‘Me Before You’ Sparks Backlash #MeBeforeEuthanasia

The disabled community bashes ‘Me Before You’ for the movie’s casting and storyline.

The new movie Me Before You is based on the 2012 best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy family as a caregiver for their adult sun, who sustained a spinal cord injury and is now a quadriplegic. Over the course of six months, Louisa’s (Emilia Clarke) charm and personality uplift Will (Sam Claflin), and the the two eventually fall in love.

While the movie sounds romantic, many disabled people and those in the disability community bashed the movie for casting another able-bodied actor portraying a disabled character. A new phenomenon that some have called “cripface.”

But, after the movie premiered in theaters, the real controversy started. In the movie, the character Will seeks an assisted suicide and, despite the attempts of his family to dissuade him from killing himself, he remains resolute in his goal. The film ends with Louisa following Will’s last wishes for her, using the money he left her to travel and the movie ends with “live boldly.” People have since started protesting on Twitter with the hashtag #MeBeforeEuthanasia.

The Hollywood Reporter recently spoke with a quadriplegic actor about the movie. “The message of this movie is that it’s better for this person to die in order to be of service to her than for him to live,” says actor Zack Weinstein.

If Hollywood has a hard time casting a non-white actor for a traditionally non-white role, I find it extremely likely that casting directors will choose actors for disabled roles.

Via THR

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