Braaains

Popcorn Disabilities: The highs and lows of disabled representation in the movies

Welcome to SEASON FIVE of Braaaaains!! WHA WHA??? We're kicking things off with the fantastic Kristen Lopez, who is a freelance pop culture journalist and the author of two books: But Have You Read the Book: 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films, published by TCM and Running Press in 2023, and Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies published by Bloomsbury Academic, which we'll be talking about today! As a film critic and disabled person, Kristen Lopez speaks with particular authority on how disability is represented-and too often misrepresented-in movies. Popcorn Disabilities is her impassioned, yet fun and engaging, survey of how Hollywood has dealt with disability over the last century. Over the course of this episode, we talk about little-remembered gems like Tod Browning's Freaks, one of the earliest well-intentioned attempts to show disabled characters as complex, three-dimensional human beings, to a slew of contemporary films, all of which have the power to enlighten, influence, and be used as a tool for social good.   Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Unfolding Faith and How Deconversion Redefines Identity and Relationships

Elyse Bouvier is a filmmaker, photographer, and writer who recently wrote and directed the short documentary, Unfolding Faith, for the National Film Board of Canada. In this nuanced and timely short film, Elyse explores how her decision to give up her faith redefined both her identity and her relationships with her parents.  We spoke to Elyse about her deconversion from Evangelical Christianity and what it was like to have raw yet empathetic conversations about faith while making her documentary with her devout mother and her father, a former pastor turned atheist. We also discussed shows like Unorthodox and films about transformation, like Barbie and Wild, and how Elyse would love to see TV and film tackle the nuanced, grey areas of the deconversion process and what it is like to live in mixed-faith families. CW: religion and religious themes DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript_EP078_Unfolding-Faith.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast  

Crip Trip and the Labour of Care Work

Today's guests are the creators and stars of Crip Trip, a new AMI-tv series following Daniel Ennett, a quadruple amputee, and his best friend turned first-time caregiver, Frederick Kroetsch, on a cross-country road trip from Edmonton to New York City in their beat-up 1983 RV.  Over the course of the series, they tackle the challenges of caregiving, government shortcomings, and personal growth, all while offering a unique and candid look at the disability community, friendship, and the fight for equal opportunities.  In our conversation about the series, we delve into a conversation about the realities of caregiving and how often we forget that care work is labour that often goes unrecognized and unpaid.  Sarah has had the opportunity to work with Daniel and Fred throughout her career and was one of the editors on the series. In fact, this past weekend, Crip Trip won two Rosie awards, including best editor for documentary series over 30 minutes!! So proud of them!! DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-Episode-077-Crip-Trip-and-the-Labour-of-Care-Work.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Military Service and Life After Deployment

Our guest, Dylan Park-Pettiford, is a writer, director, and author from the San Francisco Bay Area. He served as a member of the military for six years, including a deployment in Iraq during the Iraq War. Dylan wrote for the popular courtroom drama, ALL RISE, and served as a writer and consultant for 68 WHISKEY, which follows a group of army medics deployed to a forward operating base in Afghanistan. Dylan recently released his new book, Roadside: My Journey to Iraq and the Long Road Home. A military memoir by a biracial child of refugees and survivors, Roadside is about life and death, about family lost and gained, and about America, as a dream and a reality. In a world marred by a seemingly endless wave of negativity, this story of love, loss, and brotherhood may offer a faint glimmer of hope as we face an uncertain future. In this episode, we talk with Dylan about his time in Iraq as part of the US Military, the impact it had on his mental health, and what it was like to return home to a world that had moved on without him, especially when the violence he thought he'd left in the Middle East followed him home.  "An indelible story of war and survival. Roadside is a portrait of America, its wars, and the kids who fight them. It is also a map of the funny, tortured, and heartbreaking journey they must undertake if they want to return home."—Elliot Ackerman, award-winning author of On Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning. CW: We discuss PTSD, suicidal ideation, addiction, murder, and homelessness in this episode. READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-EP076-Military-Service-and-Life-After-Deployment.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Navigating Low Vision and Albinism on Pretty Blind

We are excited to talk to broadcast presenter, columnist, host, speaker, and now actor, Jennie Bovard. She stars in and is an associate producer for the scripted comedy series Pretty Blind on AMI. She is also the creator & host of the Low Vision Moments podcast, where she discusses her experiences with albinism and low vision. On today's episode, we talk about how Jennie developed the show based on the experiences she shared on her podcast. We also discuss albinism and low vision and what Jennie would love to see represented more on film and television – obviously, our favorite subject! TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Transcript-Episode-075_-Navigating-Low-Vision-and-Albinism-on-Pretty-Blind.pdf Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com Follow: @BraaainsPodcast Music: @_Deppisch_ Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast