A single film’s representation of disability can alter a person’s life trajectory

Evidence

“What if I didn’t see I Am Sam?” Yasmin asked me. She told me she still finds herself thinking about that very question. “I would have given up,” she said. “I feel like I have been taught a lesson that just because something seems impossible, it doesn’t really mean that it’s impossible, and that you never really know what you’re capable of or what you can accomplish if you don’t keep fighting for it, no matter how bad things are.” — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 439

Categorization

• XREF: Media representation as causal force connects to the communication/media-effects literature and to ‘Don DeLillo’s White Noise’ themes of media saturation shaping self.
• QUESTION: The film I Am Sam depicts a man with an intellectual disability — the representation Yasmin saw herself in. Worth noting the irony that the film was widely criticized by disability advocates for its casting and portrayal.