table of contents - home page - text-only home page Arts and Media briefly This autumn brought us an upsurge in controversy and activism in the art world, from a Canadian museum that has outraged disability activists with an exhibit that appears to condone "mercy killing," to a British arts website that is taking an aggressive stance towards a well known charity, to a new U.S. animated cartoon by the "anti-quad," John Callahan. Canadian Museum - Condoning Killing Of Disabled Girl? For years now Canadian disability activists have been in the middle of a national controversy over the death of a 12 year old disabled girl, put to death by her father who claimed he killed his child "to free her from constant pain." Although the father, Robert Latimer, was found guilty in 1997 of second-degree murder, there has been an on-going public dialogue between those who see it as a "mercy killing" and those who view it as murder. The controversy has been rekindled recently by the opening by the Provincial Museum in Edmonton of an Anno Domini exhibit that includes filmed scenes of the Latimer case under the heading, "Blessed are the merciful." As of November 2, The Alberta Association for Community Living was demanding Latimer be edited out of the video and that the museum issue a public apology. Details from Canada's Anti-Euthanasia Network, Compassionate Healthcare Network: www.chninternational.com Recent court cases in England concerning medical treatment of disabled children have also stirred protests from disability activists who see two standards developing, one for non-disabled children and the second, where "lives of 'seriously' disabled children are viewed as unworthy of saving." Details on British cases in Disability Tribune, on the web at: www.daa.org.uk British Charity Satirized by Cyber Artists Recently, British cyber artists created a website mocking and satirizing the Leonard Cheshire charity, criticizing primarily how it spends its funds and its lack of commitment to services actually wanted by disabled Britons. Evidently, the view of the cyber artists is that the charity, known mostly for its Leonard Cheshire homes for disabled persons all over the world, spends too much money on staff retreats and similar activities and not enough on services that directly benefit disabled individuals. Cheshire is one of the oldest and largest U.K charities. Check it out at www.leonard-cheshire.com New Animated Series of Teenager Who Rides a Wheelchair Pelswick, a new animated series featuring a teenager who uses a wheelchair, was introduced this fall on Nickelodeon, a U.S. cable television network aimed at children and young people. The show was developed by John Callahan, an artist who also uses a wheelchair. Callahan is known for his cartoons that insult just about every minority and special interest group, and for his adolescent sense of humor as expressed by his on-going character, the Flatulent Nun. Artist/performer Neil Marcus reviews the perils of Pelswick in Arts and Media at Who is Pelswick Eggert?You can also visit www.callahanonline.com Searchable Database of Social Issue Documentaries The combined collections of four distributors of independent documentary film and video are now searchable simultaneously at one new website: www.docuseek.com DocuSeek has over 1800 entries, comprising the collections of: Fanlight Productions, focusing on disability, healthcare, family & gender issues; First Run/Icarus Films, distributor of over 700 films, including theatrically released productions; New Day Films, the premiere distribution cooperative for social issue media; and Bullfrog Films, a large distributor of environmental films. Constructed with the use of video users in mind, the collection can be searched according to grade level, length, filmmaker and other specific characteristics in addition to the key world search most search engines use. For details, contact Ryan Krivoshey by email: ryan@docuseek.com British Mass Media Campaign to Tackle Disability Discrimination The British government is sponsoring a mass media campaign to encourage small business owners to think about how their services might be discriminating against or restricting disabled customers. The campaign, using press and posters, began in October under the direction of D'Arcy, an advertising firm. Five ads feature actual business people showing what changes they have made to the way they deliver their service. The campaign is aimed at illustrating that making changes to customer services required by the Disability Discrimination Act helps disabled customers access goods and services as easily as anyone else. Kate Hopkins, account director at D'Arcy, sais, "This campaign is focused on getting service providers to act differently, not just think differently." Details: www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4074189,00.html Superfest Reminder The deadline is January 15, 2001 for entering videos in Superfest XXI, the international medial festival on disabilities. To request entry forms, contact superfest@aol.com table of contents - home page - text-only home page