Blindsight- Climb Every Mountain?

At the Chicago premier of the 2006 documentary film Blindsight I was reminded of Werner Herzog's The Land of Silence and Darknes (1971), on the work of German deaf- blind activist Fini Straubinger. It's disheartening to note the lack of substantive documentaries on blindness to follow Herzog's first feature length production. And Herzog can still be recognized as one of the first directors outside of the disability rights movement to cast actual disabled people in his films (as opposed to coddled Hollywood directors/ actors cloying grabs for Oscar nominations with their touching portrayals of disabled people's lives- a.k.a. the "Blackface" of Ableism). So, just in time and in the spirit of the season, here's my take on the new documentary film.

Blind people are no strangers to strories of overcoming- something producer Sybil Robson- Orr and director Lucy Walker (Devil's Playground) are certainly conscious of in their treatment of extreme sports enthusiast Erik Weihenmayer's bold concept for the film. Responding to an invitation to speak at Braille Without Borders following his historic climb to the top of Mount Everest (Weihenmayer is the first blind man to claim that distinction), Erik encouraged a group of six blind teens from the school to join him on an expedition to climb a 23,000 foot peak. Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is its surplus of "firsts" competing for attention: Braille Without Borders is the first school for the blind in Tibet, where, prior to its founding by Sabriye Tenberken in 1998, blind children were shunned and denied access to education. The word "zhara," meaning blind idiot, is a common slur in the region despite the unusally high number of blind people living in Tibet.

Rejected by the German peace corps because of her blindness, Sabriye traveled on horseback to the outlying villages of Lhasa on her own to recruit students to attend school. In its short ten year history Braille Without Borders has expanded to include a massage therapy training program and a working farm in addition to offering traditional academics, Braille and Orientation and Mobility classes.. Many students undergo a process called "self- integration" wherein they enter the general school system. The school now operates under the leadership of BWB graduate Kyila, one of the students featured in the film.

It is against these dramatic backstories that the teens' thrilling climbing expedition unfolds. As the team begins training exercises each student is paired with an experienced mountaineering guide . Erik coaches the teens on alternative techniques like walking with two staffs on rugged terrain as opposed to the white canes normally used for mobility. Sabriye voices her concerns about common dangers such as altitude sickness but ultimately consents, hoping for a memorable learning experience for her students.

For me the most interesting passages in the film took place in the kids' homes where parents' reactions to the expedition subtly and succinctly reveal truths about family dynamics and the diverse attitudes towards blindness found in Tibetan culture. One father recounts the day that smoke from fish frying on the fire seemed to aggrevate his daughters' vision, adding that he knows that her vision had likely already been affected prior to the incident. Another parent casually jokes with his son that, of the 200 annually reported climbing accidents, "you'll be the one to fall off the mountain."

A couple of summers ago, I worked with blind teens at a training center in Colorado where rock climbing are popular confidence- and trust- building exercises. I carry a lavalier keychain to remind me of that summer in which I scaled a sheer cliff or two of my own- literally. Rock climbing is a great tactile sport when combined with good training in responsible alternative techniques. I can tell you that the ropes and harnesses supporting one's weight in case of a mistep (or grab) are reassuringly thick. It's a sport requiring teamwork, trust, guts and a respect for others' natural strengths and limits. It also challenges you to live in the moment in a way that few activities can.

That said, Blindsight is a film that examines hubris and acceptance in equal parts, and the personalities of Erik and Sabriye are well- suited to the task of examining our complex relationships to each. Tension plays out most vividly during the climb itself as the western- trained mountaineers and Sabriye debate the true measure of a successful expedition, brining to light the underlyuing cultural differences between the American adventurers and Tibetan teens. It's reasonable to add that blind people need not "climb every mountain" in order to acheive self- confidence, particularly in a country already having to contend with things like nationalist oppression, poverty and foreign influence.

Braille Without Borders is itself a western import, though ultimately a valuable one for the people of Tibet. According to the producer in a Q&A following the Chicago screening, the school now has to issue vision tests as its popularity has grown to entice sighted applicants.

Learn more about Braille Without Borders and how to support their efforts in Tibet and India. More information on the film can be found at blindsightthemovie.com.

Lately

I've been pulled away from blogging due to a couple of self- imposed deadlines concerning vague academic ambitions that I'd rather not get into in detail just yet. Let the record show that personal statements are loathesome exercises in self- doubt. It's not that I have a problem with self- promotion, but I hate having to represent myself to an audience I know nothing about- save the fact that they are a shadowy ring of academics perhaps installed in a bunker atop the Alps. It's a daunting task. What do the high priests of intellectual taste want to know? Probably they'd like to know if I'd be any fun at a faculty party, but the zombie dialect of academic writing bars me from mentioning the time I was bitten on the knee under a bar table by my very inebriated and otherwise gay advisor.

