Reframed - Emma Myers + Prue Stevenson

Unknown Speaker 0:00

Jason,

Jason Clymo 0:07

welcome to reframe the panel show that analyzes all things disability in media.

Stephanie Dower 0:17

I'm Jason Kleiman and I'm Stephanie Dower, and let's meet today's guests on the desk. Emma Myers is a screenwriter, actor, journalist and disability advocate. She co created the critically acclaimed and one of my favorite TV series, late comers on SBS, and is currently a disability rights and political reporter at national radio news and a TEDx Sydney speaker. Welcome Emma.

Emma Myers 0:43

Thank you so much.

Jason Clymo 0:45

I know lots there. We're also joined by Prue Stevenson, who is a multi disciplinary artist and change agent whose work spans across painting, ceramics, textiles and performance art. They also work as an access consultant with organizations like arts center Melbourne loom arts and management midsummer festival and National Association for the visual arts. Welcome. Pru so happy to have you.

Unknown Speaker 1:10

Thanks for having me. Yay.

Stephanie Dower 1:13

All right, so we're just going to ask you guys a few questions, just to get in to know you a little bit better, Emma, we might start with you. I'm curious to know, and I think I've heard you talk about it before, but I'm keen to hear it again. What inspired you to write late comers, where did that come from?

Emma Myers 1:31

Pretty much not ever having had a relationship and always feeling like I was put on the shelf and just wanting to explore sexuality when you have a disability, so I pretty much just took inspiration from my own non eventful life until late cometh.

Jason Clymo 1:56

Brilliant and just a quick question for me. I would love to know how your lived experience of disability informs your artistic practice.

Emma Myers 2:05

Look, I think I take inspiration from my life on a daily basis, and I think having a disability makes life a lot more interesting and a lot more versatile, and forces you to think outside the box. And so, yeah, I think it just meshes well together, and it's allowed me to create an entire career that I've always wanted but never thought I could achieve fresh

Stephanie Dower 2:37

perspective. Yeah,

Jason Clymo 2:40

thank you, and we'll move on to you now, Pru, so, Pru, can you just tell us a little bit more about your arts practice?

Prue Stevenson 2:47

Well, I am. I use any medium that matches my sensory profile. I put it through a process, those materials through a process, usually with like, a repetitive regulatory input for me, then the wiz usually has the outcome of celebrating autistic culture through the benefit, with the benefit of supporting all neurotypes, awesome, all people,

Jason Clymo 3:18

things are about to get competitive, because It is time to get your head in the frame. Crew, I'll be asking our panel for multiple choice questions about pop culture and media. Maybe we'll laugh, and maybe we might actually learn something. All right, are we ready? I'm ready. Question one in the 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. Ali Stroker was the first performer on Broadway to appear on stage using what mobility aid, a, hearing aids B, prosthetic limb or C, a wheelchair, wheelchair. Wowsers, that was like, super cool, and you are correct. Question two, what is the name of the disabled actor who recently starred in Netflix's woman of the hour? A, Luna, best, B, July, best or C, autumn? Best, autumn. Best, yep, you are right again,

Stephanie Dower 4:21

I've never, yeah, okay, I'm sad I didn't know that. Yeah, but now I want to watch woman of the hour, because I didn't know there

Emma Myers 4:27

was a disabled I've never even seen or heard of it, but autumn

Stephanie Dower 4:31

is a common name. Yes, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah.

Jason Clymo 4:35

Question three, what year did Zach got zag and make history as the Academy Awards first presenter with Down syndrome. A, 2011 B, 2020, or C, 2017 Okay, not even waiting for all the answers. Okay. 2017 incorrect.

Emma Myers 4:58

20 or.

Unknown Speaker 4:59

In incorrect

Unknown Speaker 5:04

the other answer.

Jason Clymo 5:07

Correct, it was 2020 Yeah, I thought it was way before

Emma Myers 5:13

that. I mean, I thought 2020 but it didn't I thought that it was COVID and it got canceled. 2020

Stephanie Dower 5:19

just sounded too recent for me. Yeah.

Jason Clymo 5:22

Before I get into the last question, little quick tally of the points, Steph is on zero. Gee, Amazon two. Pru is on 1/4. And final question, what's the name of the Deaf Cavapoo in season three of bluey a, Dougie, B, Dougal. Dougie, it is Dougie, well done. I think Emma is our ultimate of this episode, and maybe the whole series. And I really think we need a legends round. Are you hiding a trophy under there? There is absolutely no prize other than get the satisfaction inflated.

Emma Myers 6:04

I mean, I am, I am like a pub to be, if

Stephanie Dower 6:09

you can tell,

Jason Clymo 6:11

amazing work. Congratulations. You are this episode's winner.

