Brittany Kelly

SPED 5030
11/15/2015

Screening Stereotypes Movie Paper: The Horse Whisper

Synopsis:

I choose to watch the movie called The Horse Whisper. I was a 1998 movie

based on the novel The Horse Whisper by Nicholas Evans. The beginning of the movie

shows the main character, Grace, and her best friend on a trail ride during the winter

Grace and her horse slip on the snow and fall down a bank. Her friend follows after and

tries to grab the horse so it will not run away because Graces foot is caught in the

stirrup. A semi comes around the corner and hits the girls and their horses.

Miraculously, Grace and her horse manage to survive but her friend and horse did die.

Grace suffered major injuries and had to have part of her leg amputated. Her horse also

suffers from PTSD as well as major lacerations to his face, chest, and legs. Graces

mother decided to not put Pilgrim down. After some time has passes Grace goes to see

Pilgrim and is shocked to see how petrified and injured he is. Graces mom senses that

Graces healing is deeply linked to Pilgrims healing. So she finds a horse whisper and

the three of them travel to Montana to help Grace and Pilgrim back to health. Tom, the

horse whisper says that the only way he will help is if Grace agrees to help with

Pilgrims recovery. After working with Pilgrim for a few months, Tom talks to Grace and

says he needs her to tell him what happened so that he can continue to help Pilgrim but

he allows her to tell him in her own time.

Portrayal of Disability:

1
 Brittany Kelly
SPED 5030
11/15/2015

The disability that this movie focused on was a physical disability of Grace losing

her leg. In our text book, physical disabilities are considered low-incidence disabilities

because it is typically a disability that occurs infrequently (Gargiulo, 2015). Grace uses

adaptive technology to walk after the amputation of her leg. There are nearly 2 million

people who have lost a limb (ZieglerGraham K, 2008). The main causes of limb loss

are vascular disease (54%), trauma (45%), and cancer (less than 2%) (ZieglerGraham

K, 2008). I think how they portrayed this disability was fairly accurate. I worked at Craig

Hospital for 2 years before starting the grad program here at CU Denver. I didnt

necessarily see amputations but I did see many people whose lives were drastically

changed. I would see them go through many of the same emotions that Grace went

through. She states at one point that they might as well put her down because she was

of no use like her horse Pilgrim. When you have a major tragic life event such as losing

a limb it is very possible to have feelings of hopelessness. The part that I didnt see as

being a great portrayal is that it showed the recovery at a much accelerated rate. The

process to even get a prosthetic takes a long time and the therapy to know how to use it

and balance with it also takes a long time. They did not show any of this process. It

seemed like the accident happened and maybe a week later she left the hospital and

had her own fitted prosthetic.

Psychosocial Experience:

After Grace is injured and loses her leg she eventually goes back to school and

the other students make fun of her. This doesnt surprise me and I think depending on

the school it is quite possible that the students would tease her for being different.

2
 Brittany Kelly
SPED 5030
11/15/2015

Graces best friend died in the accident and she most likely is also suffering from

survivors guilt. The students making fun of her, only emphasizes her negative thoughts.

I did think it was good how Tom, the horse whisper treated her. He did not call attention

to her leg and he held high expectations for her. He didnt pity her or baby her, he just

treated her like a normal human being. I think this is so wonderful and exactly how we

should treat people with any type of disability. We should treat people with disabilities

and everyone with humanity and respect.

Psychosocial Stigma:

I think this movie portrays both a positive and a negative stigma towards people

with amputations. I think it positively reflected how we should treat people who have had

an amputation but I also think that it doesnt accurately reflect the process it takes to

heal how Grace did in the movie. My brother-in-law worked in the oil fields in Greeley.

He was doing work on one of their machines and his hand got trapped in a valve and

tore off his index finger and most of the skin on his middle finger. This happened in

March of this year. It has been months since the accident and he still feels self-

conscious. He has been in physical therapy since the accident to try to regain

movement in his middle finger. It isnt a leg but he is still having to relearn how to do

things because it was his dominant hand. His recovery is that he doesnt typically talk

to with others. We still treat him with respect because he is still the same person but we

know he wont be emotionally the same for a while. This movie conveys the image that

recovering from an amputation is a relatively fast and as I said before it definitely is not

a quick recovery.

3
 Brittany Kelly
SPED 5030
11/15/2015

Effect on Individuals:

As I stated before in the previous sections, this movie is a great example of how

we should treat people with a physical disability. As for the individuals with a disability I

think it could be encouraging to them. It shows that healing comes with time. Also even

if you have a physical you still can adapt to live the life you want. Disabilities can make

things more difficult but definitely not impossible.

Learning Experience:

I dont think I had any assumptions about physical disabilities such as

amputation. I think I have a fairly realistic view on the healing process, emotional

experiences, and the abilities of people with amputations. I think this is a very important

attitude to take. I know that in my teaching I will continue to set high expectations and

wont treat my students with disabilities with pity but will treat them with respect for the

people that they are. I will make sure they know that they have value and that I care

about their thoughts, opinions, and participation in my class.

4
 Brittany Kelly
SPED 5030
11/15/2015

References

Gargiulo, R. M. (2015). Special Education in Contemporary Society: An Introduction to

Exceptionality, Fifth Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
ZieglerGraham K, M. E. (2008). Estimating the Prevalence of Limb Loss in the United
States: 2005 to 2050. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 422-429.