Their minds are sound. No matter what you see, no matter what you hear, no matter how it’s displayed, the people in Crip Camp have sanity out the wazoo. That might be hard to believe when you hear a person with Cerebral Palsy (“CP”). Those guys make The Elephant Man sound like an auctioneer. But, and I’m not kidding even a little here … I would rather engage with a CP than any member of MAGA. CPs are only “crippled” on the outside; their personalities aren’t broken.
In the years since WWII, the Catskills hosted many a summer retreat, but the one I knew the least has become my favorite of all – Crip Camp, an annual good-weather gathering for the disabled of all ranks. At Crip Camp, everybody has a voice. At Crip Camp, you are neither defined nor ranked by your malady, and at Crip Camp, there’s more sex than a party at Hef’s. What?! You heard me.
There are so many crabs at Crip Camp, the lobsters are jealous. Why? Well, pardon my French, but why-the-f*** not? You get … what? Two or three weeks to live your life? There ain’t time for shy, no legs, get in there and put your best foot –or whatever else you got instead- forward.
Act I of Crip Camp is a narration of the camp itself in gloriously preserved footage from the 60s and 70s. And the glory is as much as what the camera chose to shoot and what the film chose to include as the footage itself. We have an ugly tendency to blanket people and groups we don’t understand. I’m as guilty as any. The film wouldn’t let me do that. Not for one second. You are going to learn about these folks; you are going to distinguish polio from CP from a car accident and you’re going to know the names Judy Heumann, Larry Allison, and Denise Sherer Jacobson before this thing ends … and you’re going to love all of them.
Crip Camp is co-written, co-directed and narrated by longtime camper-turned-professional sound engineer James Lebrecht. Stair-only access didn’t stop him from working a sound booth; wheelchairs didn’t stop him from having a girlfriend, either. The camp was a special place and the campers knew it. Finally, they were in a habitat where somebody
would listen; and it wasn’t that their message or their voice was always import – is yours? -is mine? The point is that someone would listen. For once. The important stuff would come later.
The person who comes off the best in the film is the outspoken leader of the 1970s makeshift civil-rights-for-the-disabled movement, Judy Heumann. Crip Camp has collected literally decades of footage following this larger-than-life woman rise from ordinary camper to the nemesis of the United States Health, Education, and Welfare office. I wish every noble cause in the world had an advocate as strong and sharp as Judy. This her film above that of any her peers and the editors couldn’t have made a better choice.
Crip Camp is the rare social justice film with a positive tone. Were there hurdles to overcome? Puh-lenty, but you never felt sorry for anybody in the film – and that is despite the fact that the stars are all “handicapped.” This is one of those documentaries like Blackfish and Super Size Me that should be shown to every teen in America because empathy and understanding is never a bad thing. While it’s never too late to develop your sense of others, some things are better started before you start falling for the Trump view of the world.
Handicapped folks often get the cold shoulder
Whatever your fight is, I guarantee theirs is older
“Capable” is sometimes blind
Is “disabled” all in the mind?
No. But sometimes it applies to the beholder
Rated R, 106 Minutes
Director: James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham
Writer: James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham
Genre: Wonderful things you didn’t know existed
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Anybody who has ever lobbied for handicap rights
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Jerks
