Race Equity Initiative (REI) Cultural Celebrations View as Webpage

For this week's issue of October Haunts, we look into how horror films have depicted persons with disabilities or mental health. We challenge you to think not just about the characters and how they are depicted, but also how the industry casts persons who may misrepresent this population.

“Hey there all you vampires, zombies, and werewolves, it’s another week and another newsletter. This week we’re going to be talking about something we can never escape: our own bodies.” -- Melanie Roland, Health Program

October Haunts: What's so scary about disability?

'Freaks' Is the Granddaddy of Disabled Horror, for... Director Tod Browning tries to destigmatize the disabled and remind them, in 1932, that they're people. [Editor's Note: This is Part 1 in a four-part series on disability and horror.] Read more www.indiewire.com

FRIGHTENING FACT!  Did you know that John Carpenter conceptualized his legendary villain Michael Myers from the film “Halloween” based on a college field trip to a psychiatric hospital? He saw a young boy, who was about 13, with what Carpenter called a "schizophrenic stare." His face inspired Dr. Loomis' quote in the movie when he describes Michael as having "the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes." Holy stigma!

What's So Scary About Disability? Horror movies still insist that the scariest thing of all is being disabled. It's October, the spookiest time of the year, and also the prime time for a resurgence in harmful stereotypes about disabled people in the media. Read more medium.com

3 Ways Popular Horror Movie Tropes Are Ableist Throughout my childhood, adolescence, and even my late teens, the threat of being "taken away" hung over my head like a guillotine. I don't mean like Liam Neeson "taken." I mean a specific kind of isolation that can only be used as a threat... Read more everydayfeminism.com

A Celebration of Empowerment for Disabled People in Horror Historically, disabled people have been demonized and used as visual cues for villainization in films, specifically within the genre of horror. They are often categorized into two polar opposites: either being written as a monster, or as a... Read more filmdaze.net

New Report: People of Color With and Without... Only 2.4 percent of all speaking or named characters in film were shown to have a disability in 2015 and none of the leading character were from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, according to a new report by... Read more www.respectability.org

Black Hollywood: The Struggle to Include Disability African Americans have had a long history of hardships in the United States. Brought to the Americas as slaves, many African Americans built a nation with their blood, sweat and tears. Contributing to music, art, sports, military and more, black... Read more www.respectability.org

WATCH: Hereditary (2018)

Listen, if I’m not talking about Director Jordan Peele, I’m talking about Ari Aster. This was called the scariest movie of 2018, but that’s because the terror comes from the powerhouse performances from Toni Collette and Alex Wollf. This film became an instant horror classic and I was grabbing my friend in the last 30 minutes and left stunned, it’s an amazing film! Hearing the phrase, ‘I am your mother!’ will never be the same.

'Hereditary,' Mad Horror, And Representation Of Mental... or me, the most haunting image of disability ever depicted in a horror film is a sequence in Stuart Gordon's From Beyond (adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's short story). A woman peers at the inmates of a psychiatric institution through the tiny... Read more theestablishment.co

'Hereditary' Taps Into the Unique Terror of Inherited... "When her life was unpolluted, she could be the most loving person in the world." Toni Colette's Annie delivers this line early in the nerve-shredding new horror film Hereditary during an uneasy eulogy for her troubled and secretive mother. Read more www.esquire.com

Watch on Kanopy (free), Showtime (free with subscription) Amazon, Redbox and Apple TV (rent)

WATCH: Take Shelter (2011)

"Take Shelter" is a quiet movie that builds to this crescendo that you see coming the entire time, but you cannot look away. Both Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain work amazingly well together in this movie. Is Curtis (Shannon) a prophet? You’ll have to watch and decide for yourself.

Take Shelter: A Portrait of America's Mental Health Crisis We desperately need to talk about mental health issues, immediately. Inspired by the boldness and rapidity of the #metoo movement, the defining issue of this decade and possibly the century, I feel more comfortable pointing out other elephants... Read more 25yearslatersite.com

Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter- A Sober, Poetic Take on... 10 Years Later: Take Shelter Take Shelter, director Jeff Nichols's sophomore feature and second collaboration with actor Michael Shannon (after Shotgun Stories) ranks among the best films released in 2011. A study of paranoia plaguing rural... Read more tilt.goombastomp.com

Watch on Starz, Spectrum (free with subscription), Prime, and Vudu (Rent)

WATCH: A Quiet Place (1 & 2)

Both "Hereditary" and "A Quiet Place" came out in the same year, 2018, and that’s important when it comes having a discussion about disability representation. John Krasinski, who plays the lead and father figure, also directed. (Jim from the Office has come a long way!) He gave several interviews about how he had to fight to actually have an actress who played his daughter who was deaf, and her disability is key to their survival. A great movie and the sequel just came out!

How 'A Quiet Place' Breaks the Mold in Its Depiction of... Having seen "The Intouchables," a fantastic film, I feel little need to go see most films about disability. I won't be watching "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot." Gus Van Sant is a good filmmaker, I like Joaquin Phoenix, and John Callahan... Read more themighty.com

'A Quiet Place' Does What Most Films Have Failed to Do Content note: spoilers ahead] By Jazmine Joyner I was worried before seeing "A Quiet Place", a new horror film directed by John Krasinski. It stars Emily Blunt, Krasinski, Noah Jupe, and deaf actress Millicent Simmonds. The film is about a family ... Read more www.wearyourvoicemag.com

Watch on FXNow, Paramount+, ABC, Spectum (all free with subscription) Amazon, Redbox, and Apple TV (rent)

WATCH: Run (2020)

Remember what I just said about "A Quiet Place" and representation? Kiera Allen stars alongside Sarah Paulson in this horror/thriller on Hulu and it’s going to give you some very creepy Mommy Dearest vibes! Don’t walk, run to Hulu to watch to movie!

Kiera Allen on Headlining 'Run,' the First Major... You may come into the new thriller " Run" a fan of Sarah Paulson or of filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty, who previously frayed nerves with his film "Searching." But you will undoubtedly leave a fan of Kiera Allen, the remarkable actor at the center of... Read more variety.com

'Run': The Horror of the Disabled Throughout horror, wheelchair users and the physically disabled have been collateral damage and vu lnerable cannon fodder for the director's narrative. From Joan Crawford's frail Blanche in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Read more manorvellum.medium.com

Watch on Hulu

Law Foundation's REI Workgroup 6 Cultural Celebration is creatively curating content that highlights local heritage celebrations and elevate the diverse cultures represented in our Santa Clara County. Law Foundation has seen that integrating community celebrations as part of the office culture presented an opportunity for our staff to share their heritage and traditions and to better understand and connect with the diverse community we serve. Kindly, Anuja, Melanie R., Nuemi, Christine N. & Vicky

We encourage feedback and recommendations for future celebrations!

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