Amara in action supporting Noah as he faces another challenging day in middle
school. She serves as a positive example of what it is like to live with a
similar condition to that of her character in the show. “The Healing Powers of
Dude” is an eight episode show that is a Netflix Original who focuses on Noah
who suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder. Through the support of his emotional
support dog Dude combined with his friends Amara and Simon he works through
numerous issues in the show as he adjusts from homeschool to middle school life.
While the portrayal of the accuracy of social anxiety disorder could be
interesting for this show, I am going to focus on Amara who is wheelchair bound.
Sophie’s role and acting in the show is extraordinary and represents a shift in
perspective of working with actors with disabilities and displaying characters
with disabilities on screen. Sophie was born with a disability that resulted in
her being wheelchair-bound from the age of four, and while she did not have
acting experience prior to “The Healing Powers of Dude” her role in the show as
Amara changed her future and left a remarkable impression on the viewers of the
show. To get a sense of how Sophie feels playing the role of Amara in the show,
it is necessary to watch
Meet Sophie 💁🏻♀️ The Healing Powers of Dude | Netflix After School
(youtube.com)
In this short three minute clip, Sophie discusses acting in the scene where
Amara discovers that she did not get the main role due to her disability, and
not being able to dance. In the brief interview Sophie explains how that moment
really hit home for her because as a wheelchair user herself, she emphases and
understands the difficulty of not earning a certain role despite talent. As
Amara the character works through the struggle of being faced with the
difficulty of losing out on an opportunity to do something she has always
desired, Sophie works through this on an emotional and personal level. Her role
in the show not only made the part of Amara more authentic and relatable, yet
also offered Sophie to play a person that she can relate with on a personal
level, which was a powerful experience. This show offers a realistic and
authentic perspective of the power of having an actor with a disability play the
role of a character with the same disability. In Netflix’s willingness to work
with Sophie Kim in the successful completion of this role, she was able to work
some personal issues out through the role of her character. After the show
Sophie Kim continued on to advocate for individuals to follow their dreams.
According to RespectAbility she is “Paving the Way for Better On-Screen
Representation of the Disabled AANHPI Community” (
source). This is powerful for a number of reasons. The first is the most evident that
she is a young actor with no prior experience in the industry who is
demonstrating the power of following one’s dreams. Secondly, she is a young
Asian American actor who is portrayed on screen in this role that is unique and
special in its own manner. Therefore this story offers another successful
insight into actors with disability positively representing their disability on
screen.
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