Movie Response #4: "Loosing It"

Tony Ive
Matt Wappet
Core 122
Movie Response #4 Losing It
November 7, 2008
Movie Response #4 Losing It
The creator of Losing It traveled to Italy where she met a man named Marino. Marino had been recovering over the past ten years from Wilsons disease. When Marino began his journey with Wilsons disease he described himself as “totally dead” because he was so isolated. The isolation set of an uncontrollable anger. It was connected to the speed of his communication. He felt that others would constantly leave him behind in all aspects of life whether it was walking down the street or a conversation. He became self conscious and scared. He said he does not have a job because he is afraid. The Italian government declared Marino incapable of having social relationships.
The next person introduced in the film is Karol Robinson. Karol worked for the state of New York. She had a disability that required her to use a wheel chair. She considered herself dependent but was the most independent disabled person she new. Karol felt that non disabled people asked disabled people personal questions that would not otherwise be appropriate. Karol felt that her disability allowed her to view the world from a broader perspective. When Karol and her husband went out in public they would receive stares. Other people would assume that her husband was her personal care taker or employee and nothing more. Her children felt she was separated from society by race, and disability.
Russia’s treatment of people with disabilities was similar to that of the United States prior to the early fifties. Under socialism disabled people were not allowed in public. Nothing in Russia was designed to be accessible by people in wheel chairs. When able bodied people saw someone with a disability they would stare.
In Hong Kong disabled people were mostly jobless. Companies were not required to hire them. Like in other countries, the disabled community felt abandoned but stuck together for support. People in Hong Kong did not care about disabled people either way. They did not want to adjust in order to accommodate them. Doctors seemed more enthusiastic about helping people with disabilities than in other countries.
Italy did not have accessible public spaces. Able bodied people in Italy separated themselves from people with disabilities. Sao Palo Brazil was not wheel chair accessible and people with disabilities were paid less than able bodied people for the same work. There were two opposing opinions of people with disabilities. One was a sense of pity, and the other was disgust.
New York was more accessible than the other countries in the documentary. People would ask disabled people personal questions. It is appropriate for able bodied people to stare at people with disabilities. The New Yorker’s demonstrated curiosity and doubt about the capabilities of the disabled.
All of the disabled people in the film had similar experiences and feelings. Every person with a disability felt like they were being stared at when they walked down the street. They felt they were ostracized from their communities. Every country had accessibility problems. They all had various prejudices and assumptions. There was not a place where a disabled person was viewed as a capable human being.