Research Paper On The Movie Radio

Radio

“Radio” is a movie released in 2003, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris. It is based on the true story of James Robert Kennedy, also known as Radio. Radio was a mentally ill, African American who lived with his mother and enjoyed spending most of his days pushing his shopping cart through the streets of Anderson, South Carolina. Radio got his name because of his love for old, vintage radios. At the beginning of the movie, Radio is pushing his cart through the street as a man stares at him, one lady pulls her daughter away from him and another man almost hits him with his car while calling him a “moron”. Every day, Radio pushes his cart by the high school where Coach Jones (Ed Harris) and the football team practice. Coach Jones soon

takes Radio in as one of his own and develops a strong relationship with him; letting him attend all football and basketball games, and spend Christmas with his family. Their lives are then changed as Radio’s mother passes away from a heart attack and the members of the town shut Radio out, causing Jones to step down as head coach. Eventually, they let Radio attend the high school as a student where he graduates and formally becomes a huge part of T.L. Hanna’s football team.
Radio has an intellectual disability with autism.

Intellectual disability or “mental retardation” is defined by the IDEA as, ‘significantly sub average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently [at the same time] with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance’ (Special Education Guide, 2013-2017). Autism is defined by the IDEA as, ‘a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance’ (Special Education Guide, 2013-2017). Radio showed many signs of impairment in social interactions. He was scared to talk to new people and he froze up in new environments that he was not familiar with. He also had a hard time developing relationships with his peers and he lacked social

reciprocity.
The movie depicted Radio’s impairments as he showed little to no eye contact when conversing with others, different hand gestures, such as playing with his fingers and holding his hands close to his face, and rigid facial expressions. According to the IDEA, ‘other characteristics often associated with autism are engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences’ (Special Education Guide, 2013-2017). Repetitive activities were shown in the movie as Radio constantly played with his fingers and gave off smirks from time to time. In addition, he had a communication impairment. Radio’s speech did not flow like normal speech should. His vocabulary was very limited where he would only say things like “I like that one!” or “Yea, that’s a good one!”. Also, Radio would also speak in sentences in which he referred to himself in third person narrative or by his name.
Radio’s disability affected him in ways which he displayed “sub-average general intellectual functioning”. Radio knew how to say his name. However, he did not know the letters that formed it, nor did he know how to spell it. In the movie, Coach Jones showed Radio how to write his name multiple times. When he let Radio practice on his own, he formed nothing but scribbles. Radio also could not read. In the scene where he called out the lunch menu over the school’s intercom, he repeated everything one of the staff members told him. Because intellectual disabilities affect individuals in ways that they display deficits in adaptive behavior, it is depicted in the movie that Radio cannot live on his own. After Radio’s mother passed away, his older brother moved in with him in their mom’s home. Also, Radio had no self-guidance. He could not do for himself. In the movie, Radio called Coach Jones and asked, “What pants I put on?” When he found a pair of pants, he held them up to the phone and said, “How ‘bout this one?” (Radio, 2003). An intellectual disability, “is not an inherent trait of any individual, but instead is characterized by a combination of deficits in both cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior. The severity of the intellectual disability is determined by the discrepancy between the individual's capabilities in learning and in and the expectations of the social environment” (Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, 2013).
Radio’s disability also affected Coach Jones. Coach Jones talks to his daughter about why he was helping Radio. He tells her that as a young boy, training in the woods, he noticed a young boy about his age. The boy was kept inside a fence. He never knew if anything was wrong with the boy and as two years went by, he “never did anything about it” (Radio, 2003). He felt that what he has done for Radio was his chance to redeem himself.
I really enjoy watching this movie. After seeing how happy Coach Jones made Radio, I learned the importance of acceptance when it comes to individuals with disabilities. Radio would always walk around, feeling alone because no one accepted him. When he began to gain social relationships with his peers, you could tell how it changed his life. He was always willing to help, he walked around with a smile and he spoke to everyone. As his mom said in the movie, Radio is a good kid with a good heart. He just needed someone to see it.
Cuba Gooding Jr.

is, no doubt, a great actor. The way he portrayed the two disabilities was phenomenal. The movie also depicted ways that others would treat someone with this disability. At many points during the movie, I noticed myself smiling. I was smiling because it was as if I was physically witnessing James Kennedy, himself, go through those life changing events. I also became saddened when he lost his mother. It’s like I could not only see, but feel how hurt he was. The aspect of love and courage was shown in this movie. It takes a lot of love and humanity to show an individual with a disability that he or she is just as important as anyone else. The movie depicted how Radio was such a loving person regardless of the unfair treatment he received from the people of his town. He showed so much love and eventually changed their attitude towards him. Because Coach Jones took a risk at gaining a relationship with Radio during a time where African American were not as much accepted, the movie portrayed a sense of courage. I think it is important to understand the difficulties that come with caring for an individual with a disability. I do believe that the movie captured many of those important

aspects.

Works Cited
Special Education Guide. Autism. (2013-2017). Accessed November 17, 2017;
https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/autism/
Special Education Guide. Intellectual Disability. (2013-2017). Accessed November 17, 2017;
https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/intellectual-disability/
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities – Project Ideal (2013). Accessed November 17,
2017; http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/intellectual-disabilities/
Tollin, M. Radio. (2003). Revolution Studios: Tollin/Robbins Productions.