movies, tv, and wheelchairs

i recently went to see the movie "take me home tonight," which was cute, funny and finally a movie that makes me love topher grace as much as i did when he was on "that 70's show." the 80's are my absolute favorite which only made my love for this movie grow that much more. go see it! the reason i bring this up, is the awkwardly hilarious demetri martin played a character in a wheelchair, naturally resulting in lots of funny handicap jokes. my favorite. these jokes pop up all over the place: "family guy" has some of the funniest and best (or worst, depending how you look at it) with their not-very-likeable character joe. one hysterical episode of "the IT crowd" (watch the video clip below, but i recommend watching the entire episode for the full effect. series 2: episode 1.) one of my favorites, "the ex" with jason bateman is pure gold (photo on right). i don't know if i find these kinds of jokes so humorous because it's really that funny, or because it makes life easier to be able to laugh at myself. probably both.

a quick explanation of what's going on in the short clip below from "the IT crowd."  3 friends went to see a musical. one of them gets caught using the handicap bathroom, so he fakes being disabled. the other gets caught using the staff bathroom, so he fakes being an employee. this is the scene where the 3 friends meet up:

(definitely watch the entire episode if possible. "the IT crowd" series 2: episode 1. it kills me.)

despite my protesting against seeing a movie on a friday night, i did see "take me home tonight" in the theater, packed with a body in every seat. i couldn't help but think everyone's eyes or minds are on me whenever a handicap joke was told. this goes for theaters with strangers, tv with friends, comedy shows, anywhere you might find someone poking fun at the disabled. when a joke is unexpectedly told, i just imagine faces of shock or embarrassment, with wide eyes, hands covering mouths. pointing. or the light nudge from person to person in reference to me, in the chair. or the awkward silence because they're afraid to laugh. i'm being a dramatic, but i know we all know the feeling when an "offensive" joke is said about a person's problems/physical appearance/race/religion/etc when that type of person is in the room with you. even though it's not offensive, it's funny.

i get a little uncomfortable with the idea that people are probably listening or laughing at these jokes with me in the back of their mind. the worst part is i can tell even some friends and acquaintances get "oh no, i hope she's not offended" crap in their heads. as for strangers in public, there might be some people out there who have the awkward reaction, but i'm sure majority of the people are actually enjoying the movie rather than thinking about some random wheelchair girl that they may or may not have noticed for 10 seconds.

...but of course i assume their attention is on me. i think about this all the time, but i brought it up to my manly man this time, and surprisingly he's even had these same suspicions as me before. so silly.

the best ever was family guy's willy wonka episode. joe can't go into wonka's factory because it's inaccessible.  i can't find a clip, but here is the song for your amusement !

"Chumba Woomba, gobble dee goo, life isn't fair, it's sad but it's true. Chumba Woomba gobble dee gee, when your poor legs are as stiff as a tree. What do you do when you're stuck in a chair? Finding it hard to go up and down stairs. What do you think of the one you call god? Isn't his absence slight-ly-odd? Maybe he's forgotten you!

Chumba Wumba, gobble dee gorse, count yourself lucky you're not a horse. They would turn you into dog food. Oompa, chumba, wumba, gobble dee gorse!"

....hyserical.