Either way, if you figure he was shot because he didn’t have legs to run with or he was shot because he chrono-transported, it was some disability that killed him. You can read whatever you like into that, I suppose.

If they’d really wanted to get into some analysis of disability, then the book and the movie woudl have gone deeper into Henry’s addictions and self-destructive behaviour, but meeting Claire is supposed to magically cure him of that, isn’t it?

And here is where I wish I could turn off my analytical brain and just enjoy the lovely chemistry between the leads in the movie, becuase I thought they did a terrific job with the romance angle, and I need that escape every now and then.

As best I can recall, in the book he was shot just after materialising in mid-air, so it really wouldn’t have made a difference!

One other big thing that bothered me from a feminist perspective about the movie adaption was that they might as well have called it The Time Traveler rather than The Time Traveler’s Wife. The book is set in Claire’s chrono-time, not Henry’s, the movie was almost entirely from Henry’s point of view.

The “don’t worry; he’ll keep his legs” part was infuriating for two reasons. First, the obvious – it’s completely ableist and offensive as you noted. Second, it shows terrible, terrible adaptation skills. The only people who are worried he’s going to lose his legs are people who’ve read the book. There was NO need for the line at all. It broke the cardinal rule of screenplay adaptation – do not mention the stuff you’ve left out!

If Henry had not lost his legs, and they had left that line out, then it wouldn’t have been so bad on both fronts. (Keep in mind, it’s entirely possible that the reason they altered the story was to avoid the tremendous CGI costs of taking away Eric Bana’s legs.)

I have my problems with the novel and the movie, but I do think both do a tremendous job (Downs Syndrome stereotyping and fear aside) of showing that when disability is understood and accepted as a part of life, then life is much easier for the person with the disability, and for everyone around them.

In the book, Henry is at first in the closet at work, and his frequent, unexplained and sometimes very inconvenient absences cause problems. Later, his co-workers learn the truth, and they are incredibly (perhaps unrealistically?) understanding. In fact, everyone who finds out about his time traveling is relieved when they find out, because they assumed it was something much worse, that he was a criminal or addicted to bad drugs or a violent, very mean guy. So in a way, it’s cool, because they all say, “Oh,well, that’s okay. He has a disability; he’s not a fill-in-the-blank.” There is (for Hollywood) some disability-acceptance happening there.

I also loved to see Alba dealing with her condition with grace and confidence, because her parents understood and were helpful instead of being in denial about her disability and making things more difficult than they have to be. I’m trying not to think of my own adolescence, since that might lead to some bitter thoughts on that front.

All in all, I think the book and the film are kind of neutral – there is bad and there is good, but they pretty well balance in the end

I’ve read some criticisms of their desire to have a biological kid, but none from a disability standpoint. Looking at it through a disability lens, I like that they went there. I’ve always known there’s a chance that my hearing loss is genetic, and it’s been suggested to me by doctors that I could do genetic testing before having kids. But if I knew there was a 100% chance my kid would share my disability, I would still have one, and I don’t think it’s the least bit cruel. I mean, I’m here, I’m fine, and I didn’t even have the benefit of parents who shared and understood my hearing loss. So it was heartening to see Alba being just fine despite her parents knowing they were giving birth to a disabled child.

Alba has parents who understand what’s going on and who give her the skills she needs to survive with CI, and in the book at least, she says she thinks time travel is fun. (There wasn’t that much Alba in the movie, so I don’t remember what she had to say about it.) Henry, on the other hand has to play catch up learning skills and is never as adept at it as he’d like. He views time travel as a problem, something to be fixed.

I wonder if this is the difference between Social and Medical models of disability?

On the other hand, it could be a message that Alba is okay because she’s optimistic and if Henry could just stay positive, he’d be fine.
.-= Gnatalby´s last blog ..The Dumbing Down of Disability on Glee =-.