What Buddy The Elf Taught Me About Disability
Anybody who knows me will tell you I absolutely love Christmas! The day after Thanksgiving, I go into full on Christmas mode. One of my favorite parts about Christmas is of course Christmas movies, and no Christmas season would be complete without multiple viewings of the modern classic, “Elf”. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the movie tells the story of a human named Buddy (played by Will Ferrell), who was raised in the North Pole by elves, and goes to New York City to experience the human world for the first time. The movie is sure to make you laugh, chronicling the strange experiences of someone caught between two worlds, who is never quite sure what to do with himself. I’ve always liked this movie, but it wasn’t until recently that I had an epiphany.
I am Buddy the Elf! No really, I swear I am.
I know that sounds ridiculous, but hear me out on this one. Buddy’s experiences perfectly illustrate what it means to exist, grow, and live in a world that is just not set up for you. When Buddy is in the North Pole he struggles to exist comfortably, and to fit into the culture in a way that is considered generally acceptable because he is a human in the world set up for elves. The doorways are too short, the toilets are too small, and Buddy is nowhere close to being able to fit in his bed. It doesn’t stop there though, in a world that is specially tailored to the talents of elves, Buddy cannot keep up, and because of this HE is seen as a problem.
Instead of realizing what is so clearly in front of them; that is that the environment is problematic for buddy, and adaptations need to be made, Buddy is seen as a problem. This struck a chord with me as a disabled person. I have spent my entire life in a world that is just not set up for me, and I’ve spent most of my life believing that I was the problem, and I was the who needed to change. Instead of realizing that lack of ramps, lack of accessible housing and transportation, and just general ignorance around disability were the problems, I truly believed that I was the problem, and the solution was inside of me. I believed that I had to learn to force myself to fit in a world that was not mine, and not made for me. I didn’t understand the intense power and importance of social structures. I didn’t realize or understand that things like privilege effect the way the world works, and the way that people saw me.
When I was in high school, I learned about something called the social model of disability, which basically argued that the problem was in social structures and social constructs rather than in individuals and impairments. I read a story written by a scholar and activist named Vic Finkelstein, about what the world would be like if the social structures were reversed. Finkelstein described a world with lowered doorways, countertops and cabinets, a world designed primarily for wheelchair users. He argued that a non-disabled person in our world, would be considered disabled in this world because they would not be able to function in the same way the members of the dominant culture would be able to. They would be seen as a problem, that needed to be fixed.
Finally, I had a way to explain my experience, but I struggled to explain it to other people who had never experienced what it was like to be part of a world that sees you as a problem.
Then, a few years later, I was watching "Elf" for probably the hundredth time, and I saw it. I saw Buddy not being able to fit in his bed, or the bathroom, and I related because so many places are impossible for me to fit in. I saw Buddy being referred to as “special” in the most patronizing way possible. It was almost painful, and I felt it deep inside of me."Special" a codeword for not fitting in to society's expectations, a euphemism for being different, a word that is often said with such disdain, that can never be a good thing, but rather a rebuke, a judgment against someone for not fitting the mold. I saw it and I felt it. I knew what it was like to have people feel that you are the problem, that everything you are is wrong and needs to be fixed. I saw it when Buddy finally reached our world, a world that in every physical way was designed for somebody who looked like him, but was socially foreign. I felt his desperate need to fit in and be like everyone else even at the cost of losing what made him the beautiful person that he was.
I felt this with every fiber of my being. I felt like I was staring into my own experience. I saw myself reflected in Buddy’s life, experiencing what it is like to straddle two worlds. I understood the need to fit in, even if it means pretending to be somebody you’re not. I understood those desires, but I also identify with the power that can be found in resisting them. I recognized how painful it was for Buddy to be part of the world that saw him as a problem, but I also saw the great strength that was gained from rejecting that false narrative. It was only by being different that Buddy had the ability to make a profound impact on the world around him. Since he experienced the world differently, he saw things that other people could not see, or sometimes even believe was real.
