5 Movies You (Probably) Didn't Know Are Ableist and 5 More That Challenge Ableism

Based on the true story of Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman, Stronger aspires to be an inspirational tale about one man overcoming adversity. (This man happens to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal.) I do not want to take away from what Bauman went through. The Boston Marathon bombing was a horrific event, and I'm sure that Bauman was traumatized and had to work hard to be where he is today. But there is a history of disabled people being painted as inspiring in the media. In the disabled community, this is commonly referred to as "inspiration porn," because disabled people are exploited and objectified in order to inspire able-bodied onlookers.