Open Letter To The Team Of Mimi and Netflix India

This?open?letter?is addressed to the team of the Hindi feature film Mimi and concerned officials at Netflix India. We at Nayi Disha felt this was the right time to write this and address the issues of representation of developmental disabilities and the way they have been referred to in the film.

The following section contains spoilers about the film but we will need to lay out the plot for everyone to understand the core issue this?letter?is all about. The plot of the film revolves around a young woman who agrees to be a surrogate mother for an American couple. She does so to earn enough money to fulfil her professional dream. In the course of her pregnancy, this woman is told that there is a chance her child may be born with Down Syndrome.?

The rest of the film deals with how the couple who was initially so keen to have their child born of this surrogate now completely abandon the child and the woman. The young woman is herself devastated by the development. The movie plot continues till the moment of the child's birth. And the final twist of the film is that the child is finally born neurotypical - with no sign of the Down Syndrome there was a chance of earlier.

You must be wondering what the issue here is - the issue with the plot here is the way Down Syndrome and developmental disabilities are treated. The chance that the baby might be born with Down Syndrome is treated with such shock in the script - as if individuals with Down Syndrome are essentially offered a death sentence. The film denies?the lived experience of thousands and lakhs of children and adults who live with Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities. But what is perhaps the most painful to watch is how attitudes change when the newborn is born neurotypical. Everything suddenly turns hunky-dory - everyone is happy - even the couple that abandoned the surrogate and the child earlier seem to be keen to return and lay claim.?

Essentially what the movie succeeds in doing is propagating dangerous and regressive attitudes towards neurodiverse individuals. Instead of increased sensitivity, the characters of the film and the film overall treat Down Syndrome as just a forbidden disease. And that is devastating. Practically every family that we work with has unfortunate tales of how the diagnosis was shared with the family - Words like "your child will be a vegetable" or "Do not spend resources on him/her" can have life-long impact on young parents and make it even harder for the couple to accept the diagnosis.?Those of us who work in the sector are breaking these attitudinal barriers by creating awareness around Down Syndrome in the society including the medical fraternity to share the diagnosis with sensitivity and give hope to the already anxious couple.?

In this situation, the film and its treatment comes as a blow. Movies like these reach a vast chunk of the general population and one cannot imagine the negative bias that those watching the movie would carry towards diagnosis of Down Syndrome. Given that Down Syndrome can be detected during pregnancy, people with Down Syndrome face discrimination even before birth and at times are denied the basic human right to live and breathe.?While every couple has the right to make their own decisions on bringing a life to the world, some would argue that it is morally unacceptable to destroy a life on the ground of a disability. Ultimately it is shown that the mother proceeds with the pregnancy and the baby is born "normal" ! This is discriminatory and promotes stereotypes, almost implying that it would be okay to abort if the baby actually had Down Syndrome.?Also, when the parents who had originally wanted to adopt return only because it is a neurotypical child, the makers are implying neurotypical children hold worth in society and those with Down Syndrome don't.

All of us have lauded Netflix for the announcement of a $100 million fund for creative equity and representation of underrepresented minorities including people with disabilities. Shows such as Mare Of Easttown on HBO/Hotstar which show a young girl with Down Syndrome as a regular affair normalise diversity in the society and promote inclusion. Ofcourse, there are many other shows and productions trying to treat neurodiversity well on screen. We believe that Netflix is committed to diversity and onboarding of movies like Mimi as an exception and the company will continue to promote diversity and represent people with disabilities in a positive light as it always has.?Let us not forget that media serves as a powerful medium to change people's mindsets because of the way people can relate to storytelling. The real value of media lies in harnessing its power to create a better and equitable world for all beyond just entertainment.?