Buddy did not change, instead he revolutionized the world around him. Buddy finally realized that he was not the problem, and that he was not the one that needed to be changed. It was in that moment that I knew for sure I am Buddy The Elf. I live in a world that is not built for me, but who I am is not the problem; instead it is the key to making a difference.
[Image description:: Will Ferrell wearing an elf costume sitting in a classroom in a child's desk that is far too small for him surrounded by what appear to be children also sitting in desks]
I am Buddy the Elf! No really, I swear I am.
I know that sounds ridiculous, but hear me out on this one. Buddy’s experiences perfectly illustrate what it means to exist, grow, and live in a world that is just not set up for you. When Buddy is in the North Pole he struggles to exist comfortably, and to fit into the culture in a way that is considered generally acceptable because he is a human in the world set up for elves. The doorways are too short, the toilets are too small, and Buddy is nowhere close to being able to fit in his bed. It doesn’t stop there though, in a world that is specially tailored to the talents of elves, Buddy cannot keep up, and because of this HE is seen as a problem.
Instead of realizing what is so clearly in front of them; that is that the environment is problematic for buddy, and adaptations need to be made, Buddy is seen as a problem. This struck a chord with me as a disabled person. I have spent my entire life in a world that is just not set up for me, and I’ve spent most of my life believing that I was the problem, and I was the who needed to change. Instead of realizing that lack of ramps, lack of accessible housing and transportation, and just general ignorance around disability were the problems, I truly believed that I was the problem, and the solution was inside of me. I believed that I had to learn to force myself to fit in a world that was not mine, and not made for me. I didn’t understand the intense power and importance of social structures. I didn’t realize or understand that things like privilege effect the way the world works, and the way that people saw me.
When I was in high school, I learned about something called the social model of disability, which basically argued that the problem was in social structures and social constructs rather than in individuals and impairments. I read a story written by a scholar and activist named Vic Finkelstein, about what the world would be like if the social structures were reversed. Finkelstein described a world with lowered doorways, countertops and cabinets, a world designed primarily for wheelchair users. He argued that a non-disabled person in our world, would be considered disabled in this world because they would not be able to function in the same way the members of the dominant culture would be able to. They would be seen as a problem, that needed to be fixed.
Finally, I had a way to explain my experience, but I struggled to explain it to other people who had never experienced what it was like to be part of a world that sees you as a problem.
Then, a few years later, I was watching "Elf" for probably the hundredth time, and I saw it. I saw Buddy not being able to fit in his bed, or the bathroom, and I related because so many places are impossible for me to fit in. I saw Buddy being referred to as “special” in the most patronizing way possible. It was almost painful, and I felt it deep inside of me."Special" a codeword for not fitting in to society's expectations, a euphemism for being different, a word that is often said with such disdain, that can never be a good thing, but rather a rebuke, a judgment against someone for not fitting the mold. I saw it and I felt it. I knew what it was like to have people feel that you are the problem, that everything you are is wrong and needs to be fixed. I saw it when Buddy finally reached our world, a world that in every physical way was designed for somebody who looked like him, but was socially foreign. I felt his desperate need to fit in and be like everyone else even at the cost of losing what made him the beautiful person that he was.
I felt this with every fiber of my being. I felt like I was staring into my own experience. I saw myself reflected in Buddy’s life, experiencing what it is like to straddle two worlds. I understood the need to fit in, even if it means pretending to be somebody you’re not. I understood those desires, but I also identify with the power that can be found in resisting them. I recognized how painful it was for Buddy to be part of the world that saw him as a problem, but I also saw the great strength that was gained from rejecting that false narrative. It was only by being different that Buddy had the ability to make a profound impact on the world around him. Since he experienced the world differently, he saw things that other people could not see, or sometimes even believe was real.
Buddy did not change, instead he revolutionized the world around him. Buddy finally realized that he was not the problem, and that he was not the one that needed to be changed. It was in that moment that I knew for sure I am Buddy The Elf. I live in a world that is not built for me, but who I am is not the problem; instead it is the key to making a difference.
[Image description:: Will Ferrell wearing an elf costume sitting in a classroom in a child's desk that is far too small for him surrounded by what appear to be children also sitting in desks]
