1,008 words
8 minute read
TW: GIF Warning
Spoilers for 13 Reasons Why 2x03
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Scene referenced:
2x03, 41:45 - 41:07 remaining
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We love it when disability representation is done right. And there is one scene in 13 Reasons Why that -- to us -- is done gloriously right. Because of that, we want to do it justice and analyze it to its fullest.
That’s why we’re including it line by line and not just answering general questions about it.
In 2x03, Alex gets a ride to court with Tony and Clay. This scene is one we enjoy a great deal. So we’re prepared to share our thoughts in detail:
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Tony [gets out of the driver’s seat and jogs around the car to the passenger door. Alex opens it as he arrives]
I got it! I got it, I got it, I got it.
[Tony is presumably holding the car door open for Alex, as Clay gets out of the backseat.]
TARA: I love that this is here, because disabled people all know at least one overly-helpful-and-nervous nondisabled person. Tony is that person. :)
TONIA: Oh my gosh, it’s true. I love that this representation is in here.
Clay: Thanks for the ride, Tony.
Tony: Oh, I’m coming in [to watch the trial] with you guys.
[Alex gets out of the car with his cane.]
Clay to Tony: But you’re on the witness list --
Tony: I got --
Clay: --They check it.
Tony: No, I got my brother’s ID.
[Tony checks that Alex is fully out of the car, then shuts the car door.]
Tony: I haven’t slept in two nights. I just wanna know what I’m looking at in there. [to Alex] What if you’re on the list [to testify]?
TONIA: Ah, suddenly Tony being super-high strung here makes more sense...
Alex: I’ll just wave my cane and cry. It works everywhere. [Alex approaches the courthouse steps and starts to climb.]
TONIA: While part of me admires Alex’s ingenuity, using people’s ableist biases against them, another part of me cringes here because of the common assumption that disabled people are always manipulative and working the system.
TARA: Alex hasn’t been asked to testify at the trial in question due to his brain injury. He doesn’t share this information with his friends, though. Instead, he dryly comments on the pervasiveness of ableism, effectively ending Tony’s questioning.
Tony: Wait. I bet there’s a handicapped entrance.
TARA: Tony’s trying to be helpful here. However, I’m sure Alex is also aware that an accessible entrance exists. He has chosen to use the main entrance instead, though. (Also, conversations about access and entrances are usually had before arriving at a destination - at least, in disability culture.)
Just because an accessible entrance exists does not mean that Alex must use it. Let him be, Tony.
Clay: I don’t think you’re supposed to say ‘handicapped…’
TARA: Clay knows just enough about disability culture to school his friends on outdated or otherwise inappropriate language.
Tonia, I would love to pick your brain about the scene on the courthouse steps with Alex, Clay and Tony. Encountering access barriers with friends is a unique experience. How did Clay and Tony do as able-bodied friends in this moment?
TONIA: I think I’d welcome friends like Clay and Tony. While they don’t do everything right, Clay has a passing knowledge about what language is outdated. And I always appreciate offers of help like Tony’s. I’d rather be offered help in a difficult situation than ignored.
So, I think they did well! Especially for high school kids.
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| [Image: Alex struggles up the steps with his cane. Tony rushes to his side. Tony: Take my arm. Alex: Fuck you both.] |
Tony: [rushes to Alex’s side as he continues to climb.] Take my arm.
TARA: Tony again attempts helpfulness, but with this comment, I notice how little he knows and / or understands about Alex’s injury. Hemiparesis is the paralysis of one side of the body. Alex uses a quad cane, which is a cane with a four-point base, for stability. He uses it with his unaffected arm, which means that only his affected arm is free. This early on in his recovery, Alex has almost no mobility in that arm. What Tony is asking him to do is impossible.
Alex: Fuck you both.
TARA: Translation: You are both being wildly unhelpful. Stop distracting me. Let me do my thing.
I love that Alex knows what he wants and can assert himself, and that “13” does not paint that as unreasonable. There’s no tragic soundtrack playing beneath this moment, or unnecessary cuts to Alex’s friends’ faces. Instead, we get a wide shot of Tony hovering and Clay walking on either side of Alex as he makes his way up the steps.
Tonia, how do you feel about Alex’s choice not to use the accessible entrance?
TONIA: I really get it!
So often as disabled people we are almost pushed to use accessible options. This is an issue when the access is way off to the side, So, when things are made accessible but done so in a way where we know we’re the afterthought? That we’re ‘othered’? That’s difficult.
So, I think Tony did well to offer the accessible entrance as an option, but not to push it as something that Alex had to do.
Also, in Alex’s situation, he’s with two friends, who are able-bodied. Whenever I was in a situation like this, my goal was always to make the ‘difference’ as least noticeable as possible. Clay and Tony would have used the main courthouse steps had Alex not been with them, and Alex knows that.
His choices here make a lot of sense to me, and I also love this scene.
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Have you seen 13 Reasons Why on Netflix?
Did reading our conversation about accessing public buildings while disabled help you realize anything or notice anything you hadn't registered before?
We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
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