The movie, "Me Before You."

Typically there are not very many motion pictures on the big screen that feature a majorly disabled character. Recently when I started seeing commercials for a new film titled, "Me Before You", I was already starting to plan with whom and where I would see it. I thought I would be able to relate to the story in some capacity. Then within the last couple of days I have seen this movie cause some friction on several Facebook pages that I follow. A facilitator of one of the groups has banned any further talk about the film! It is pushing major buttons within the disabled community for sure. It seems that this story depicts a young dare devil type man who becomes paralyzed and doesn't feel like his life is worth as much as his young love who is his caregiver and then becomes his wife. I found a quote from a movie critic. "Every time the media thoughtlessly throws around these messages about disability, it’s a painful reminder of how the existence of the disability community is so often perceived. “Me Before You” continues this trend, taking it further by trying to use both the victim and inspiration tropes simultaneously, aiming to leave audiences feeling inspired while still ultimately perceiving disability as tragic." This critic hit the nail on the head for how I feel. I for one am here to say that although in my early days of being told I would be permanently disabled, I was indeed handling many hopeless and helpless feelings, but I've grown into accepting myself and never giving up. And I wish more movies would show stories of resilience and characters never giving up. After reading more about this film, I want to run from it because I think it would make my heart just sink! And I get it. That's Hollywood.