Educational Media Reviews Online

Defiant Lives is an excellent look at the civil rights of physically disabled people in three countries: Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Unlike many works on disability that center the stories and views of abled allies, Defiant Lives is clearly focused on the work of disabled activists. In fact, the trouble with allies is clearly and explicitly addressed in a section on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, discussing Lewis’ ableism and the telethon’s lack of support for people with muscular dystrophy.

The film’s message is clear throughout: advances in the rights of disabled people are thanks to the actions of disabled people themselves, not those of abled people who would like to see themselves as heroes. The film also succeeds in showing the scope of injustices enacted upon disabled people, and the ways in which disability rights have – and haven’t – progressed.

Defiant Lives is valuable both as a historical record of the disability rights movement and as an exploration of the importance of supporting marginalized people without abridging their freedoms. It is highly recommended for public and academic libraries.