Happy endings we all need now
Everyone loves an underdog success story almost as much as they love a happy ending and TVNZ’s new docu-series Unbreakable gives us both.
The series follows a group of Kiwis with various disabilities, both mental and physical, as they attempt to fulfil their dreams.
There’s 15-year-old Analise who has Tourette’s, and whose ticks become worse when she’s anxious. What makes her most anxious is performing on stage. Her dream is to be a singer.
There’s Daley, a young man with cerebral palsy, whose only dream is to play full-contact rugby league. His wife and his health professionals are terrified of the consequences.
And then there’s Grace, a 25-yearold woman who is already making an international impact for representation and visibility of disabled people in the fashion industry.
Each subject has vastly different dreams and the coolest thing is that they are actively seeking out ways to pursue them, rather than sitting around waiting for them to drop into their laps — which is more than many non-disabled people can say.
At first I was on the fence about the series as it was easy to assume these people had been chosen because they had a journey TVNZ could help them with, like setting them up with a matchmaker or helping them record a song or publish a book.
But as I watched a bit more and did some digging online I realised two things; the first being that TVNZ put a call out for people to apply to the show so the cast likely volunteered, rather than being cherry-picked. The second was that these people were making things happen whether the cameras were there or not.
Daley was spending his weekends at the local fields cheering on his mates, and he and his family made regular trips to Auckland just to see if a disabled league team there could help make his dream come true.
Analise was already in a band made up of other teens with Tourette’s, who were trying to make things happen even though they’re all scattered around the country and can only physically practise together a few times a year.
Even if producer Rachel Currie or TVNZ did give people a helping hand, it’s less of a “here’s your dream on a silver platter” scenario, and more of a presented opportunity — what they do with it is up to them.
There is a tragic side to things; like a mother who is so beaten down by the challenges her son’s autism have presented that she now views hopes and expectations as “premeditated disappointment”, or a father who knows he won’t live much longer and is desperate to help his son find love so he’s not left alone — and that son who feels he can’t afford to take a chance on love because he wants to be there for his dad.
But the downsides — of which there are many — are far outweighed by sheer determination. It’s especially impressive because so many of us are held back from going after what we want because we don’t look a certain way, or we’re not thin enough or strong enough, or we simply let nerves and self-doubt get in the way.
But the way these people can push through all kinds of barriers makes you re-evaluate what you perceive to be holding you back and challenge yourself to face the fear and do it anyway.
Some aspects of the series are a bit of a personal niggle; some of the episodes feel a little longer than needed, and it would have been nice to follow one journey through to the end in each episode, as opposed to jumping between subjects.
But ultimately, those aren’t things that detract from the series at all. And what Unbreakable does do extremely well is show its subjects matter-offactly. There’s no overwrought tragedy-porn; just ordinary Kiwis doing extraordinary things despite some less-than-ideal roadblocks.
These are people who have embraced their disabilities and are now trying to find a way to succeed, not despite them, but with them.
Unbreakable is an uplifting reminder that, in some cases, normality is overrated and the trick isn’t in eliminating our barriers but learning from them to keep moving forward.
Unbreakable airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on TVNZ 1