Read the full article on Firstpost, here: http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/gal-gadots-stephen-hawking-tweet-and-the-unsentimental-handling-of-disability-in-rust-and-bone-4405561.html
Ableist (i.e. someone who discriminates against people with disabilities). That’s a new word I learnt after the passing of Stephen Hawking, when Gal ‘Wonder Woman’ Gadot put out this tweet: “Rest in peace Dr. Hawking. Now you’re free of any physical constraints. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever.” Several tweets took Gadot to task. Here’s a sample: “For the love of dog and all things holy, please don’t describe Stephen Hawking as having overcome his disability, or his disability as inability, or any number of boring, ableist tropes that take away from what an utter bada— he was and how the world was better for him in it.”
On the other hand, there were defenders: “Why the criticism? I doubt that Stephen Hawking was happy about having ALS [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis]. He had physical constraints. That much is obvious. Yet he led a brilliant life anyway. That’s all I see here.” I wonder what the Twitterati would have said about Marion Cotillard’s statement when she was promoting her film, Rust and Bone (2012), directed by Jacques Audiard. (This was his follow-up to the widely acclaimed A Prophet). A Chicago Tribune reporter asked Cotillard (whose character, Stéphanie, wakes up after an accident and discovers her legs have been amputated) if it’s more difficult to lose arms or legs. The answer: “Oh my God, I don’t know. It’s hard to compare. It’s really hard to lose a part of your body. No, I’d rather not lose anything. [Laughs]”
The film is the love story between Stéphanie and a boxer named Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), who is not an “ableist,” but not for politically correct reasons. The conceit is that he is “crippled” in a way, too. He isn’t emotionally expressive, and thus, unlike the others who meet Stéphanie. Ali’s sister feels tense around Stéphanie. (When they first meet, she mutters, “Poor thing.”) And at a nightclub, when a man who hits on Stéphanie finds out about her condition, he says, “I’m sorry…” Stéphanie asks, “Sorry for what?” He says, “I couldn’t know.” Stéphanie is hell-bent on making him articulate what his discomfort is about. She asks, in the same vein, “Know what?” He says, “I couldn’t know you had a… Didn’t have…” She asks, “Have what?”
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Firstpost.
Baradwaj Rangan 
sanjana
March 26, 2018
This is from First world sensibilities. I think the sensitive people out there wont even accept a seat given to them by an ableist. In India, things are somewhat different.
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Anu Warrier
March 26, 2018
Don’t like Gal Gadot for various reasons, but that tweet was hardly ableist or patronising. Sometimes, it is better not to over-analyse a statement.
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Doba
March 26, 2018
What a fabulous review. I don’t know why I like your non Indian movie reviews so much more. Perhaps its because the subjects are diverse in these movies. I always thought empathy was the highest form of human emotion. Now you are making me think.
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KayKay
March 27, 2018
Bah! Sensitivities over-tweaked to the point of ridiculousness. Reminds me of the whole “Body Positivity” movement.
Truth: If you’re morbidly obese, do something about it, not celebrate it as a lifestyle choice, cause that lifestyle’s gonna kill you
Truth: Stephen Hawking was an amazing man, but it doesn’t take a….well, a Stephen Hawking to know his life would have been INFINITELY better had that amazing mind been housed in an able body
Truth: Gal Gadot is hot, and she has wisdom. Plus, she’s hot.
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Madan
March 27, 2018
@KayKay: Indeed, as a not morbidly obese but well overweight guy, I don’t feel offended if people poke fun of my tummy. I know I need to do something about it. Bullying is bad especially when directed at children but adults have to learn to cope with people simply telling them they are overweight. At the same time, w.r.t women, I think the opposition to fat shaming has come out of a response to the obsession with size zero wherein women aren’t considered attractive if they are not bony which is also a ridiculously restrictive idea of beauty. But that is all beside the point. There was nothing offensive about Gadot’s tweet and who knows, Hawking may have been able to achieve even more, as unbelievable as it sounds, without those physical constraints. I hope she didn’t apologise for it though it is likely she did for PR’s sake.
