Going to the Mat establishes Jace Newfield as a blind musical savant. But the film focuses on Jace desperately not wanting to be seen as a stereotype.
His resistance is a sign of ableism because he doesn’t want to be the one-dimensional character he sees in the media; he assumes everyone thinks of him that way.
“The problem is that fiction has the capacity to initiate this very fear, meaning that when left unaddressed literary representation itself functions
as an Unseen Starer, potentially making Unseeing Victims of not only blind characters but people with impaired vision.” (Bolt, 26)
Fiction’s Difference from Reality
The impact of such media representations can be expressed or even develop into personality traits.
In my personal experience, the more I was called “courageous” and “brave” about my disability, the more stubbornness became part of my personality.
Beginning in childhood, I felt I had much to prove for people to ignore my disability.
Due to my disability, I was often singled out. To avoid that, I became very stubborn in insisting on doing things the way able-bodied people do.
Fortunately, that belief has lessened with age.
Going to the Mat’s attempt at Discussing Ableism
Jace’s assumption that people automatically can’t understand his struggles is challenged
when he attends music class taught by a visually impaired teacher, which Jace was unaware of. Jace acts out by playing a drum solo in the middle of classical music.
He then defended himself by saying the teacher wouldn’t understand what he’s going through.
Then Jace is told,
“he’s just like you.” and jokingly, “talk about the blind leading the blind.”
Mr. Wyatt immediately recognizes Jace’s problems stemming from the “chip on his shoulder” related to his being blind.
The dynamic between Mr. Wyatt and Jace is mentoring and falls into the same category as the magic black guy trope.
“In order to show the world that minority characters are not bad people, one will step forward to help a “normal” person, with their pure heart and folksy wisdom.
They are usually black and/or poor…and the wisdom in some way enriches that central character’s life.” (Tvtropes.com) Mr. Wyatt gives him the wisdom that
“People will always treat you differently because you are different.”
This is hard to hear because of Jace’s natural desire to fit in, especially as a teenager.
Sources
Bolt, D. (2005). Looking Back at Literature: A Critical Reading of the Unseen Stare in Depictions of People with Impaired Vision. Disability & Society, 20(7), 735-747. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687590500335741
Tv Tropes. (n.d.). Magical Negro. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalNegro