Maggie Helwig
The Film as Disabled: How Disability, Society and Pity are Intertwined in Recent Cinema
- Nature of this Study & It's Significance
The paper is an analysis of how disability is represented in recent film, as such films have been increasingly popular and deemed worthy of Academy Awards in many cases. Media currently has a tremendous amount of influence in our society. As the images of physical or cognitive disability are represented in these films, they become part of the society's conciousness. If the images are negative ones, what does this say about our society?
- Brief Scope and Precis of Paper
Using an essay by Hayes and Black as support, the study observes how the concept of pity is developed in a film. Mostly, pity is a "paternal" kind of emotion, one of condescendence from someone at a higher standpoint (in this case socially) to another person who is at a disadvantage. The way in which this is created in film is when the focus of the storyline is primarily between the individual and their existing disability. How to avoid this negative portrayal is by focusing rather on the individual's struggle with society. If this is done successfully in a film, the main character is not pitied but rather seen as a human being and celebrated for their strengths rather than lamented over for their weaknesses. Forrest Gump and A Beautiful Mind are two films which deal with the concept of pity very differently. The former does not induce pity. While there are other problems with the film, the basis of it does not have to do with Forrest's struggle with his disability, but rather a triumphent character who overcomes an oppressive society. The latter, however, uses many stereotypes concerning mental illness and is solely interested in the internal struggle between John Nash and his disability. The result of these techniques is simply pity; the viewer is distracted from Nash as a person and all that they can see is his mental illness.
- Important Excerpts
1. The concept of pity: "Pity, as Hayes and Black argue in their article 'Troubling Signs,' is constructed out of a kind of social hierarchy. Instead of accepting enough power to fight a battle (whether literal or metaphorical) against of society, the character becomes a subject to it. Thus, audiences, feeling as though they are at a much more socially capable standpoint than the main character, experience a kind of pity for the individual’s disability. Hayes and Black describe pity as a kind of paternalistic relationship which 'assumes that an individual or group does not have the capacity to make life changing decisions…'1. They also assert that 'Pity is an emotionally conditioned social response which marginalizes those with disabilities and better serves the interests of those who show pity than it the does the object of their pity'1. This kind of condescending attitude only reinforces a negative mind-set through the media."
2. The range of disabilities in Forrest Gump: "...there is no room for the viewers to feel that Forrest is at any more of a disadvantage than anyone else in the film. The audience also feels little pity for Lieutenant Dan, whose legs are amputated as a result of his injuries in Vietnam. Instead, Forrest is the example of how Dan, who is ungrateful to even be alive, should react to his sudden and involuntary disability. In fact, it is ultimately the only main character in the film who is 'normal' whom is pitied by the audience. This is seen with Jenny, Forrest’s lover and eventually his wife, who the audience begins to feel pity for as they come to realize that she has no chance of recovery. Jenny has met her ultimate defeat, after years of self-destruction, from H.I.V. This is consistent with Hayes’s theory that pity derives from a person’s knowledge that there a situation which cannot be corrected."
3.Stereotypes of Mental Illness in A Beautiful Mind: "The possibility is presented that Nash could be dangerous toward his own wife. Nash also cannot take care of his own son, almost drowning him when simply trying to give him a bath. Thus, he becomes both a danger to his son and as incapable of doing everyday things. Incapacity is another common stereotype of characters who have a mental illness in films. Nash in 'incapable' of functioning in society – it even takes a certain amount of effort for him to do something as simple as taking out the trash. Nash is also a great burden to his wife, who tells John’s friend that she sometimes has to force herself to see the man that she loves, 'and he is transformed into that man.'5"
4.Winning or Losing "The Game": "Society is viewed as a 'game,' which is symbolically represented in an actual board game, a very old Chinese game that is somewhat similar to chess, called Go. His colleague and rival at Princeton College, Martin, challenges him to a game. Antagonizing him while he is playing, Martin asks him, 'What if you lose?'5. When John does actually does lose the round of Go, he asserts in anger that the game itself must be flawed. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the film – the idea that life is a game, and if John is to lose the game he must apply his mind in order find another solution."
5.Ultimate Conclusion, Cycle of Media and Society: "It is a rather vicious cycle – that these depictions are prevalent in film as a reflection of attitudes in society and, in turn, these depictions also reinforce these negative outlooks. And as such, this cycle would best be broken by the cinema that, if it has enough power to move people to pity, can create a piece of art that represents how it is that society actually impairs those who are disabled."
- Bibliography for Further Reading
Davis, Lennard J. The Disabilities Studies Reader. Ed. Davis, Lennard J. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Fleming, Michael; Manvell, Roger. Images of Madness: The Portrayal of Insanity in
Feature Film. Associated University Presses, Inc.: Cranbury, NJ, 1985.
Disability Studies Quarterly