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Anu Warrier
March 27, 2018
Truth: Gal Gadot is hot, and she has wisdom. Plus, she’s hot.
🙂 Of course. But she’s also a bigot who’s vocally against Palestine, so for me, her politics overshadows her other qualities. But I can still say the tweet wasn’t offensive to me or to my disabled friend who gawked at the response to it and said, ‘What an idiot! Of course I could do better if I didn’t have this disability! And I wish to God I didn’t!’
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Rahul
March 27, 2018
I can see why that tweet can be offensive . Firstly, to those who are making the argument that she meant it in a philosophical way that can apply to all deceased – then I find that hard to believe.
That he could have done better if he didn’t have the disability is a moot point. But to characterize the life of anyone as an agonizing experience and death as a welcome release when they themselves have not given a reason to believe so either by their accomplishments or by their demeanor is in bad taste.
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Madan
March 27, 2018
” But to characterize the life of anyone as an agonizing experience and death as a welcome release” – That’s not the meaning I get from it at all. Just that in death, Hawking would be free from the physical constraints he had when alive. Nowhere did she suggest these constraints made him miserable.
“Now you’re free of any physical constraints.. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever ” – This is a pretty simple statement. Maybe let’s not credit Gal Gadot with too much intellect.
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Rahul
March 27, 2018
Madan, its not about Gal Godot. I think what she did was to echo an “ableist trope” . I don’t credit her with more intelligence , stupidity or sensitivity than the next guy. Its precisely because what she said seems to be very commonplace and normal that we should look at the implications of her statement carefully.
If being free from constraints is a desirable position to be in(for a disabled guy), then it follows that life with those constraints was less desirable. At the very least we can acknowledge that this interpretation is as much plausible as any other, no?
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Madan
March 28, 2018
Rahul: It IS less desirable to have those constraints. What the tweet does not imply is that by itself makes the existence of such a person agonising. Those are meanings you have added to her words. I would also prefer to look at her words as that of an independent individual rather than as representing a constituency (in this ableists). By doing this, you conflate the worst opinions of that constituency with Gadot’s words, which is not fair to her.
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Kay
March 28, 2018
My thoughts are all over the place. So I’m just going to write them down without any coherence.
Gal Gadot’s tweet – this looks like the decade of getting offended. All this outrage over something or the other some celebrity or someone said, will soon make the world mute. People would hestitate to say what they feel. I understand and agree that we should not be overly insensitive. At the same time, most of us would have had that thought (what Gal said) at some point of time or the other seeing a differently abled person. I believe we should be true and frank, instead of guarded and dishonest in order to be politically correct.
Body positivity – As Madan said, that was more protest against size zero and, in general, glorifying being thin. Making fun of someone for being fat is bad. All those movies that have a fat person who gets mocked to get a few laughs.. Wrong. Or people telling someone to lose weight to get a good guy/girl or a good job, etc. Wrong. I’m sure anyone who is obese knows that and they really want to do something about it. We don’t need someone rubbing it in our face. But, there’s a caveat. Among friends and family, whom we know are not nasty and don’t mean to insult, I think it’s ok. Basically, There’s a time and place for everything.
Now finally about the movie.. BR, I must thank you for that WONDERFUL movie!! His character throughout the movie is so blunt and unemotional and that makes the final half an hour so much more explosive. The movie is handled so beautifully and in a matter of fact manner that it is refreshing.
I’m trying to imagine what a story like this one would have gone through if Atlee had directed it. 😛😛 we would have weeping violins, slow motion shots and buckets and buckets of glycerin.
Please excuse spelling/grammatical mistakes or missing words. It’s difficult to type in a phone that has a mind of its own.
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brangan
March 28, 2018
Kay: Did you watch the film after this column?
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Rahul
March 28, 2018
“Rahul: It IS less desirable to have those constraints.”
That is a moot point, Madan , I already said that. What her tweet implies is that death is more desirable than living with those constraints, and I think I have tried to explain this in my earlier posts.