Stephanie Dower 6:17

All right, now it's time for show and talk. So each of our wonderful guests have brought a piece of media along for us to watch and discuss. Each clip will show disability in media in some form or another, and we'll have a chat about how that made us feel about the representation. So Pru Do you want to just tell us what film you've brought for us to talk about today?

Speaker 1 6:40

Malcolm from 1986 so it was filmed in Melbourne, in Preston tram yards and, and it had and, and, and it's a bank

Stephanie Dower 6:53

heist. It is. It is a super fun film, so let's watch a quick clip, and then we'll talk about it.

Speaker 2 7:13

They're laughing at me out there. You know that? Do you even care I employ a bloke like you, out of the goodness of my heart, and what do I get? Some loony who uses the department's time, money and spare parts to build his own model tram. For Christ's sake, are you listening to me? Malcolm, yes, then look at me. For Christ's sake, you've done it this time. You know, Malcolm, you do know that I am getting through to you, aren't I? You are five sacked. Do you understand from now on? God help me, I'm only staffing this place with 100 percenters, and that's all the full quid savvy. Now get out of here. I'll be lucky to keep my own job, but I'll make sure as hell you don't keep yours,

Unknown Speaker 7:58

but I still keep me tram.

Unknown Speaker 8:00

What? Get out all

Stephanie Dower 8:09

right? So, Malcolm, it's super fun. I mean, I watched it for the first time just recently, and, yeah, there's a lot to a lot to talk about. So, Pru Why did you want to talk about this today? Why do you do you like Malcolm? Do you think they did a good job of disability representation?

Speaker 1 8:29

Well, I think the reason why I chose this film is because I don't like the way that my lived experience is represented in the media, and I don't really watch, like TV and stuff, because it just makes me frustrated, and so I kind of prefer to project my own lived experience onto films that aren't about disability, because it feels like a better representation, because it's about humans, which is what we are and and Malcolm, I'm pretty sure Malcolm's based on a true, like a real person that grew up in and in the 70s, and he like, he stole paint from Yarra trams and painted his house Like a tram, and he was like a local known, and nobody knew about autism back then, and so, cause they're just doing a writing a story about a kooky individual, that is, we now know autistic, it's a better representation, and it's just so funny. Yeah,

Stephanie Dower 9:40

it is it, that's the thing. I think, I think nowadays you're so right when we, you know, have disability representation on screen, we have to kind of call it out, and we have to make sure people know exactly what it is, instead of just treating these characters like people, and just like any other characters

Speaker 1 9:59

slide. Like, it's like the knowledge gap is so big that we have to code switch into their understanding of disability, and then we're not actually representing ourselves well, exactly because we have to represent ourselves in a way that mainstream people, non disabled people, understand disability. And it's, it's so it's not ever going to be the like true, the true what how we are, because it's they, they want to have what is known already, and therefore what is sold. And you know, the moment that I start talking about disability, their brains just explode because they're like, hang on, I relate to that. And I'm not disabled. And I'm like, yeah, you've been here the whole time. Welcome, like I have I have support needs. You have support needs. Welcome.

Stephanie Dower 10:55

Literally, I mean, I couldn't say that better myself. No, that was so, yeah, 100% I think, I think that's why I enjoyed Malcolm so much, because, yeah, it just, I just felt I related to Malcolm, like parts of his personality, and then you had the other characters around him, sort of like just accepting Him for who He was. You know, there wasn't, like, this big explanation as to why Malcolm acts the way he does, or why he does really cool things with cars. Actually, you have a cool story about the car, right? You if anyone watches Malcolm, they will know what car I'm talking about, the yellow car, the yellow car that splits in half and becomes motorbikes. Yeah, but you, you like, met the car, didn't you?

Unknown Speaker 11:46

Yeah, I saw the car at the Astor

Jason Clymo 11:48

theater. That's awesome. What did you sit in it?

Speaker 1 11:51

No, I didn't sit in it, but I got to see it. They nearly lost it, and then they did, like, a big reunion of Malcolm at the Astor theater, and Adam Elliot was there, who's done some really amazing films, including one about autism, which I actually do recommend. It's good, it's very sad, but it's also, I think it's a very good representation of autism. And, yeah, it's it. They found it and in someone's shed, and they had it there at the Astor theater, wow. And Adam Elliot was there interviewing the directors, the people that wrote the film,

Stephanie Dower 12:33

wow, that's awesome. A little piece of history right there in someone's backyard shed. Yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1 12:40

And the other thing about Malcolm, which I love, is there are no services, no like systems there that are like, you know, taking his autonomy away. He's just like, being a human, living his life and trying to become independent and representing the struggles of that. And it's community that's supporting him, and that's actually what is real life when the system doesn't get in the way of it.

