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Blind: Major Films   no photo.
TitleCan You Feel Me Dancing (1986) (TV Film)
Alternative/Original Title
DisabilityBlind
CountryUSA
Length100
GenreBiography
Rating4
DirectorMichael Miller
CastJustine Bateman Jason Bateman Max Gail Frances Lee Mc Cain Roger Wilson
NotesFrom the true story of Cheryl McMannis and Joe Nasser. A teenage blind woman seeks independence from her family. First we see the blind girl (about 20) hang-gliding, encouraged and guided by her father. But she lands in the water and is rescued by a good looking hunk. She dates him, her first date with a sighted boy. Her parents are sensible but negative and over protective about the relationship She is accepted for college in New York (they live in California). Her parents of course don't think she can handle that and won't give her money to make it possible. The boy friend teaches her to dance with the usual consequences that they win something. She moves in with him. This is really where the film begins as we see her adapt to independent living. She applies for a scholarship so she can go to college and is interviewed by a blind woman who points out that she has never done anything independently. The girl mentions the hang-gliding and other 'sporting' achievements but the woman means the everyday things. [Last night on TV I saw a teenage girl in a wheelchair hoisted up to the crow's nest on a sailing ship. And everyone below clapped. Why? She hadn't done anything beside sit there in her chair. Of course they were applauding themselves.] The young woman attends a day skills class where she learns how to use a microwave, tell clothes of different colours apart etc........... The boyfriend takes her out to a night-club meets up with old friends, gets drunk and neglects her. She walks out in a huff and is mugged. So she learns self-defence. Definitely good material for comparing attitudes towards visually impaired people and their perceptions of themselves. The cotton-wooling of the young woman might appear far-fetched but this is based loosely on the stories of Cheryl McMannis and Joe Nasser who are seen very briefly in the film.

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