One of my favorite hobbies is watching movies. Any genre. Any time. Anywhere. So when COVID 19 closed New York City movie theaters for the foreseeable future; I was totally bummed. What’s the next best alternative? Well, if I can’t go to the movies – then ask me to talk about them instead! That’s when I got a welcome invitation to satisfy my movie fix from Lisa Beth Kovetz, host of the show Science Goes to The Movies.
Kovetz looks at the science in contemporary motion pictures. Through one on one interviews with her guests, she asks the question “Will today’s sci-fi fantasies become tomorrow’s science realities?
At the height of COVID in New York City, Lisa and I did a Zoom interview about the Netflix movie, Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock. If you don’t know the plot of the film, a mysterious, invisible, force unexpectedly decimates the population. If you see it, you die. The survivors must avoid coming face to face with an entity that takes the form of their worst fears. Searching for hope and a new beginning, a woman named Mallory and her children, affectionately named “Boy” and “Girl” (NOT KIDDING) embark on a dangerous journey through the woods and down a treacherous river to find sanctuary. To make it, they’ll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them — and complete the trip blindfolded.
What makes the Bird Box so intensively gut-wrenching is Mallory’s task of parenting two small children in this high stress, extremely dangerous situation. Very seldom do you come across a film, even a horror flick, where you witness children in mortal danger as a key ingredient to the plot. For parents like myself, it absolutely strikes a nerve as we try to imagine what we might do in Mallory’s situation. Would I have the physical strength to go on? Could I keep it together mentally? And how about… Would my kids respect me enough to keep those damned blindfolds on?
Bird Box presents a good point on behalf of the disabled community – one that speaks to thousands of blind and visually impaired parents raising families… PARENTING WITHOUT SIGHT IS POSSIBLE.
Check out my episode of Science Goes to the Movies as I talk Bird Box, stereotypes associated with blind parenting, visually impaired superheroes, AND MORE!