Stephanie Dower 13:07

It's, I always say this, it's people helping people like that. It's simplest form. Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you for bringing Malcolm to my attention, and I hope everyone in the audience is going to go home and watch Malcolm and see what car I'm talking about, because that's really cool, and just enjoy Malcolm's character, yeah? And all the gags, all the gags, yeah, it's such a fun film. Yeah? Awesome,

Jason Clymo 13:32

awesome. Wow. Thank you so much for that. Prove. Now on to your film, Emma. What have you brought in for us?

Emma Myers 13:38

So I've actually bought in a little independent film called The KK you did from 2007 starring a pre Twilight Christian shirt,

Stephanie Dower 13:51

life before Twilight. Yeah, very different.

Jason Clymo 13:54

Well, should we take a look at the clip? Let's Gorgeous. Gorgeous.

Speaker 3 14:05

Here we go. Would it be okay if I just pop out for a few minutes? Have a slow walk? You? Okay? Yeah?

Speaker 4 14:23

All right, so what are we gonna do today? Trim the ends, keep the length.

Unknown Speaker 14:30

What's doing? Radical sexy.

Unknown Speaker 14:38

Well, I can do radical sex.

Speaker 5 14:41

What's a special occasion? Have a date. Give a date, sweetie, that is so great.

Unknown Speaker 14:48

Is it cute?

Speaker 5 14:51

Yeah, he's interesting. Interesting?

Unknown Speaker 14:56

Is it love? I'm

Unknown Speaker 14:58

not really looking to fall in love. Right now. Well,

Speaker 4 15:01

why not? There's nothing like your first love, trust me. Just

Unknown Speaker 15:08

wanna see what it's like.

Unknown Speaker 15:13

What are we talking about here?

Unknown Speaker 15:16

Whoa, whoa. You

Speaker 4 15:18

wanna lose it? Honey, that that's that is something serious, you know? I mean, you only get one chance for your first time. It should be with someone you're crazy in love with. You know, she gonna remember it the rest of your life. You should wait. I have a lot

Jason Clymo 15:51

of time to wait. There we go. We'll throw straight to you, Emma and I guess, tell us why you chose the cake eaters.

Emma Myers 15:57

I guess because it's the first time that I kind of felt represented physically. She has a similar disability to mine and similar speech impediment. She's a young girl looking to explore her sexuality, her sexuality, what she wants in a relationship, and it's really the only time prior to light covers, which I wrote and CO created, that disability and sexuality for me was accurately represented, and Even just their hairdresser's hesitation once she said, Oh, I want to look sexy because I want to have sex. She's like, Oh, should you really be doing that? And just the film as a whole is just so, so satisfying to watch, because it is a case of, she fights with a mum about wanting to date and wanting to go out. And it's multi layered in the argument, because it's not just an average mum telling the average daughter that she can't go out on the date. It's also, I guess, just the added hesitancy of any child, any young woman, living with a disability, and her parents worrying about the safety.

Stephanie Dower 17:37

Yeah, that's it. I think I agree. I think the film is actually quite nuanced. I love small indie films like this because it's such a it can be such a slice of life, sort of simple story. Doesn't have to be over the top or anything like that. But it's just, you know, really character driven and really just, yeah, just that look into someone's experience. I guess I think I don't know how you feel about this, Emma, but for me, I think the only like, fall down of the film, for me, is obviously the casting of the main character. Yeah, obviously, if that had been authentically cast, like if someone you know who had experience of that, of that disability was cast that would have been like a 10 out of 10 film for me. Oh,

Emma Myers 18:26

yeah, definitely, actually, I find the I find the the parallels quite interesting, because I can't remember this. She wrote it. Mary Stuart Matheson directed it, and she co starred in Benny in June with Johnny Depp like back in the 1990s and they both played people with intellectual disabilities, and so it's just kind of interesting how she then went on to direct this film. But I think what's also fascinating is that that's to me, Christine Stewart's storyline is the best part about it, because the rest of them, I kind of found quite boring. That's fact, that's fact I did. And it's still a second, sorry, it's still her storyline. Is still a secondary storyline to the overall film. And I think that had they progressed into being the main storyline and and the grandma's love life secondary, I think it would have been much better film.

Stephanie Dower 19:53

It's funny because I actually saw like Kristen's like the main character, well, I think of her as the main character. And. I saw that as primary storyline, but maybe I'm just like, projecting that and being like, yeah, this was the one I'm most interested in. So that's the one I'm paying attention to, yeah.

Emma Myers 20:08

And that's, um, I think that's for me as well. I think that I viewed

Jason Clymo 20:13

it, and the director apparently video interviewed, like in videotaped interviews with teenagers with ataxia, yeah? So that Kristen Stewart could, like, watch, yeah, and, I guess, learn how to act disabled, yeah. And that's like, if you've gone to that much effort, why would you not go? That's

Stephanie Dower 20:34

fine. That, to me, feels a little icky and exploitative.

