Part Two: Victoria Brignell

An insightful and informative piece about living with disabilities (in Great Britain). I was drawn in immediately by Victoria's story of becoming paralyzed from the neck down at the age of six (benign tumor), and now living and working with this disability. Victoria is a thoughtful, honest character who really made me think about a topic that I think is undercovered in media today. In addition to Victoria, we hear from an occupational and personal care assitant who helps people with disabilities (not clear if she works with Victoria, and I would like to know), a disability adviser at an English university, the British Minister for Disabilities, and also the producer/ interviewer. I learned something from each of these "expert" voices, but I also felt that all of these voices together did not hold together elegantly enough for a 10 minute piece. The piece felt a bit disjointed and I wanted more integration of the information and the personal story in one narrative. The way the piece is now felt a bit fragmented. I know the time and resource constraints may have been such that a deeper look at Victoria might not have been possible, but that's the story I want to hear. I'd rather know more about her, hear her in scene working, preparing for work, at home, etc.. and hear from the assistants and "experts" who are closer to her personal world to get a view of the larger topic of how people with disabilities manage, what's changed, etc.