There is a common misconception that disabled people are not as capable as able-bodied people, and this is the view of an ableist. Ableism is the discrimination and social prejudice against disabled people based on the idea that individuals with a disability are inferior. Ableism can take the form of subconscious sayings such as “you do not look disabled” or asking a person what is “wrong with them.” On the other hand, it can be as blunt as using ableist slurs such as “slow” and “crazy.” At the very core, this bias defines people by their disability and assumes that they need to be fixed. Past movies like Of Mice and Men exemplify this; however, as the decades roll by, films are now beginning to educate people on disability.

Instead of depicting people with disability as “comical” or “helpless,” 21st-century movies are now allowing disabled people to become the heroes of their own stories. Audiences are able to see debility from a first-hand perspective, enabling a glimpse into the lives of people who live with it every day and crushing the view that life stops when someone is disabled. Therefore, here are the best movies that shatter the illusion of ableism.

5 The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything Eddie Redmayne smiling
Universal Pictures

The Theory of Everything is an inspirational and encouraging biographical drama based on the life of world=renowned physicist, Stephen Hawking. Starring Eddie Redmayne as Hawking, it details the accomplishments he achieved while living with a physically debilitating motor neurone disease. Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at just age 21, Hawking was slowly paralyzed over the decades, eventually losing his speech and having to communicate through a speech-generating device. This movie depicts the struggles and relentless effort that the physicist and his family went through while learning to live with his illness, revealing the side to disability that many people have never seen and do not understand.

However, through Hawking’s mental perseverance, the movie also shows that a disability, even one as incapacitating as his, does not mean the end. Through Redmayne’s performance, one can clearly see Hawking’s determination as, despite his worsening condition, he works to complete his goals such as using a built-in voice synthesizer to write his internationally best-selling book, A Brief History of Time (1988), which spent a record-breaking 237 weeks as The Sunday Times bestseller. The Theory of Everything, for which Redmayne won an Academy Award, beautifully represents how anyone, able-bodied or not, can achieve their dreams if they work hard enough. Stephen Hawking, who passed away in 2018, continues to live on as a motivation for people to chase after their goals no matter the circumstance.

4 A Quiet Place

A quiet place Regan and Lee
Paramount Pictures

Loud and abrupt jump scares are usually what make a horror movie so terrifying; A Quiet Place however, creates fear through the sound of silence. The story centers around a family as they struggle to survive in a world taken over by blind monsters with an acute sense of hearing. When any sound means instant death, silence becomes a tense cocoon of panic and terror. The film was a box office success and nominated for numerous awards, however, Millicent Simmonds was the real star. The deaf actress, who played the daughter Regan in the movie, became the hero of the film as, after experimenting with how to utilize sound against the monsters, she used her cochlear implant (hearing aid) on a guitar amp to knock the creatures out and subsequently save her family. On using a deaf actress, director and star of the film, John Krasinski told IGN, “I didn't want a non-deaf actress pretending to be deaf ... a deaf actress would help my knowledge and my understanding of the situations tenfold. I wanted someone who lives it and who could teach me about it on set.”

A Quiet Place further depicts disability as an aid rather than a hindrance through the characters' use of American Sign Language (ALS) to communicate, as they cannot use vocal words; the sign language is also colloquial and specific to each character, as they each sign in a way that's specific to their personality. This breaks the barrier of sign language being merely for hearing-impaired people and instead places the importance of it as a language everyone can know some form of in order to open lines of communication. Ultimately, the sign language in the film becomes just as expressive as speaking, particularly when Krasinski signs “I have always loved you” to his daughter near the end.

Related: Exclusive: Skyler Davenport Says 'See For Me' is a 'Step in the Right Direction' For Characters With Disabilities

3 A Beautiful Mind

a beautiful mind john nash
DreamWorks Pictures

A Beautiful Mind is a biographical drama that portrays how easy it can be to misinterpret a disability that is not visible. Starring Russell Crowe and based on the life of American mathematician John Nash, the movie tells the story of Nash’s life as he battles paranoid schizophrenia. Throughout the film, Nash is constantly a victim of ableism, as people label him as “nuts” or “insane” as his psychotic episodes increase. Despite his high IQ and clear intelligence, John Nash is suddenly viewed by his peers as incapable because they see the illness and the man as one. A disability hidden in the mind can be hard for the person living with it and people around to understand, but A Beautiful Mind proves that becoming knowledgeable about it is the only way to reclaim control over yourself.

After some time, Nash is able to recognize the difference between reality and the projections of his own mind and, over the next two decades, learns to live with his mental condition. Eventually, in 1994, he won the Nobel Prize for his fundamental contributions to game theory, which is widely used in economic studies to this day. At the end of the movie, Nash sees two hallucinations of his mind watching him, but after a brief glimpse, walks away, showing that while the illness may always be present, it will not stop him from living his life.

2 Forrest Gump

forrest gump forrest and jenny
Paramount Pictures

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get,” is the famous line from the movie Forrest Gump, and perfectly sums up the title character. Played by Tom Hanks, the film tells the life of Forrest over several decades as he witnesses and unwittingly influences several defining historical events like the Watergate scandal and Elvis Presley’s dancing style. Forrest is depicted as having an intellectual disability as well as a temporary physical one when he was a child. However, despite the negative perception others have of him, this bold character accepts who he is, putting complete effort into anything he does, and it is because of this that he accomplishes more than most people do in a lifetime. At the core of this character is kindness and a good heart, setting the path for the rest of his life as people continuously gravitate towards him. Forrest is not defined by what others regard as flaws but rather his actions in life, proving that people can make a difference despite their background or circumstance.

Related: 10 Movies That Made 1994 an Iconic Year in Film

1 Stronger

Stronger Jake Gyllenhaal
Lionsgate Roadside Attractions

The 2013 Boston marathon bombings sent a shock wave around the world. Many people sat in front of their television screens and watched as the horror unfolded, and Stronger gives an insight into the lives of the people who were directly impacted by the terror attack. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Jeff Bauman, one of the real-life victims of the attack and a man whose legs were blown off in the bombing, and the film details the struggle he underwent in order to adjust to his subsequent life. Stronger does not attempt to understate the physical and mental conflict that comes from adapting to existing in an entirely new way; rather, it depicts the denial, anger and frustration that an able-bodied person experiences when they are suddenly thrust into the life of disability.

Jeff, someone who was active and independent, suddenly needs constant assistance. This sends him into a downward spiral of drinking and depression, not helped by his mother who enables these bad habits as she subconsciously harbors the view that people with a disability are not able to practice self-care, something Jeff thought of himself. However, as the movie progresses, Jeff slowly climbs out of the bitterness and resentment he held toward his situation and starts to live again by using his prosthetic legs. Stronger highlights how ableist views sometimes occur through even the person with the disability, and shows that it is only when you learn to accept the situation that you can start living the fullest life.