” By doing this, you conflate the worst opinions of that constituency with Gadot’s words, which is not fair to her.”
No, I am only judging her words. Not sure where you got that. I just said that what she said was an ableist trope. Does not mean that I was ascribing every ableist trope to her. That is your extrapolation.
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Kay
March 28, 2018
BR – yes, I did.
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brangan
March 28, 2018
Kay: Thank you. Nice to know these columns are driving people to see these films 🙂
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Rahul
March 28, 2018
Kay – ” At the same time, most of us would have had that thought (what Gal said) at some point of time or the other seeing a differently abled person.”
This is probably true, but this hardly seems to me a reason that we should not analyze the implications of such a thought , or in your words, outrage about it. I also wonder how is an outrage different from a not-outrage, a disagreement or an objection.
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Madan
March 28, 2018
Rahul: So I am referring to that. What do you mean by echoing ableist tropes? Are you not conflating her views with a particular identity group rather than examining her views by themselves? You are saying her views evoke the baggage of what ableists do which in turn is offensive to the differently abled. But that cannot be her problem. If I say I don’t mind visiting a temple and applying sandalwood mixture on my forehead, it doesn’t imply that I am sympathetic to the views of the Hindu right (which I am not anyway, but this was a hypothetical). I hope you get my point. Your prerogative if you want to view her statement through the prism of an identity group that may by some stretch be associated with such positions, but neither do I agree nor do I find merit in it.
Re the notion of death somehow being better than life, as I said earlier, it’s a more philosophical question because biologically the answer is pretty clear cut. In no sense is being inanimate and deprived of all faculties better than being alive in some shape or form. Having said that, if someone indulges the notion of life after death, so be it. I interpreted it as saying Hawking can now perform even more amazing feats in heaven than he did in his earthly existence. NOT as denigrating his very existence itself.
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Aparna
March 28, 2018
I read your article at work and came home to watch the movie immediately. Thank you so much for the great article, Rust and Bone has to be one of the best movies I have seen in the recent past.
(spoilers ahead) Sex is such a basic human need that it was nice that the movie acknowledges what a difference it makes in Stephanie’s life after the accident. Her face pretty much brightens up after the encounter with Ali and she seems more upbeat about life. This very nonjudgmental approach on an important issue was a great take home message from the movie.
Adding to your point about the music, I found the scene where she stands on the balcony and practices her orca routine to the tune of Fireworks, just absolutely arresting. Such a scene would normally be quiet with melancholic strains punctuating it, but the use of Fireworks kind of guided me into a better phase of her life post the accident. I also really like the scene where Ali is getting pummeled in a match and I thought he was about to lose but then Steph walks into the scene, and he derives some energy to complete and win the match. A masala-fied (kolly/bolly-wood) moment in a foreign film! I was only not so sold on the ending where she takes him back without much of a fight after he deserts her.
Ali was a curious character, a man who doesn’t think twice about raising a hand against his kid, but this violence never spreads to Steph even when the boxing and fighting gets more integrated into his life. He seems like a gentleman, asking for permission and sticking to boundaries while in bed with Steph.
Marion Cotillard just owns the movie with a performance that lingered with me for long after the movie ended, so internalized and subtle, her eyes and face conveying much that words were unnecessary.
Loving this column and looking forward to more such foreign movie suggestions.
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Kay
March 28, 2018
“I was only not so sold on the ending where she takes him back without much of a fight after he deserts her.”
Aparna – After he disappears and when Stephanie (I just realised somewhere in the movie she says her name is Marie. Why?) goes to his house, his sister says he left his son behind, that’s how he is, Stéphanie says ‘you don’t know him’. I think she saw him differently and believed he was not as unfeeling as he seemed. So the hospital scene didn’t seem unconvincing to me. Also, I loved that he says ‘I love you’ and it’s just that. No heavy pauses, no ‘I love you too’ or BGMs.
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Kay
March 28, 2018
BR – I love this first post column more than your other reviews. Already watched murmer of the heart; will write more on it later.
