I joined the crowds to watch Avatar the other day. It was a surreal experience wheeling out after watching a movie where the hero is a paraplegic marine. I felt exposed in a way I rarely do.
I didn't recognise Sam Worthington, even though I'd seen him in Terminator Salvation a while ago. I thought he really was paralysed. His legs were thin, his transfers effective, he looked comfortable in his chair. And he has a lot of screentime not being an avatar (you have to see the film) - far more than I'd expected. He falls and can't get up; he revels in the sensation of his toes in the sand (that struck a real chord); he thrills in his new legs and can't stop running. It's well-observed.
Yet there are elements that made me feel uncomfortable, such as when one of his colleagues drags him backwards by his chair because she wants him to stay by her side. I suppose that could happen: I've found myself been unexpectedly pushed up a slope. I'd hope that people would realise that my chair is part of me and that to push it is invading my space. But in reality people don't realise this, people do sometimes grab my chair without my asking. So maybe the scenes in the film are true to life.
And the film brings a little of the reality of paraplegia to a massive audience in a way no other film has done before. So whilst it's not perfect, it raises awareness. It shows that it's possible to live a life pretty similar to those around you. It exposes some of the prejudice you might encounter in a wheelchair. No commercial film is going to be able to convey what it's really like and most that show paraplegics have flaws: the lawyer in Notting Hill, Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July... But isn't it better to include a wheelchair user even if the actor themself is not disabled? I'd rather see an able-bodied actor using a wheelchair on screen than see no wheelchairs at all.
