MovieChat Forums > Travelers (2016) Discussion > The show implies Developmental Handicaps...

The show implies Developmental Handicaps are the fault of the Disabled

posted 8 years ago by carney-van
20 replies | jump to latest

The show in it's clueless writing implies that a "normal" person given control of the faculties of a person with Developmental Disabilities can effortlessly overcome those disabilities. This encourages bigotry against those with Developmental Disabilities by implying that they are not actually disabled but simply refuse to act normal, and that any person put into their body would be able to act and operate completely normally

Here's a clue -- Developmental Disability is due to the brain not developing normally and is no fault of the disabled person.

The show might as well have shown an amputee being taken over by a "traveller" growing their appendages back in an instant and being able to pull Jackie Chan moves. In fact, that would have been preferable since even a child knows that is impossible, but here in America the mentally disabled are looked down upon and treated with hostility and many adults around here might buy into that notion that Developmental Disability is not a physical affliction, but a "choice".

So thanks for opening with a insensitive and bigoted message that helps encourage more bigotry in America. It's not like there isn't enough of that around here as it is

[–] gswan 8 years ago

The show in it's clueless writing implies that a "normal" person given control of the faculties of a person with Developmental Disabilities can effortlessly overcome those disabilities.

First, are you sure that 21st Century Marcy had a developmental problem? How many of your objections would you make if she had difficulties due to a childhood traumatic brain injury.

I don't think Marcy has effortlessly overcome the disabilities. I think some exposition in the show has made clear she is dying. I think it is establlished that, using her future medical technology, she is able to suppress the seizures, and have her body and brain perform like a normal person, or rather, a smarty-pants -- but only at a metabolic cost that will kill her. Since they are on a mission, if she can survive the mission, that is all that counts.

[–] carney-van 8 years ago

You must have been watching a different show. It was quite clear that the Marcy character was mentally disabled, they went through pains to show that in both the opening segment and through her interactions with her male friend. They even had the character state in Ep 2 that there were problems with her host as small talk while on their way to their "mission" and near the end where she DISCUSSES HER HOST BODY HAVING A DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY that she simply "deals with"

And yes -- it was EFFORTLESS. They showed here struggling to read a children's book and have a speech impediment in the opening scene and then die and suddenly having no speech impediment and being a martial arts master -- all in the span of a couple seconds

Go back and watch episode 1 and 2 again you'll see your entire post seems like apologist hand waving that completely ignores the obvious fact that yes -- the writers treated a mental disability as though it were nothing at all and that the Traveller just overcame it via force of will

Regardless, I'm done with this show after watching Ep 2 -- the writing is utter crap, I've read better comic books. Between this show, Medici and The OA, I think Netflix needs to stop focusing on putting out so much quantity and revisit the QUALITY of the shows it puts out -- at this point I'm starting to expect all new Netflix shows to showcase slick production values, but be based on some half-assed concept with utterly terrible writing, half-assed acting and next to no character development.

HBO is kicking Netflix's ass and bad --- if Netflix counts on their original content being their big draw, they are in for some serious trouble if they keep putting out inane crap like this

[–] rudy-rigot 8 years ago

"Hi, I'm not going to watch this show, but I'm entitled to an uneducated opinion about it. Also, I didn't read War and Peace, but it is a terrible book."
Oh my, oh my, oh my...

[–] actionmanrandell 8 years ago

you are a baby complaining about nothing. the show is not implying that mental disablities are the fault of the disabled. on the contrary all it is saying is that the future technology allows the travelrs to still operate at 90% efficiency even in a disabled body

[–] littlefractures 8 years ago

Chill killer. Some of your concerns are addressed as the story unfolds. Good writing does not give itself away in the first breath, which is too slow for Social Justice Internet Warriors. I'm not through the series and at my point we still don't know exactly what gets pushed back into the person. Is it just consciousness? Maybe not because Philip spoke about having gone through modifications to be a Historian. She also has some neural deficits and is prone to seizures because the host brain cannot handle the work load. She also manages the situation with medical knowledge from the future, a regime of medicine, and does try some surgical modification to deal with the issues of her consciousness imposed on a differently functioning brain.

