Speechless, a relatively new sitcom, is about JJ DeMao and his family. JJ DeMao, played by Micah Fowler, is a teenage boy who has Cerebral Palsy. Speechless is a light-hearted show, that not only portrays life with a disability, but life as a part of a quirky family.
Speechless is a revolutionary show for multiple reasons.
Micah Fowler, the actor who plays JJ, actually has Cerebral Palsy. It is extremely uncommon for Hollywood to cast a role of a disabled character let alone let a person with a disability fill that role.
Speechless is a revolutionary show for multiple reasons.
Micah Fowler, the actor who plays JJ, actually has Cerebral Palsy. It is extremely uncommon for Hollywood to cast a role of a disabled character let alone let a person with a disability fill that role.
JJ DeMao is not a prop in the background, he is not that token disabled supporting character; JJ is the main character. More often than not, Hollywood does not cast a disabled character as a main role. However, Speechless is different; this show is built around JJ's life.
That is another thing, in Speechless, JJ is just living his life. He is not planning his death, he is not being portrayed as just surviving or as dying; HE IS LIVING! When Hollywood does write a part of a main character who is disabled, that character is often too sick or disabled to enjoy life, and the show typically ends with the death of that character.
JJ is not a burden, nor is he one to be pitied. He is a person who is loved dearly by his crazy family. He is a DeMao, and that is just as important -- or possibly even more important -- to his character, than him having Cerebral Palsy.
Speechless portrays JJ's life well; this show reveals what life is like with a disability, but at the same time does not obsessively focus on the disability. It is refreshing to see disability portrayed as just one aspect of a person's life, not as their sole definition of life. JJ is a person, not his disability, and Speechless expresses this well.
JJ is not a burden, nor is he one to be pitied. He is a person who is loved dearly by his crazy family. He is a DeMao, and that is just as important -- or possibly even more important -- to his character, than him having Cerebral Palsy.
Speechless portrays JJ's life well; this show reveals what life is like with a disability, but at the same time does not obsessively focus on the disability. It is refreshing to see disability portrayed as just one aspect of a person's life, not as their sole definition of life. JJ is a person, not his disability, and Speechless expresses this well.
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