Rebel Wilson’s Senior Year fails TBI survivors
Netflix should know better
I love a good rom com and despite not being a fan of Rebel Wilson, I still chose to watch her latest Netflix film Senior Year. (The teaser for the recreation of Britney’s iconic ‘Crazy’ video sold me on it.)
I wish I hadn’t. Even more disappointing than the sub-par performances were the lack of compassion and realism when it comes to traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and coma survivors. Lines like ‘you’re having a mini stroke’ in response to Wilson’s over-the-top ‘yuck’ face are callus and damaging.
In the US alone, every 23 seconds someone suffers from a brain injury, or 2.8 million people a year. We know enough now that representation matters, yet it’s clear that no one voiced concerns for the disabled community and ignored the long-term emotional toll it takes on caregivers and families like mine. Instead, an entire film decided to make fun of it — and profit off of it. Seeing that it was the #1 movie on Netflix only reinforces negative stereotypes about people who are ‘different’ and are still the butt of tired jokes.
“It only took 20 years and some brain damage, but she has finally agreed to go out with you.”
While the movie strives to be inclusive with its cast and representative characters, it didn’t stretch itself enough to think of what other ways someone could play the fish-out-of-water story. We’ve seen it before though without damaging messages: body swaps like Freaky Friday or Vice Versa and time travel like Blast From the Past or Back to the Future are some examples. When all else fails, throw some fairy dust on it and call it some witchy magic that she fell asleep for 30 years.
