Interview #1

Q: What is your disability?
A: My disability is Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD). I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD six years ago and have had problems learning at school during my Middle School years. My parents took me to be tested and the doctor determined that I needed special help. Now at Ryan High School, I have shown improvement in my behavior as well as my schoolwork because of the intervention I am receiving to help me concentrate on my studies and control my behavior.

Q: Do you currently watch cartoons? If so what do you watch? A: I watch adult cartoons because I am mature and mostly understand what they are trying to teach. Mostly I watch them to feel better because they make me laugh. I watch Family Guy and the Simpson’s. They are my favorites.

Q: Have you watched cartoons in the past? If so what did you watch?
A: When I was a kid I watched Saturday morning cartoons. I watched them probably because they kept my attention. There was a lot of action and everything was in color. I thought some were funny and others just were okay. I don’t remember too much about them now.

Q: Do cartoons offend you when they make fun of disabilities? Why or why not?
A: Sometimes I feel offended watching cartoons when they make fun of people with disabilities like myself. Family Guy is an adult cartoon show that has a guy sitting in a wheel chair named Joe and the cartoon creator puts him in bad situations like he often falls out of his chair and everyone laughs and calls him stupid and clumsy. He once was trapped in a building on fire and he just escaped the minute the roof of the building fell in. No one helped him. In another episode Peter Griffin was diagnosed with ADHD and he called himself mentally retarded after he flunked an IQ test. He was being tested to be on a quiz television show. His family after finding out the results of the IQ test treated him as if he was an imbecile. That hurt me bad. The Family Guy Show then made him a dummy and he took up that role as being what he is and wanted everyone around him to feel sorry for him. It ends up that everyone catered to him and gave him lots of things because of his self-made disability. That really bothered me.

Q: Cartoons make fun of an array of subjects. Do you feel that it is for this reason that many people to not think twice when a joke is made? A: Kids make fun of people all the time who have disabilities. I have been called many names and it angers me and I would like to punch some of this kids out. Sometimes I just call them every name in the book back. I write crap about them in Facebook on the Internet. I feel better when I do that. Some of the jokes on cartoons are probably written for fun and it takes a mature person to understand them. Most writers of cartoons don’t even think twice about what they say. Cable television allows this and nothing can be done to stop these kinds of jokes that insult and humiliate people who have disabilities like me. I have been getting better at understanding the cartoons and I take less offense now than I did when I was younger. I can even laugh with my girlfriend now. She understands me and because of her I feel that I can handle what people say about me. Having ADHD is a pain. The doctor says it will get better as I get older.I hope he’s right.

Q: Many people who watch cartoons may not understand the facts behind the jokes. Do you think that a lack of understanding could create conflicts in society? Why?

A: Yes, I think people who like myself dislike what cartoons of today say about society. They make fun at us who have trouble defending ourselves, but I guess it’s their right to put this stuff on cable. I don’t think people will every know how a person who suffers with a mental or physical disability feels. I do want to say that I feel good about myself and look forward to graduating this year. I hope to go to CCP..

back to home