Jason Clymo 20:37

Yeah. What do you do in these interviews. Like, it's

Stephanie Dower 20:41

like, you know, yeah, asking permission from the community, you know, do I have the right to play this? And to be fair, though, like, as you said, Emma, like that was the first representation that you felt that you could relate to, yeah? So, you know, the whole, we always talk about authentic casting, and obviously that's always going to bump up our respect for the film if you do authentically cast. But also we want just more stories like this as well. And you know, if this is something that allowed people a bit of a more of an inside look into, you know, what you know, that experience is then props to it, you know, and it, it mean, it just shows the power, you know, of representation, like, if you're already, like, relating to that, imagine how much better it could be if you take it that one step further. Yeah, that would be amazing.

Emma Myers 21:32

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Stephanie Dower 21:35

All right. Well, that was very two different films, but, yeah, but both actually really character driven. So I really enjoyed both of those. Thank you for thank you for bringing them to the table to discuss today.

Unknown Speaker 21:45

You're welcome

Jason Clymo 21:47

before we say goodbye and wrap up this episode, we'd love to give you at home some speedy suggestions. So we're going to go around the table, and we're all going to recommend something in the media that represents disability in a positive lens, or an app that is, like, really helpful for people with disability, whatever could be a book, but poo, we will start with you. So what is your speedy suggestion?

Speaker 1 22:11

It's a big night from 1996 a movie, amazing, and the actors are alive,

Jason Clymo 22:19

cool, still alive. Love that

Stephanie Dower 22:22

I like. Before you described it as you'll be your favorite movie with a live actors,

Speaker 1 22:27

yeah, they're alive, yeah, yeah, cool. I'll have to check it out. I love you. Can't take it with you from 1938 it's one of my favorite films.

Stephanie Dower 22:38

Okay? Two speed suggestions, great.

Emma Myers 22:40

And well, I will start by saying, without appearing really self absorbed, I will plug my new podcast. It's all about disability representation through a positive lens. It's called Access, granted and I'll also recommend David Holmes, the boy who lives about a stuntman from the Harry Potter series who was injured and now dedicates his time to raising awareness of quadriplegia. And training the next generation of stop performance. I've

Stephanie Dower 23:28

been meaning to watch that. So yes, thank you for reminding me. Gotta have a busy week. Oh, yeah, lots to watch.

Jason Clymo 23:34

Yeah. Mine is a bit of a call back to earlier in the episode, when I was talking about woman of the hour, and you should all watch it. It's, yeah, well, I don't want to spoil anything, but it's like, it's, is it new? Thrilling? Yeah. Anna Kendrick, my

Stephanie Dower 23:50

biggest suggestion is an ABC show called headliners. So it's a documentary show, I guess you'd call it, and it's two bands are being formed with all disabled musicians, and they're going to perform at Monday. Monday, I think, is the big music festival out in in the outback, and it's led by Ellie Mae Barnes and so, yeah, it's kind of like, you know, the voice, but for disabled musicians. And I'm, I'm really enjoying it again, like, I think I always go into these things with a little bit of trepidation, being like, is it just going to be exploitative of, you know, people with disabilities. But I'm really, really excited. I've been watching it, and it's been great, and I know they really went above and beyond in terms of being inclusive behind the scenes, and obviously being guided by Ellie Mae Barnes is a tick in my book. So,

Jason Clymo 24:53

yeah, brilliant. Sounds like we need to review it as well.

Stephanie Dower 24:57

All right. Well, thanks everyone for watching. Thank you to our wonderful guests for joining us on the desk here at the desk today. Thank you, Jason, as always, thank you before we completely let you go, Emma, do you want to just give the audience a bit of a heads up as to where they can check out your work

Emma Myers 25:15

so people can check out my work on SBS with late comers. But you can also support my work via my LinkedIn page, my Instagram and Facebook.

Jason Clymo 25:31

Brilliant. Hopefully get a few followers out of that and Pru What about you? Where can people support you or check out your work? Oh,

Speaker 1 25:39

well, there's my Instagram, and there's my agent at loom, and then next year, because this year, I retired at the start of the year, but next year, I'm going to start to learn how to be a capo dog and make art for money. I'm going to give it a go. So next year might be, I don't know. Loom will help me work out where I'll be and I'll, apparently, ceramic cells. So I might do some of that

Jason Clymo 26:09

awesome. I'm

Stephanie Dower 26:10

loving the term Capo dog. Yeah, right. I've never heard it before, and I'm gonna use that from now on. Yeah, so good. Big year ahead. It sounds like Yeah. Well, thank you both for being here. Thanks for joining us. For those at home, check out our socials and we'll see you next time on reframed you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai