Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

The Documentary takes it's title from an insensitive nickname for Camp Jened, a summer camp for the disabled, founded in 1951. The Doc focuses on a group of attendees in the summer of 1971 (which included filmmaker James LeBrecht, who co-Directs with Nicole Newnham). At the time, Jened was being run by self-described hippies. One of the interviewees describes the place as their Woodstock which had been held nearby just a couple of summers prior (there's even a sequence when the camp counselors lead a sing-a-long of the Grateful Dead's 'What A Long Strange Trip It's Been'). That younger generation is known for advocating for civil rights, women's rights and gay rights but a lesser known movement was the early stages of rights for the disabled. A good number of the campers not only became friends, but, also became players in the disability rights movements, in particular, the indefatigable Judith Heumann.

Heumann, LeBrecht and Camp Jened members participated in the protests that led to the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (signed by Nixon, but not enforced), the 1977 San Francisco sit-ins that forced Secretary Joseph Califano into finally putting teeth into the act), suffered through Ronald Reagan's budget axe and eventually, the landmark 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act signed by Bush, Sr..

This second and longer section of the Documentary is very well done and certainly heartfelt, but, the opening section at Camp Jened is the heart and soul of the movie. Fortunately, a group called the People's Video Theater documented the camp in 1971 on 1/2 inch Videotape - and, even more miraculously, the tapes survived. What those tapes reveal are the campers in all their unguarded glory. The laughter, the tears and, for many of them, their first sexual experiences (an outbreak of the crabs is squeamishly detailed). The legislation was long overdue and important, but CRIP CAMP is more about just showing the individuals as people. LeBrecht and Newnham let everybody speak for themselves,no matter how halting their speech. It's never edited for time. They are just being themselves in front of the camera. The footage during the S.F. sit-in also needs special mention of local TV reporter Evan White who literally embedded with the protesters.

CRIP CAMP falls into the 'advocacy documentary' category (few warts are discussed), but what elevates it is the way in which the viewer is invited to participate with the Camp Jened campers. It shows in it's own way why it's very title is both a reminder of the past, but also that there is still work to do to eliminate it's "insensitive" moniker.

Well done with this documentary. Bringing in the truth, from people who lived it. Our world has never treated persons with special needs well at all. Their story needs to be told, their strength needs to be shared. Heartbreaking and inspiring. The original footage is amazing!

Oh how I loved this film! It starts about a group of disabled people who attend Camp Jened, a camp for people with disabilities and the freedom they felt at the camp where they could be themselves and feel equal, unlike in society and back at home. The story evolves into the story of the disability movement in America, which was led by one of the campers. I knew nothing of this movement until now and it's an important story to be told. It brought me to tears and is a must-watch if you enjoy documentaries!

While executive-produced by the Obamas, to think that the tragedy this documentary unravels--which is the everyday struggle of disabled people--is dramatized out of proportion would be a careless prejudice. This is focused strictly on the facts and the decades that these facts spawn across.

That doesn't mean that Netflix straight up ignores the details of these disabilities. The people depicted are all very candid about their various situations, but instead of finding a shoulder to cry on, they are viewed for what they actually are--heroes, paragons of success. A lot of them go into vivid stories about their sexuality--yes, of course they are sexually active!

The documentary starts with the spark which ignited a landmark movement which forever changed the US Constitution--and the entire world's for that matter--when it comes to Civil Rights for disabled people. Jened was homemade--it had people with no background into caring for the disabled, yet it contained something more powerful. It allowed them to be themselves. They were everywhere. Their own world, their own normality encapsulated by the bigger unsuspecting world. This was the key which gave birth to an idea--that this bubble should pop all over the world, that when given the opportunity to express themselves, disabled people have at least as much to offer to the world as the rest of us, that they are more human than the world ever knows.

From the existential theme at Jened, the documentary then fasts-forward over decades ensuing a historical fight. It boldly depicts leader Judith Heumann as a well-deserving comparison to Martin Luther King Jr. Yet the most iconic moments are contained in the Herculean efforts these people pulled when they spent days partaking in a hunger strike for their rights--a determination that few people--not to mention disabled--have.

The amount of time and list of US presidents this documentary burns through showed mercilessly how slow, inapt and opaque politics can get. Yet the fact that these people saw it through goes to show that not all heroes wear capes... some can't even stand up on their own two feet.

...no frills, no overly-clever graphics, just a beautifully edited collection of convicting memories, capturing a completely forgotten piece of cultural history, & illuminating the immense effect this one relatively small group of hippies had on American history. It's packed with full of the kind of humanity we need: kid singing "One Time Blues", climbing Capitol steps, reuniting with other campers at campgrounds...& is it just me, or did anybody else crush hard on Judith?