Creatives from Chaos Theory talk about the inclusion of people with disabilities in the show

The second season of the animated spin-off series based on the blockbuster Jurassic world film franchise Jurassic World: Chaos Theory lands on Netflix today to the delight of its fans.

Chaos theory is the sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s 5-season extravaganza Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous which made its debut in 2020. The new series continues to follow the escapades of the Nublar Six, now young adults, who have escaped the confines of Isla Nublar, where the prehistoric beasts roam. Set six years after the events of Camp Cretaceous, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory explores a very different world where dinosaurs now share much of the planet with humans, with elements of the latter showing no shortage of ideas about how the fearsome beasts could be exploited for profit and how the band of friends fight to protect them.

Going the extra mile

Under the radar, amidst all the noise of fan fervor, overshadowed of course by the deafening roar of a Giganotosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and more than a few velociraptors, is the fact that this show boasts legendary director Steven Spielberg among its executive producers is a triumph of accessible practices and authentic casting.

Season two of Chaos theory features a limbed figure, Brooklyn, who is one of the original Nublar Six but has since lost part of her arm. In season two, Brooklyn is authentically voiced by actress, musical artist and model Kiersten Kelly, who was born with a congenital limb difference and is missing her right arm below the elbow. The introduction of a character with a disability on a mainstream children’s television show is in itself very welcome. According to a study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender In Media in collaboration with Nielsen, less than 2% of characters on children’s television have a disability.

Even better: as a purely animated series, it would have been way too easy for the series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory The production team hired a non-disabled voice actress to play the Brooklyn actress without raising any eyebrows that would have been the case in a live-action production. Additionally, Peter Lee, an amputee writer, was brought into the production as a consultant and member of a disability panel to advise on Brooklynn’s storylines before becoming part of the writers’ room for the entire series. Both Lee and Kelly were given regular opportunities to provide input on how Brooklyn’s limb difference might impact certain scenarios. To further this understanding, Kelly was asked to provide a video of herself completing various tasks.

According to Scott Kreamer, the series’ executive producer and showrunner, Kelly’s acting talent and her ability to empathize with Brooklyn’s character on different levels was the main reason for casting her in the role, and not just her different limbs:

“Authenticity, representation and inclusion are very important to us, but I want to be completely honest, we read actresses with limb differences and we also read actresses without limb differences,” Kreamer explains in an interview.

“Ultimately we would have liked someone with different limbs, but it had to be the best actress for the role. Kirsten was exactly that. The fact that she also has a limb difference reinforces that and gives that sense of authenticity.”

Kelly agrees: “I think I was able to build off of my experience with limb differences in certain episodes where we touch on it on the show, and I think that was helpful.”

She continues: “At the end of the day, I am a person. The differences in my limbs do not define me. It’s not what makes me me. It’s not my entire identity, nor is it Brooklyn’s. I’m an actor first and foremost, and it worked out well that I, as a person with different limbs, was able to tell the story of Brooklyn authentically. ”

“But Brooklyn is just like me in a lot of ways. She is human. She is not a victim, not a villain, not a heroine. She is simply a human being with a story full of death, depth and color. She copes with her new adulthood in a world full of dinosaurs. She’s just trying to figure herself out and balance her career and relationships. That’s what I do as a human too, and I just have a difference in my limbs.”

Kreamer adds, “We’re all human, and to me that’s the message.” Brooklyn was a great character in the first season, and then she gets a limb difference and comes out of it as a great character who just happens to have one difference in limbs. It certainly shapes the character, but it doesn’t define it.”

Be up to date

As with any type of disability representation on screen, audience insights and core message are critical.

“We rarely see characters with disabilities portrayed in popular culture, even though disabilities are incredibly common,” says Lee.

“The exclusion of disabled people from all sectors, including the media, creates harmful stigma. It sends the message that there is something shameful about being disabled and that it should just be hidden from the public eye.”

Lee continues: “When things are done a certain way for long enough, those things become resistant to change because change can be scary. That’s why I want to give credit to Scott, DreamWorks and Netflix because it takes decision makers to make bold decisions. When you as a media consumer take risks when telling stories, it can be exciting for the viewer. From a creative perspective, you’re inviting new and different types of collaborators who wouldn’t normally have a seat at the table, and this collaboration opens up opportunities for unique types of chemistry and stories.”

Of course, it’s important to show children and adults of all ages that people with disabilities are neither scary nor monsters. Rather, like everyone else, they do what they can with what they have to make ends meet and survive. Perhaps this message can be expressed even more clearly in a parallel universe full of arch-villains and terrifying creatures.