Bulgarian National Television’s ·One of Us” A caricature of the integration of people with disabilities by Yana DOMUSCHIEVA
I
f anyone has missed this: our national television is assisting the integration of people with disabilities by running a specialised bi-monthly programme! ·One of Us” - working toward ·improving the way of life of disadvantaged individuals” - is just as offensive and shallow as I expected it to be. Watch it at the most un-prime time, 4:00 pm on weekdays. If you happen to have impaired hearing, you’d better chill out, as you won’t find subtitles or sign language interpreting. Apparently, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) is convinced that Bulgarians with impaired hearing are happy with their specialised programme, which is even more retrograde and humiliating, also on twice a month. The National Television provided Obektiv with a total of four editions of ·One of Us”. The first one shows a young woman’s struggle to walk again. Following six years of paralysis, she finally manages a few steps. Her mother is drowning in tears at the memory of the long road behind them. Joanna, however, is a strong girl and is sweating away with her exercises. She had to make eight trips to Moscow for stem cell transplants; and she works with the local municipality to be able to repay her 60-thousand-dollar loan, which she accumulated for her various operations. Obviously, she either has no daily cares, such as, for instance, the inaccessible environment, or they have been meticulously cut out to leave room for the message that a strong will, such as Joanna’s, and some charity, can solve all problems disabled people face. After spelling out Joanna’s bank account number, the presenter concludes that ·There is nothing more exciting and satisfactory than knowing you have helped someone just like that, because you have grown up”. The focus of the programme’s next edition are the specialised classes for deaf actors at the National Academy of Theatre and Cinema Arts. The essence is the exotics of people with impaired hearing (who can dance and play the piano!) and their sign language, of which we are shown some words. Although what we see of the performances is beautiful, and the actors themselves speak with eyes proudly shining, the programme itself has a bitter touch. The presenter is again try-
ing to convince us of the power of the mind and spirit, and I cannot not help thinking of how these children live outside the academy. Can they go to the theatre? Is setting up a ·specialised class” for them integration at all? The third edition deals with investigating journalists, lead by journalist Anna Zarkova. Their place among the ·disadvantaged individuals” is left unclear. This is followed by coverage of the ·acutest problems of disadvantaged people”. We are shown a protest organised by the Centre for Psychological Research, an NGO funded by the state budget (their near-empty web page can be viewed at www.cprp.org). Of course, we have the usual shots of wheelchairs trapped at staircase bottoms. A clarification of the state’s position is attempted via an interview with the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy. The presenter, Iva Dimitrova, is asking timid questions and Ivanka Hristova, in return, is mumbling something about the work being done to solve the problems. And there’s good news too! The national campaign ·Architectural Accessibility of Bulgaria’s Spiritual Monuments” constructed a ramp for disabled people leading into the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. ·We will press on”, promises the regional director of the Centre for Psychological Research, Bourgas. Maybe by building a ramp to the Asenova Krepost medieval fortress, located in the Rhodope mountains. The misconception called ·One of Us” justifies its existence with the Integration of People with Disabilities Act, which requires the national television to have a dedicated programme for people with disabilities. The outcome, however, is the bare minimum. Why else would this programme fail to approach the scattered efforts at integration with some criticism and the clichés - with a distanced approach? If ·One of Us” is aiming high at combating isolation, people with disabilities would be playing presenters, not just guests. An even so, television is for everyone. Mere respect for the ·disadvantaged” audience calls not for seclusion into a second-hand publicity, but reflection of their existence throughout the television’s programmes in general.
OBEKTIV 1