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sanjana
March 28, 2018
Inspiring story of Sudha Chandran comes to mind. Also Hrithik in Gujarish. Old hindi movie Dosti. Our films are full blooded. And our audience loves them that way. You cry buckets for them.
Do they sell toys with some physical deformities? To create acceptance and empathy. Or old men and women struggling?
Our films are cruel towards all sorts of different people struggling with their lives. Forget empathy.
A beggar usually gets this retort that he or she is hatta katta. And so the mafia mutilates them to be fit for the profession.
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Aparna
March 28, 2018
Kay – I loved the hospital scene, replayed it a few times actually. Especially when it cuts to black and he says I love you. I felt the shift from the sunny beaches in the first half to the snow and ice of the last act, a little jarring, but probably the icy surroundings brought out the warmth in Ali to admit his feelings.
Murmer of the heart is next on my list, along with A prophet from Jacques Audiard, the director of Rust and Bone. Interestingly, Audiard’s last movie is Dheepan which is about the immigrant experience of a Sri Lankan Tamil family in France.
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Kay
March 28, 2018
Aparna – Interesting! I have made a list of movies that I have to watch, too and slowly catching up on them.
I absolutely agree with you on your observations in your first comment. In his own way Ali is a gentleman when he is with Stéphanie. Their relationship is not the rough, one night fling that he has with other women. That he trusts her enough to introduce her to his son and let her manage his bets speaks a lot.
He’s also unapologetic about forgetting to pick up his son or leaving the kid with his sister while he spent time with Stéphanie. Personally, I wouldn’t condone this behaviour, but the lack of judgement towards his failings as a father is a breath of fresh air.
I also wanted to know about how Sam felt about all this, but that’d be a different movie. I do wonder what happened when he was with his mum and how he came to his father.
I’m also reminded of Call me by my name, in which the the protagonist’s parents are refreshingly open minded about their son’s sexuality and encourage him to explore himself. They behave normally with the guy that broke their son’s heart, without giving him killer looks or loaded comments. These subjects are conflicting in themselves, and we don’t need the added weight of judgement clouding the feelings.
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rsylviana
March 28, 2018
I didn’t know about the word ‘Ableist’ either , so thank you for that BR! Coming to Gal Gadot’s tweet , I don’t think she meant to offend Mr.Hawking’s memory or his ardent followers but I can see why her tweet can be considered insensitive . Yes, All of us would have thought similar to what Gal has tweeted when we see a differently abled person but would we say it out loud in the presence of them? Doesn’t it seem offensive when uttered in their presence ? And Ms.Gadot being such a huge star guarantees that her words are going to reach millions of such people through the internet so isn’t this a little bit insulting to them ?
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Rahul
March 28, 2018
“Rahul: So I am referring to that. What do you mean by echoing ableist tropes? Are you not conflating her views with a particular identity group rather than examining her views by themselves?”
Madan , here is what I said verbatim – “I think what she did was to echo an “ableist trope” ”
The difference between what you are implying i said and what I said is the difference between saying “you said something racist” and “you are racist” . This is how language works – if she repeats the same thought pattern a few times then “she echoed an ableist trope” would become “she is probably an ableist” . As It stands I don’t think I said anything factually wrong. If someone wants to conflate everything what an ableist thinks with her then its their problem not mine.
“I interpreted it as saying Hawking can now perform even more amazing feats in heaven than he did in his earthly existence. NOT as denigrating his very existence itself.”
If this is your interpretation then probably you believe she may be saying this on the death of others as well. I somehow doubt that. But lets agree to disagree.
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sanjana
March 28, 2018
Better they get some writers write these things for them. Inoffensive.
Such a wonderful personality. If he could have lived for a few more years, he would have contributed so much to science. As long as we see those stars, sky and beyond, we will always remember him and also miss him.
