Mr. Wheelchair of America!

I walked into Pruis Hall on Wednesday evening, not knowing what to expect about the documentary called Defining Beauty that I was about to watch as a part of women's week. What I did not know is that the film was also in honor of the end of Disability month. As I walked through the doors to find a seat, my eyes landed on a woman sitting in the front row of the hall. She was about 30 years old, but still looked very young and beautiful with long blonde hair. But that's not what I noticed about her at first. The thing that caught my eye was that she was in a wheelchair. I continued on past her up the stairs about eight rows to take my seat where she, confined in her wheelchair, was not permitted to go. I took my seat, readied my notes, and waited for the film to begin. 

The movie started with a girl jumping out of a plane skydiving. The girl looked familiar, and I suddenly realized it was the girl sitting in the front row! Now all these questions flooded my head. Who is this person? Why is she in a wheelchair? What happened to her and why is she here? I knew that the documentary would answer my questions, so I kept watching intensely. The beginning credits began to roll, and I was informed that Defining Beauty was a film about disabled people living an everyday life. Through the hour and a half film, the camera follows 27 young women (and their families), between the ages of 21 and 60 all relying 100% of their daily mobility through a wheelchair in a beauty pageant called Ms. Wheelchair of America. After winning the Ms. Wheelchair title in the participant's home state, the women advance onto the National level of competition where they reside in South Dakota for a week until Ms. Wheelchair of America is crowned. 

The director of the film, who was also present that evening, decided to focus on 5 different woman in the competition who were open about sharing their stories. However, all 27 woman who were in the pageant were interviewed and displayed in the film. I'm really glad that I went to this movie because it was extremely inspiring, motivational, and opened up my eyes to new perspectives. There were some really shocking things in the film. One example is a woman who was born with no arms or legs. They interviewed her family and told her story, and even showed her texting someone with her tongue! Another kind of comical discussion the girls were interview on was using the bathroom. I have never realized that most people in wheelchairs do not have any control over their bladder. That they use a catheter to relieve themselves, of which they actually showed the woman, who I learned was named Amber, that sat in the front row doing this in the bathroom. Since Amber was present that evening, I learned a lot about her. When she was 15, she was in a terrible car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. For 16 years she has lived and dealt with this, and she was extremely open about her experiences and the questions the audience asked her at the end of the movie. 

The director made sure to cover the different aspects of the actual pageant, the interviews with the judges, the surfing day at the beach, the speeches given, and even the friendships and relationships they formed with one another throughout the competition. The woman that won the crown of Ms. Wheelchair of America was named Erica Bogan. She got in a car accident when an abusive male crashed and she was thrown from the vehicle where she was wrapped around a tree. What was shocking about her, was that even with her disability, she was a single mom who raised three kids! All of these woman are very strong and inspiring throughout the movie. 

I have known a little bit of what they have experienced because I have been temporarily disabled when I tore my ACL's. My life had changed drastically from what I was used to, and with another surgery coming up, it can still be hard to deal with at times. But after seeing this film, I realize I could be much worse off. It's amazing how these woman are still so positive and full of life. It kind of made me even feel guilty for how I felt about my knees and really put things into perspective for me. I recommend others to see this movie because it is life changing and quite inspiring. They announced at the end that a copy of the film will be avaialble in the library for others to see. So I beg you, please take a look at this movie! It taught me so much, but the most important thing that I learned is to always look past their chair to the person that they really are.