Rosie Jones: Am I a R*tard?; Surgeons: A Matter of Life or Death

“Ultimately, Jones discovers that hurt people hurt people, and there are a lot of hurt people in the world. Social media platforms are failing to protect disabled users, so it’s up to us, she says. “I think we need to start another movement. This one is so simple: Stop Ableism. That’s it.” She urges viewers to call out any ableism they witness, online or off. After painting such a visceral account of the impact ableism can have on disabled people and their families, we’d surely be monsters to ignore her.”
Cathy Reay, The Guardian

“Jones will be called “brave” for fronting this documentary. She undoubtedly is. But confronting the problem head-on is also clever and, these days, imperative. How else to tackle these friendless virgins with bad breath (I’ve no evidence for this; it’s just a hunch) typing in bedsits, other than in the daylight?”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“This film is not for the disabled community – that would be preaching to the choir. But anyone who uses the R-word won’t have their minds changed by Jones’s doc. If that title had been changed and more disabled voices were heard, this programme would have been much more powerful. “This is so simple,” Jones declares towards the end. “Stop ableism”. What a nice idea, but when there’s no action or plan on how we do that, they’re just empty words.”
Rachel Charlton-Dailey, The i

“She built an eloquent argument that, though Twitter and other companies need to do more to halt the abuse, it’s up to all of us to condemn it wherever we see and hear it. Highlighting one of the most upsetting words thrown about to mock those with a disability, she invited a few of her anonymous bullies to discuss their behaviour on camera. None of them came forward. Of course they didn’t — every anonymous bully on social media is, by definition, a snivelling coward.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The most astounding thing on TV last night. It was gruesome and breathtaking. Unsparingly, the cameras showed us Stephen, 53, a man with a highly aggressive mouth tumour who was facing just months to live without surgery — which involved having his lower jaw, teeth and most of his tongue sawn off, the bottom third of his face plopped on the table. It was both horrific and hypnotic.”
Carol Midgley, The Times