Ableism Dialogue ("MP" 1)

Trigger Warning: Talk of the ableist slur “invalid(s)”, picture of it being said in a movie via subtitles, and its definition said and pictured

SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE My Policeman

A movie I absolutely adore is My Policeman. It’s a beautiful movie and story.

The ableism, though, I cannot get over.

There are multiple examples of ableism in this movie each of which I will give its own article.

In this one I’ll be talking about a line of dialogue that includes an ableist slur.

Five-ish minutes into the movie, older Tom (played by Linus Roache) says “There are places for invalids” in regards to older Patrick (played by Rupert Everett) who is a paralyzed wheelchair user and is mostly nonverbal as a result of a stroke.

The definition of “invalid” is “a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury”.

This word is a problem because it’s used negatively. It’s used as another way to demean disabled people.

Instead of referring to someone simply as “disabled” or whatever, this word is sometimes used. Nondisabled people use the word “invalid” when referring to disabled people as a way to dehumanize us. It’s a way nondisabled people can not so subtly show their lack of respect for disabled people as human beings.

In terms of the movie and the line of dialogue used, Older Tom is angry and, because of that, immediately refers to Older Patrick as an “invalid”. Older Tom immediately demeans and devalues Older Patrick out of anger.

As a disabled person watching this movie for the first time, I was in tears and nearly had a panic attack when I heard that word.

I haven’t been able to watch it a second time because I cannot handle hearing that word again. This is not okay.

This part of the movie is set in the 1990s, yes, but the movie came out in 2022. The movie came out in a year in which it should be painfully obvious disabled people deserve respect and talking about us like that isn’t okay.

The movie is based on a book, yes. Said book came out in 2012. Around 11 years ago. But that doesn’t make including that word acceptable or okay. Movies never include every little detail that are in their books. It wasn’t absolutely necessary for that word to be there. It wouldn’t have negatively impacted the movie - it wouldn’t have been do or die - if “invalids” was not included in the final cut.

I do understand the importance and necessity of showing Older Tom’s anger, but it’s entirely possible to be ableist and shitty without using slurs.

I genuinely adored My Policeman. And I wanted to love it. But I just can’t with the absolute ableism, devaluation, dehumanization included.

I’m honestly incredibly disappointed.