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Called "Four Senses," the 13-episode series will air on the Canadian
network Accessible Media Inc., and will tape in Toronto. Promising to
"focus on the broader discussion on disabilities and how people are
breaking stereotypes," something tells us that by creating this program
in the first place, they're taking a step in the right direction.
Fans of "MasterChef" may remember that Ha is visually impaired
herself, but more importantly, she won Season 3 of the series (which
included a $250, 000 prize and a cookbook deal). That's why "Four
Senses" will work to obliterate stereotypes: Ha and Heinrich will
describe and demonstrate ways to prepare dishes, talk to visually
impaired triathletes and actors with macular degeneration, and stress
the importance of getting accessible books into libraries -- as well as
the science behind our senses, so we can actually understand them.
Obviously, this is terrific not only for the blind and
visually-impaired, but also for other viewers. A series like "Four
Senses" can educate those who don't know what it's like to rely
primarily on only four senses, and in turn, we can advocate for proper
books and programs because we can better understand (and respect) the
challenges faced by those who struggle with their vision.
From the description, "Four Senses" seems like a program that
advocates strength, confidence, and embracing one's abilities -- which
is necessary to winning both "Top Chef Canada" and "MasterChef," and
thus makes Ha and Heinrich prime hosts and creators. And by opening the
show up to athletes and actors, not only do Ha and Heinrich show that
cooking is for anybody, but that one is hardly alone in dealing with
visual impairment.
The only thing that would make it better? To broadcast on more
networks than AMI. Here's hoping another Canadian network gets wise and
takes advantage of this unique, important program.
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