The best I can do is mention this site, so that maybe someone will click on over on break from reviewing applications.

The nature of the work I want to do necessitates that I talk about my disability. Again, it helps to know your audience. Have they been educated on the rights of people with disabilities? Do I have some 'splainin' to do ? Or will revealing too much offend some one's need to perceive herself as politically correct and "supportive of diversity?"

Personal statements are a crazy maker.

I'll follow up on this thread soon.

Naysayers

"Ernesto" runs the cafe at the agency where I work. I noticed that my colleagues weren't encouraging E to do his job independently. I'd had some prior experience teaching cooking classes to blind teens, so I began working with him on grinding and brewing the coffee using nonvisual techniques. It's been a couple of months and he's completed training. He no longer needs our assistance to do his job. In fact, he's really great at it. He's a natural salesman, which I really envy.

My colleagues's have responded to all this not with encouragement as you would think but by grumbling about his "non- compliant behavior-" which I translate to mean that: they (the sighted staff) are made uncomfortable by the fact that Ernesto is doing his job independently- why? because said job involves handling hot liquids? And in what bizarre universe does wanting to do your job on schedule mark you as non- compliant?

Ernesto has come to me complaining about how these same staff members continue to tell him how to do his job. I suggested that he could go on strike on the days these folks' interferance becomes too much, but he has chosen to take the high road and negotiate, calling on a winning combination of charm and humor in dealing with these naysaysers.

I really don't care what they think. Ernesto loves his job and does it well. His social skilss are better than mine. End of story.

Tyra Banks, America's Moral Compass

Last week as America railed against national tragedy (no, not that icky war stuff! I'm talking about our fallen mouseketeer- where are you priotities people?!), Tyra Banks was back in the talkshow studio tending to the thankless job of saving America's youth from themselves. Here's a brief recap of Wednesday's Teenville episode:

Brave kids from various races and backgrounds spend time in a fabricated community, where they are faced with making quick decisions based on their first impressions of each other. From assigning occupations such as garbage man, mayor and prostitute to deciding who to marry and even who should be exiled, the outcomes reflect stereotypes that still exist in society today.

Wow, I feel safer knowing that Tyra is tackling this insidious social problem. I mean who knew that teenagers were succeptable to shallow, stereotypical behavior? What a scoop!

Tyra's mystified and outraged at some of the teens' mean choices, though a glimpse at the reasoning fueling her indignation is what's most appalling. In an interview with GMA, she talked about the groups' appointment of an overweight teen as the "Homeless Person." Tyra's noted that she herself had interviewed homeless people for a previous show and had observed that the homeless tended to be thin as they were in fact hungry. Deconstruct these words for yourselves, folks. I'm too tired.

Tyra's troubled not by the groups' cruel stereotyping so much as by what she views as its inaccuracy. Perhaps if her casting crew had pulled in a couple of disabled teens one of them could have lent the role more authenticity?

In reality, casting crews won't touch disabled people with a ten- foot pole. I throw up a little imagining the conversations that went on during production meetings for Teenville.

"Hmmm, let's see- garbage man? homeless person? Ooh, we'll need to pull in some uggos for those jobs."

"Are we looking for tv ugly or really ugly?"

"TV ugly, of course! This isn't Maury! Now, be a dear and get me headshots of some fat chicks..."

Am I too cynical? No, no I'm not.

For in the bizarro language of television, the fat girl is trotted out as a stand- in for ALL undesirable body types.

As for the girl the teens' decided was wearing too much eyeliner, she is SO NOT a prostitute! She looks beautiful, so don't even go there! Except that they did go there, coming down as hard on excessive makeup as they did on weight.

The thing I find most sad about the experiment is that none of the teens elected to reject or modify the occupations they were given, printed on dopey board signs. They followed the rules of the exercise, letting the group determine who they would be based on first impresions.

Tyra's clearly addicted to her own self righteousness, as evidenced by her two shows' preoccoupation with chiding perfectionism. The psychological landscape of Tyra's entertainment enterrprise should be studied. And I love the Dungeon of Self Absorption that is the Tyra Banks Show's website with links like Tyra's World.

Visual description: Five sad teens onstage at the Tyra Banks Show each with a white plaquard sign hanging around their necks. The two male Caucasian kids signs read Religious Leader and Mayor. The two African American girls' signs read Secretary and Garbage Man. The slightly heavier teens' sign reads Homeless Person.