Barriers to Diversity in Film – A Research Review – Aug 07

Reasons behind the illnesses and the characters themselves are
negatively stereotyped. The author says she is interested in whether
audiences respond with empathy, distaste or anger. However the
author does consider less stereotyped films such as The Madness of
King George (1994), a film which explores the compatibility between
madness and power, that is a proud ruler reduced to a helpless
patient. The audience is positioned to feel enormous sympathy with
him and share his humiliation at his illness. One Flew over the
Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) is viewed by the author as a satire and an anti-
psychiatry film, which shows that the inmates are voluntary patients
and no more insane than the employees of the mental institution. In
contrast, the film A Beautiful Mind (2001) has a subject matter which
producers thought would not appeal to a mass audience and the
storyline was adapted accordingly. The life of a man who suffered
delusional traumas and was a paranoid schizophrenic was turned into
an uplifting tale of true grit and a woman’s love conquering adversity,
while ignoring Nash’s homosexuality (Cassey 2005).
The portrayal of wheelchair users also comes in for criticism.
Characters reflect ‘crass’ stereotypes to support weak scripts, often
with a closing revelation that s(he) is a fake paraplegic or a ‘magic’
cure is found for the impairment. Many actors have won Oscars for
playing a disabled role, which shows acting prowess. Furthermore,
through the history of film, there appear to be fewer roles for women
as disabled characters, with women playing victims, represented as
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