#ableistcharacters

What made Avatar (2009) so successful that it held the record of highest-grossing film for nearly a decade after its release? Director James Cameron explains," 'Avatar' is about finding our home, finding our family, finding our clan. And fighting to protect that which we found and earn our place in it. That turns  out to be a more critical part of it than people realize," says Cameron. 'That's why it spoke to every culture in the world and shot to No. 1 in every market. It  was dealing with a universal truth of the human condition that transcended  culture.'" (Alexander) 

Beyond the story, Avatar featured an unprecedented display of special effects. Specifically, motion capture and CGI were used to bring the Na'vi people to life. These groundbreaking advancements in CGI  paved the way for modern superhero films to incorporate fight scenes with  CGI. In addition, Avatar spurred audience interest in movies in 3-D or IMAX. This is thought to be due to CGI making the film so immersive.  

The sequel comes out this December and promises to make even more advances in special effects. Avatar (2009) was the most advanced film of the 2000s, but how does it hold up a decade later? The film's still essential to the history of special effects, and the world of Pandora is still immersive. Walt Disney World has created Pandora in Animal Kingdom, including Flights of Passage, where guests can ride a banshee. The ride is hugely popular.  

IMDB summarizes Avatar (2009): "A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon  Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and  protecting the world he feels is his home." 

It has been criticized for having a generic plot that revolves around a white man saving native people who are presented as less advanced. "In the post-Global War on Terrorism era, there are increasingly more representations of contemporary disabled veterans. These representations reflect a cultural desire to integrate and appreciate veterans while at the same  time expressing larger anxiety, hate, and fear about both disabled veterans and  disabled people in general." (Schalk, 403)

Photo by Richard Catabay from Unsplash

Films are often rooted in real-world social and political issues happening at that time. 

Disabled people are often seen as weak or lesser, but this view conflicts with the image of a strong patriotic soldier. As medical advancements allowed more soldiers to come home disabled with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, the idea of a veteran evolved. Still, the image of a disabled person didn't.  

Disabled veterans conflicted with societal expectations. This conflict created cultural anxiety. "Avatar attempts to alleviate cultural anxieties about contemporary disabled veterans by representing protagonists who exist at  the top of a disability hierarchy and can therefore be more easily integrated into society." (Schalk, 407) The disability hierarchy is defined by the norms of society. The standard protagonist is a white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied man. The disability hierarchy compares people with disabilities against these traits.  

The less you match that description, the lower on the hierarchy you are. "Disability hierarchy is not about disability type alone, but rather it is a complex, intersectional differential valuation of disabled people regarding who can and cannot or should and should not be accommodated and integrated into a society based on a variety of factors"(Schalk, 408) Jake Sully is the stereotypical protagonist with a disability.

Sources

Alexander, B. (2019, December 31). James Cameron predicts 'Avatar' will ultimately top 'Avengers: Endgame': 'I think it's a certainty'. usatoday.com. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/12/18/avatar-10th-anniversary-james-cameron-predicts-beating-avengers-endgame/2680090001/?subId1=xid:fr1576780607704hjf

IMDB. (2009, December 18). Avatar. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/

Dory views her short-term memory loss as a flaw. She mutters “don’t be such a Dory, Dory.” after she forgets. This reveals how she views herself as different and less than others. Nemo grew up with his disability being called  lucky. He doesn’t suffer from his disability in the way that Dory suffers from her short-term memory loss.

“This characterizes her disability as an affliction, which  implies that Dory’s disability does not simply make her different—her difference  plagues her. Because the film implies that this difference is her whole identity,  this dialogue suggests that, on a fundamental level, Dory suffers from being  herself.” (Klinowski 51)  

These three featured disabled characters embody different ways of viewing  disability as well as providing inclusive representation. Mental differences are  highly stigmatized. Dory is taught she suffers from her disability. A frequent  problem related to my visible physical disability is people treating me like a child  even though I am an adult. Finding Dory plays into this trope through frequent  flashbacks. 

Finding Dory is a children’s film, and “child viewers can relate to Dory if they see her as a child, and this perceived commonality is a point of  suture that unifies the two sides of this representational relationship, even as it  problematizes Dory’s identity.” 

“These scenes encourage the audience to think of  Dory as disabled and Dory as a child, which leaves the audience to conclude  that having a disability makes someone essentially childlike.” (Klinowski 51) This stereotype is more often associated with cognitive differences. Child role models are a  double-edged sword in this case. The creators want Dory to appeal to children  but perpetuating that disabled people are childlike is a problematic connection.  Another connection between childlike behavior and disability is evident when Dory must first find her parents before herself. This suggests that Dory is dependent on her parents.

In contrast to the last film, Nemo is not as dependent on Marlin. Instead, it is we see Marlin’s journey to allow his son, who has a disability, to become  independent. And, in Finding Dory, we see the lesson has been learned, unlike  accepting Dory’s differences. The presence of diversity and inclusion in films  was much more expected in 2016 than in 2003. The attempt to make a  progressive sequel focused on a disabled protagonist was more obvious. And  the film succeeds in depicting different the disability community in a more nuanced way.

Source

Acceptance of one disabled person doesn't exclude the person from ableist beliefs. In Finding Nemo, Dory serves a purpose for Marlin. And 

"The inclusiveness of Marlin and Dory's relationship throughout the entire film is one  that the majority of viewers come to adore." (Draman, 2) 

In Finding Dory, Marlin transitions from accepting to valuing Dory's differences. Finding Dory is about  Dory finding her parents and herself. She learns through this film to be proud of who she is. Early in the quest for Dory's parents, Nemo gets hurt. This immediately brings out Marlin's parental instincts to protect Nemo. He lashes out at Dory when she wants to help and feels sorry for putting Nemo in danger. 

Marlin says, "Go wait over there and forget it's what you do best." 

Marlin is still a  father. His reaction after Nemo gets hurt in line with his character. The problem is the way he said it. It is a comment on her short-term memory loss being a  problem Marlin is annoyed with.  

From the film's start, Dory's repetitive questions cause Marlin to express how tired he is of it. Because snapping at Dory made sense in the context, the audience could assume Marlin is right to be annoyed at Dory's mental differences, which is ableist. When Nemo and Marlin are in trouble, they ask, "What would Dory do?" because Nemo sees the value of Dory's determination and problem-solving. Marlin is more open to what Nemo says because of the first film's character growth. The dynamic mimics 

The reality of physical disabilities being taken more seriously than mental differences.

As a result, Nemo has increasing empathy for Dory. Nemo reminds Marlin that he pushed Dory away by saying she should go and wait to forget. 

“Marlin tries to shift responsibility for making an ableist remark. The audience can see the consequences of prejudice, how hurtful it can be to those with disabilities, but the audience, as well as Marlin, might still see his remark as factually correct. 

A general audience might see this as evidence that  Dory really is best at forgetting." (Klinowski 54) 

The audience might also see Nemo's perspective as a member of the disabled community. He argues that Marlin pushed Dory away in a condescending way. Disabled people don't serve a purpose to anyone. They have valuable contributions beyond disability inspiration or courage. Nemo knows that and has grown from the first film to be confident and an advocate. 

Where Marlin's statement: "Look if I said that—and I'm not positive that I did— it's actually a compliment because I asked her to wait, and I said it's what you do best...," but he then admits that it was an inappropriate, hurtful comment to make (Finding Dory 00:25:17-00:25:26)." (Klinowski 53) became problematic using a disability as evidence to say a person is good or bad at something reduces their identity and worth to one aspect.

Sources

Draman, Alexa. "Swimming for Inclusion." The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research 17 (2016): -. Web. https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=ur