Portrayal of Orthopedic Impairments in the Movie: The Horse Whisperer

The 1998 American drama-film The Horse Whisperer received a lot of praise from movie critics, but it also received some critiques. The film received a lot of praise for its visually intense scenes. But, it also received critique for some of the horse training techniques that the filmmakers used. The disability that is shown in the movie received good reviews for showing that a girl with an orthopedic impairment can overcome adversity and rise to the occasion.

Summary

A teenager named Grace MacLean loves riding horses; it is her main passion in life. She is out one early morning in the wintertime riding with her best friend Judith and their two horses Pilgrim and Gulliver. They begin to go up a slope and realize that it is icy. The horses cannot continue to go up the icy slope and they fall backwards and land on a road down below. They see a truck coming, but unfortunately the truck cannot see them and it collides with the horses and girls. Judith and Gulliver are killed, while Grace and Pilgrim are both severely injured. Grace’s right leg must be partially amputated. She has become very bitter and withdrawn since the accident. Pilgrim has been majorly traumatized by the event and is basically uncontrollable at this point. It has even been suggested to Grace that Pilgrim might have to be put down because he is so wildly uncontrollable. Grace’s mother, Annie, is a very strong-minded magazine editor. She is strongly dedicated to her job. A while later, Annie visits Pilgrim, who seems to make Annie believe that he, can be saved. Annie decides that she can't kill the horse, but help it heal. Doing so may also help heal her daughter. Grace is struggling through ridicule from some of the people at her school. She now has a prosthetic l...

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...un of her and her prosthetic leg. The film does a great job of portraying what a child with an orthopedic impairment must face every day mentally as well as physically. As inclusive educators, it is imperative that our schools create safe environments for children with disabilities, such as orthopedic impairments. Accessible transportation is needed for these students to be able to move from class to class efficiently. Communication between parents and educators is essential if this safe environment is going to be made possible for children with disabilities. The Horse Whisperer illustrates how mentally and physically demanding an orthopedic impairment is on a child. It also helped to illustrate how important family and educators are to helping to cope with this impairment and ensure that children with disabilities are receiving the best education and care possible.