The Skin Horse

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This record is featured in “Exploring Public Media in the Peabody Awards Collection.” This record is featured in “Peabody Awards Collection.”
Program
The Skin Horse
Producing Organization
Central Television (United Kingdom)
WETA-TV (Television station : Washington, D.C.)
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-445h990b7b
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Description
Program Description
"THE SKIN HORSE is an outspoken consideration of a subject not readily discussed on television: the emotional and sexual life of disabled people. This unusual program makes that subject real to viewers by allowing them into the lives of several severely disabled individuals. As we watch, many of our conceptions -- and misconceptions -- about disability are stripped away. "The film is carefully edited, allowing viewers to witness the day-to-day existence of these individuals. Some examples: scenes from 'The Outsider's Club,' a disco for disabled people, as we see the whirl of gyrating, twisted bodies, many of them in wheelchairs; a tight close-up of a man's face as he views a film of two beautiful (able-bodied) women, and later articulates his ambivalent pleasure; a young woman staring silently into the mirror, observing her mottled face and deformed arms, later describing how she must look to the world. These, and many other powerful images give able-bodied viewers a new perspective into the world of disability. "THE SKIN HORSE was originally produced for British television, airing in 1983 on Channel 4. The program was narrated by Nabil Shaban, a disabled actor. Shaban collaborated on the script with producer-director Nigel Evans. The winner of Britain's prestigious Royal Television Society's 'Original Programme Award,' judges commended THE SKIN HORSE for 'originality in its command of the subject, technical innovation in its presentation, and artistic achievement in it supreme control of emotive content.'" "For its American airing on public televisions, THE SKIN HORSE received endorsements from a wide range of national disability organizations, including: the Veteran's Administration; the National Council on the Handicapped; the National Organization on Disability; the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped; and the National Information Center for Handicapped Children and Youth, which said, 'the broadcast by PBS of THE SKIN HORSE represents and outstanding contribution to the field of disability because it reports on an area where few have wanted to tread."--1985 Peabody Awards entry form. Following the show, Betty Rollins, Richard Severo, Harilyn Russo, and Bill Applebaum discuss the film, their own experiences, and thoughts about why people with disabilities and people without disabilities relate to each other as we do.
Broadcast Date
1985-10-16
Asset type
Program
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
01:00:29.268
Credits
Producing Organization: Central Television (United Kingdom)
Producing Organization: WETA-TV (Television station : Washington, D.C.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-2a74ef2f194 (Filename)
Format: U-matic
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Citations
Chicago: “The Skin Horse,” 1985-10-16, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 25, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990b7b.
MLA: “The Skin Horse.” 1985-10-16. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 25, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990b7b>.
APA: The Skin Horse. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-445h990b7b