Crip Camp
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We are playing catch up by reviewing films that are a part of the current awards season.
Usually when Netflix funnels out its popular film(s) for the year, the hype subsides. Remember Bird Box? Bandersnatch? That dreaded Tiger King? That’s what I’m talking about: these works that are pumped out early in a new year or late in an old one (which carries out into the following January), as to reassume its stance in the streaming circuit. Well, one film released in this way didn’t disappear, and it’s last March’s Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. Produced by the Obamas through Higher Ground Productions (after their American Factory Oscar win last year), this is another success for the President and First Lady in such a short amount of time. Netflix and the Obamas might have been the initial fire that caused Crip Camp’s quick rise to popularity, but its staying power has allowed it to remain as one of the five Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature nearly an entire year later.
Tonally, Crip Camp is straight forward, in a basic interview style that you would find in most documentaries. That leaves it easy to digest for the masses, and this is the kind of film that should be seen by as many people as possible, given how informative and inspirational it is. What I love is how there’s an actual story here that is more than just a basic premise. I can only imagine other filmmakers focusing on Camp Jened or the disability rights movement, but Nicole Newnham and James Lebrecht wanted to share something much fuller. As a result, Crip Camp doesn’t feel stagnant. It tells entire lifetimes for some of its campers, who start the film as attendees of this one spot in the ‘70s, and watching them grow into the fighters for rights, all to come back down to Earth and see them respond to Camp Jened today (which is all but a distant memory). This is an opportunity that wasn’t wasted.
Crip Camp dives deeply into its various subjects with complete devotion.
On the topic of the bigger picture, Crip Camp also allows us to get familiar with each Camp Jened member as people, and not just components of this story. Leaving jokes and pieces of personality in the film is a massive benefit, because it feels like we’re spending time with everyone as they tell their sides of this one story. This is also a major benefit when it comes to shedding light and sharing information on how Americans with disabilities tell their own tales, without any Hollywood hinderances or skewing. That last point is especially true when it comes to the portion of Crip Camp that zeroes in on the rise of activism that stemmed from Camp Jened, because we hear these stories from the activists themselves; this is told by fighters with triumph in their hearts, and not by meddling middlemen that want to make the story feel more daunting or thrilling (for entertainment). Crip Camp is fully committed to its sincerity, and its heart and truth is the major cause of the longevity of its legacy so far. There’s no mystery as to why this documentary is so beloved: it’s impossible to dislike or be unfazed by.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.