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Madan
March 28, 2018
Rahul: So tell me what is ableist about what she said? Let’s first establish that. I don’t see any condescension or superiority complex towards the differently abled in that tweet. All she said was Hawking would now be free of his physical constraints, stating in the very next sentence that he was a brilliant person. So no “poor you, Hawking, what a miserable existence you led”. Those are meanings you have inferred into the sentence on the grounds that anything that could remotely be construed as offensive to the differently abled is by definition ableist. So this is not even about going from saying something ableist to the next step of being an ableist. You haven’t even established that she said something ableist. You said her comment echoes ableist tropes. So in essence your objection is simply that she said something that ableists may approve of. Again, that is not her problem. Language can be construed in a zillion ways because we do not use it precisely 99% of the time. If a statement sounds reasonable on a face value reading of it, I am happy to go along with that interpretation rather than worrying about which tribes may make hay out of it. You wish to choose otherwise and that is your prerogative but as somebody whose grandmother was a rheumatoid arthritis patient and whom I had never seen walk without a stick, I am not convinced by your arguments or any others I have heard so far that Gadot said something I should take offence to.
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Anu Warrier
March 28, 2018
I thought about the Gal Godot tweet and seriously think it is Jewish thing. Like the Hindu scriptures that say that when a man dies, a soul is free of constraints. I really and truly doubt that she meant that he was now free of a horrible life. Judaism, like Hinduism does see death as a release from worldly suffering. For everybody, not just the differently-abled.
I can see how Rahul got to his perspective of the tweet, though.And that is as valid a perspective as mine is. I’m trying however, to look at a stand-alone statement, and give it the benefit of the doubt. Because I agree with Kay. We have come to a point where everything that is said is viewed through a prism of offence. And I’m guilty of that as well.
As I said, I dislike Gal Gadot for her politics and the total bigotry she espouses. Despite that, reading the tweet in isolation, I’d like to believe that she meant no ill-will.
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Madan
March 28, 2018
@ sanjana: I agree (that she should have let a publicist write the statement) but for entirely different reasons. It’s more than 10 years now since social media came to be and we are showing no signs that we understand any better how to handle it. When people are completely unfiltered, of course everything is going to escalate sooner or later. It would be better if famous personalities went back to issuing press statements. I mean, don’t even put it on Twitter. Let newspapers have something to print. They are the least sensationalised news media and we badly need them rather than TV and internet fake need to survive.
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Madan
March 28, 2018
I mean, it’s bad enough that social media seems to make people more quarrelsome but on top of that, they go selling our personal data to politicians. Which I knew/suspected but never thought people would fall en masse for targeted YouTube feeds.
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Rahul
March 28, 2018
“Rahul: So tell me what is ableist about what she said?”
The implication that death is preferable to a life living with those constraints. And if death is preferable, then life would be horrible is a fair assumption IMO. This , I believe, is cultural prejudice against differently abled people.
Madan, respectfully, I don’t think I have any more to add on this topic. Looking forward to discussing something else with you on some other board.
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anon
March 29, 2018
Anu, I don’t know anything about Gal Gadot’s politics but how is she a bigot for not supporting Palestinian cause? She’s Israeli.
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Anu Warrier
March 30, 2018
anon – yes, she’s Israeli. She doesn’t have to support the Palestinian cause, but she’s made enough bigoted statements about the Palestinians. As I said, I disagree with her politics. Others can have a different opinion, no? 🙂
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Devarsi Ghosh
April 2, 2018
Must revisit Rust and Bone.
Gadot’s comment was indeed tone-deaf and, well, “ableist”. Let’s look at her choice of words. “Free of Physical Constraints” — as if to suggest that Hawking had been living a lesser kind of life than non-handicapped people on account of being Physically Constrained.
And that now, oh my, he is finally free of all these tools and contraptions. Good for him — I found it offensive, yes.
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brangan
April 2, 2018
Devarsi Ghosh: Regarding, “Let’s look at her choice of words.”
I don’t think tweets should be equated to legal documents where every word is carefully… chosen.
There are lots of times people (not just Gadot) say things that have to be taken with the benefit of doubt.
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Kay
April 3, 2018
Devarsi Ghosh – tone-deaf?
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