I see where you're coming from, but it's a story and stories need time to unwind themselves. Your issue is closer to judging a book by its cover.

[–] carney-van 8 years ago

Wow -- couldn't you try harder to come off as a condescending a-hole?
No point in even offering up a serious reply to you other than tell you to take your condescension and insults and stick it

[–] zim-67535 8 years ago

I think you missed something here.

The brain was damaged so the original person was unable to grow up and have a normal life. When someone else beamed inand tookover the body, they erased the original person and remapped the brain, but the brain wasstill damaged thatitwas killing the host.

So they reformated the brain and put the host back in only using diffrent parts of the brain that where notdamaged, this is why the host would lose memory.

It all reall depends on how the technology of over writing a persons brain works.
Does it use the same parts or is the rewrite diffrent ?

[–] maurstar 8 years ago

TMI for camey-van who didn't even bother the watch past Ep. 2... I actually enjoyed Mercy's character development and arc throughout the season.

[–] littlefractures 8 years ago

You feel there's no point in offering up a serious reply neatly leaves you with an excuse not to address anything I said. Valid points are, of course, hard to argue with so you fuss about being insulted to shut down the discussion. Stuff like that is why boomers make fun of our generation.

You judged the story line too early. You found it distasteful and tuned out, which is good for general mental health, but you're also wrong. Your issues are addressed and become full blown plot points. The mistake here is commenting on a storyline you only saw filled out 1/12th of the way. You're having a knee jerk reaction and you're wrong. You deliberately limited your own experience, which again is cool because you should really only spend time with *beep* that makes you happy (I'm guessing IMDB is probably also not it for you). Just don't deliberately cut off a storyline and comment on it like you let it roll to completion.

Book: Once upon a time...
Carney-Van: This trite repetitive nonsense plays upon societal norms and is not worth the paper it is written on.
Book: Okay then, homie. Take some anger management classes.
Internet: Agreed.

[–] Freddy_Boy 8 years ago

They could most certainly have been a lot more tactful or clear in this regard. But they did actually adress your concerns later on in the show.

I would also like to state the following, while I unequivocally agree with you, both bureaucratic and human errors do occur. People are wrongly diagnosed or their needs not correctly estimated. I myself worked as an assistant to people who either needed more, or in fact, less aid than they got. There's also those, while absolutely not prevalent, who willingly chose to fool the system. It's not that I'm disagreeing with you. Just saying that it exists.

Also, by your own accord, you do admit that it's easy to draw a different conclusion. The characters involved did argue about this exact matter. They were actually faced with the prospect of someone overcoming her intellectual disability overnight. Or, to borrow you own analogy, Marcy did grew back a leg. To be fair it would pretty natural to be skeptical. And rather than assuming the most far-fetched idea it could be easy, but not necessarily correct, to assume something a little more realistic.

While it's hardly an excuse the show did eventually adress some of your concerns though. They do acknowledge that her brain was damaged and it actually had severe repercussions for the time traveler.

[–] Sluggr-3 8 years ago

Too bad you wrote this before watching ep 11. Sadly, it is now part of the historical record. ;-) Even your guidance counselor won't be able to fix it.

My Chimp DNA seems to have lost its password temporarily. Sluggr-2

[–] chrisjdel 8 years ago

They've been saying almost from day one that the remapping done to get a fully functional mind into a badly damaged brain is wreaking havoc. Areas have been repurposed for functions they wouldn't normally perform in most people. Marcy's brain and central nervous system are gradually failing as a result. Unless something changes, she's going to die soon.

MacLaren may have what they need to save her. Remember the warning about abstaining from sexual activity until the medical nanites cleared out of his system? That means his blood is still full of them. A vial of that may be enough to fix up poor Marcy, if the thought occurs to someone in time.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Maghtuira 8 years ago

Is this a joke, you do know Marcy was literally dying right?

[–] crooked_spoons 8 years ago

So thanks for opening with a insensitive and bigoted message that helps encourage more bigotry in America. It's not like there isn't enough of that around here as it is

Well the show isn't American so...

__________
Everybody needs love. Have you held your hostage today?

[–] actionmanrandell 8 years ago

yes it is. its a Canadian-American tv series made by NETFLIX