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May/June, 1998

 
Superman's Telethon.

The March 1 ABC-TV two-hour special, "Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope" included Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gloria Estefan, Amy Grant, John Lithgow, Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep, Robin Williams and Stevie Wonder. And, as the ABC promo added, "Reeve's devoted wife, Dana.".

"If it looks like a telethon and sounds like a telethon, then it's a telethon!" one of our readers quipped. Another was "sad to see Reeve devote his considerable charisma and skill to the same old 'cure is everything' message.".

Joel Gibson felt the "entire exercise just shows how Hollywood hates the idea of disability.

"They want to stamp it out - they don't see it as being anything like gay rights, Native American rights-hot topics to Hollywood. But for us it's still 'cure-em.' ".

Particularly galling was a dance-troupe number featuring two apparently nondisabled men and a woman who used a wheelchair. Periodically the woman would be lifted out of the chair and "flown" through the air by one of the men. The symbolism was unmistakable -- and irritating to a number of readers.

"Why can't Hollywood' get it' about disability?" Shirley Smith added. "We're one of their causes only if they can 'cure' us. They dream of eliminating disability. .

"When will Hollywood understand this is a rights movement?" asked Ben Christopher.

"There's no real reason Reeve has become a spokesperson other than that he's a celebrity," said Ragged Edge reader Tom Franklin.

"Reeve was allegedly involved in 'issues' before he became disabled, but now I think it was just window dressing, the way a lot of celebrities are," added Melinda Jeffries. "The pattern here is really that he doesn't touch stuff that really requires social change - or even legislative change; he sticks with safe stuff. Like cure.".

"There are forces behind Reeve that we know not of," added Jeffries, who said "cure giants" got to Reeve before the rights movement was "savvy enough to glom onto him.".

The movement should picket Reeve "just like we've picketed the Lewis version," she said.

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