unleash that desire to think about and help someone else, and realise that this also helps yourself and makes you a better person, then you’ve unleashed a beautiful potential. And it’s a potential that everybody has.
Nothing quite compared, however, to my experience as a Gamesmaker at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. I made some wonderful friends, got to see the performances of so many incredible athletes, and I even got a personal mention from Sebastian Coe in his Closing Ceremony Speech! I had told him that the Paralympic Games had ‘lifted a cloud of limitation’ for anyone who may have previously been seen as limited, be it through a physical impairment, or even a lack of confidence to follow their dreams. I was lucky enough to also help out at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games (a city I totally fell in love with, and where I now live!) and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the incredible Rio, an amazingly vibrant city I consider to be my second home.
On a broader scale, this is what volunteering does for me. When asked, I can never ‘put a finger’ on why I do it, but to know that I’ve helped to make something wonderful happen, whether that’s helping a young person with their CV and interview skills, giving an offender hopes and opportunities for when they leave their institution, or being a part of the amazing event that was London 2012: that is one great feeling.
There’s always an opportunity to volunteer with us at Enhance the UK: visit us and see what you think! www.enhancetheuk.org