Crip Camp Review

A scene from Camp Jened in NY, 1971. The camp that  sparked a movement and the documentary "Crip Camp" 

After watching Crip Camp, my recommendation still holds. I feel everyone should watch this documentary, with the exception of children under age 13. It has some foul language, along with sex references and drug references in it. No nudity. So parents, you decide what is appropriate for your kids. If I had kids, I would watch it with a 13 year old and older. I would not let them watch it alone. I would encourage real discussions about everything in the documentary. That is what I would do. 

Crip Camp starts out with real footage from a camp in the Catskill Mountains of NY named Camp Jened. It does a good job of depicting what summer camp was all about. It shows campers, counselors, and the director in action, along with interviews from 1971 and present day.  It then goes on to show how Camp was a springboard to something bigger. Way bigger than I ever imagined. It started a movement which led to the signing of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)... almost 20 years later! It was a long and difficult road for the people involved, and the documentary does a good job of showing the struggles that a lot of people went through to get to that point. They endured hardships that no human should ever have to endure. It is safe to say... people with disabilities would have endured more hardships their entire lives if these brave, strong people didn't stand up for what was right.

I wonder how Susan's life has changed since the ADA was signed into law. 

They weren't asking for handouts or monetary support. They were asking to have EQUAL rights and EQUAL access. Believe it or not, access to  buildings and transportation via ramps, lifts, elevators, etc was not common in the 1970s. So people with wheelchairs were either denied access to areas because of limitations, or they had to crawl up stairs and get help with their wheelchairs. Can you imagine that being a real thing? Well, it was as recent as 1990. I personally was flabbergasted that this was such a struggle and that I have never heard of this story. Truth be told, this is a big part of American History and should be taught in schools today, but it is not. Why that is, I have no idea! It just shows me that we still have some ways to go to make things truly equal for people with disabilities and other minorities for that matter. We need to keep striving to make things equal for these people. As one person in the film says "If I have to keep being thankful for just having an accessible bathroom, when will I ever be truly equal?"

One of the main phrases used back then by the government was "Separate but Equal". Similar to how they segregated African Americans before then, but said they still had equal rights. What a laugh that is. Essentially saying that people with disabilities have all the same rights as other people, and just because they can't get into a building, that that doesn't undermine their equal rights. Again, laughable! How the hell can you have equal rights when you can't even get into a building where you might like to work someday? The opportunities for employment were severely inadequate back then, and quite frankly still are to this day. It is better than 1971, but still inadequate. And employment is just one aspect of their fight. Imagine in your everyday life that you can't access a building you want to enter, or you don't have access to whatever bathroom is closest, or when you get out of a car or taxi you might have to stay on the street for a block or two until you find a spot you can get to the sidewalk. These were atrocities they faced everyday. And our government didn't understand what was wrong with that. It truly blew my mind. It went through several administrations too. It started with Nixon and moved through Ford, Carter and Reagan. Finally President Bush signed into law the ADA. 19 years after these people started their fight. You really have to watch this film to get the full impact of what I am saying here!!

On a lighter note, the documentary had some great wisdom, insight and humor in it. In the beginning of the film one camper is interviewing another. He asks "Would you like to see handicapped people depicted as people?". The second camper said "Excuse me?". It really is a ridiculous question, but it was their reality back then to have the feeling they weren't even looked upon as people.

Dan The Hamm is an iconic person at Rocky Mountain Village. The pin on his hat could not have said it better.

The director at the camp was on camera digging some holes. He was asked what he was doing and he said "I was out here by the pool watching the kids swim. I decided to dig a few holes because the kids are kind of clumsy, and I thought it would be funny if they tripped". Taken out of context that might be seen as cruel, but actually the director was just playing a prank on the campers. Pranks are a big part of every camp, so why not prank kids who have disabilities. They shouldn't be excluded from camp traditions. It goes on to solidify that point when the camper who is interviewing him says "Teach us cripples a lesson" and the director says "That's right" and they both chuckle. The camper saw the humor in it and they knew the director well enough to know he was being funny. The director goes on to further explain the ideas of camp and how camp was designed so that teenagers can be teenagers without all the stereotypes and  labels. Then, in my opinion, one of the most profound comments in the whole film followed as he said "We realized the problem did not exist with people with disabilities. The problem existed with people who didn't have disabilities. It was our problem. So it was important for US to change." Whew, read that quote again. It is so right on!

There are so many great moments in this film like that. Moments that made you laugh, and then go huh? Wait, let me rewind that. Is that what I thought they said? A lot of it is far beyond my comprehension. I can't believe that those were real moments at that time. But they were. I found myself rewinding quite a bit to watch a seen or hear a quote again. And I will be re-watching this film a few times to keep educating myself on the disingenuous of the times. I don't want to give too many of the good parts away, so please watch the film!

Some of the other things that struck me was how progressive the camp was. It was way ahead of its time. For instance, some of the counselors that worked at camp had physical disabilities. They probably wouldn't have been able to get a job out in the "real" world, but at camp they could easily work and be looked upon as peers, not just a number. This is how it should always be of course! But I am afraid it is not, not even today to be truthful.

DJ came to Rocky Mountain Village many years ago as a camper. He now comes to volunteer 3 or 4 weeks.

I was also struck by how the campers were so honest with their thoughts and opinions. On their home life, parents, and more. They openly discussed how their parents made them feel when they were being overprotective. In some ways, the parents were limiting their own children and playing right into the beliefs of society as a whole. And today there are still parents that way.  I was awestruck how families of people with disabilities looked down upon certain others who had disabilities. Apparently there was a hierarchy among the people with disabilities, at least some of them. For instance, people who had CP (Cerebral Palsy) were on the bottom and people who had Polio were on the top. All because people with Polio "looked" more normal. This is according to some of the people in the film. It really is hard to understand that, and it does drive home a point that we can't truly understand what someone else is going through. And that goes with people with disabilities and people without disabilities. But really, don't we all have some sort of disability? I know I have a few. Thank goodness there as been some progress and great education on the matters to change view points on it, from parents and society. And we still have some ways to go so that ALL of society will understand.

I also loved how they openly talked about their sex lives. Just because someone has a physical or mental disability, doesn't mean they don't have all the raging hormones that every teenager has. They have all the same wants, needs, and urges as any teenager has had since the beginning of time. They talked about how people viewed them and how they viewed themselves. It was eye opening for sure.

He certainly does have it all! 

Of course I fell in love with the people from the movie. From some of the campers, to the counselors, the director, and even a few politicians who helped them. There are some really intelligent, brave, strong, tenacious people in this film. They did some incredible things back then to get laws passed and a lot of them are still alive today and working hard to make the world a better place for EVERYONE!

Another thing that struck me were the things I learned about other people and groups from history. For instance, I was surprised that Jimmy Carter didn't do more. He was and is such a great humanitarian that I would have thought he would have signed a bill into law right away. Also, the group the Black Panthers was a tremendous help to their movement. Everything I have heard about the Black Panthers has been negative. Now I have to rethink that and other thoughts I have had. So much of this film opened my eyes to things I never knew and things I thought I knew, but really didn't.

I could truly go on and on and discuss parts of the movie I found profound and thought provoking. I can write about all the people in the film that were, and still are incredible. However, I don't want to give away too much more about it. I can only encourage each of you to watch it. It is emotional, educating, and thought provoking at the very least. It should open up lines of communication with the people around you, especially our youth. I feel they have the most to learn from all of it. So, let me know any and all thoughts you have about the film. I will be curious to know.

                Now Go Out and Hug...... Someone Today!!!