Leonard Davis School DEI Committee & Library Resources: Videos
This research guide was developed in collaboration and in support of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. This is a living and changing document that will help connect various aspects of DEI
Mimi and DonaWhat happens when love runs out of time? For a 92-year-old mother, Mimi, who has cared 64 years for Dona, a daughter who has an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable—the likelihood that she will not outlive her daughter and the need to find her daughter a new home.
This poignant, heartbreaking and, at times, humorous documentary traces this process through the story of a quirky and deeply connected mother-daughter duo. The film spotlights the challenges of aging caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities—some 4.6 million Americans, 75% of whom live at home with family—and details the ripple effects of Dona's disability on three generations of a family.
Body & Soul: Diana & KathyBODY & SOUL: DIANA & KATHY, directed by Academy Award-nominee Alice Elliott, is a look at an unusual, symbiotic relationship between two people some would call profoundly disabled. Two of the country's most remarkable advocates for people with disabilities, Diana Braun, who has Down Syndrome, and Kathy Conour, who has cerebral palsy, met three decades ago and vowed to fight to live independent lives. Told in an intimate vérité style, the film is a story of a compelling and creative friendship, as Diana and Kathy model a grand experiment in independent living.
Publication Date: 2007
Freedom MachinesFREEDOM MACHINES looks at our beliefs about disability through the lens of technology access and use. The program explores how human experience and technological innovations are outpacing social policies through dramatic personal stories. Among them are Susanna who is beginning her college career, 38 year old Floyd Stewart who was paralyzed in mid-life while raising four children; 92 year old Gladys who is determined to overcome a hearing loss; and high school student Latoya Nesmith who dreams of becoming a translator at the U.N. Fifteen years after passage of the ADA, Freedom Machines is a riveting reflection on the status of life of America's largest minority group: 54 million people with disabilities.
Best Boy**Curator's note- terms in the description reflect the language used at the time of the film's release in 1979**
Best Boy tells the story of Philip “Philly” Wohl, a 50-year-old mentally retarded man who has spent most of his life living at home with his parents in Queens, NY. Philly is a gentle soul who is greatly loved by his family, but also over-protected by them. Philly's parents, Max and Pearl, both in their 70s, worry about what will happen to Philly when they are gone, but despite their concern about his future well-being, they have not prepared themselves or Philly for that time.
Never, that is, until a cousin—filmmaker Ira Wohl—becomes involved, starting Philly on a journey toward greater independence and a life beyond the home of his parents. Philly is granted access to a world outside the family home, an experience that both challenges and delights him. He forms a circle of support and friends, who become his "extended family.” The film—which spans four years—culminates in Philly moving into a group home with other developmentally disabled adults.
This Oscar-winning film chronicles the Wohls’ experiences as Philly ventures into a more independent life while telling the universal story of a child finally coming of age—even if the “child” is, in fact, a man of 50.
Publication Date: 1979
The Collector of Bedford StreetTHE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET is an Academy Award® nominated short documentary that follows the filmmaker's 60 year old neighbor, Larry Selman, a community activist and fundraiser who has an intellectual disability. Every year, Larry collects thousands of dollars for charities while living at the poverty line. When Larry’s primary caregiver becomes unable to care for him, his New York City neighborhood community rallies together to protect his independent lifestyle by establishing an adult trust fund in his behalf.
Publication Date: 2002
Neurodiversity
Neurotypical: A film about individuals on the Autism SpectrumFour-year-old Violet, teenaged Nicholas and adult Paula occupy different positions on the autism spectrum, but they are all at pivotal moments in their lives. How they and the people around them work out their perceptual and behavioral differences becomes a remarkable reflection of the "neurotypical" world — the world of the non-autistic — revealing inventive adaptations on each side and an emerging critique of both what it means to be normal and what it means to be human.