Why the "Disabled Villain" Trope is So Offensive

[@thetake]

Check out The Take's podcast to listen to our episodes on the go! spoti.fi/3samykB

[@AxxLAfriku]

cool

[@mylordshinobi1381]

As In The Shakespeare Plays Richard The III and Play Macbeth

[@torisantiago9176]

Can you guys finish off avatar the last Airbender please

[@macabrecitrus2127]

This was a really good video essay and as a disabled person I was impressed that you included all the relevant concepts regarding disability representation. However, this channel really needs to hire someone to properly subtitle the videos. Automatic subs aren't enough and it is an accessibility issue

[@XmenSuperfanEmmaFrost]

Professor X is the only superhero that comes to mind in fil that has a disability, but even the comics rewrote him to be able to walk

[@ArtemisPearl]

As someone with a disability I just have to point this out. There needs to be a balance of equal representation of villainy. We should have villains of all types. If media stops and goes completely in the other direction is ableist. People with disabilities are people and sadly a percentage of people are bad people. If media only shows us as pure and can never be bad or go bad I think that is also harmful.

[@tahsina.c]

Exactly! As some with BPD, I don't mind having varied representation of my illness (so long as it doesn't go too much in either direction), otherwise it feels like we're being denied complexity that other "ordinary" characters get which is just as dehumanising

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah, the balance is what it should be about. Literaly every typ of person is capable of evil but as long as most depictions are harmful wrong and demonising, one should facus on normalising depictions over "good evil" depictions

[@hbsupreme1499]

@@SingingSealRiana yea but I think the point most are villans, funny how this were all human stick is used whenever some points out a group being targeted

[@miss.mirana4061]

I think there should be a disabled protagonist as well as a disabled antagonist you can show how each deal with their disabilities and you should also not have the antagonist whole personality and motivation revolves around their disability, have it be part of their character not all of their character

[@DragonOnCoke7299]

There are plenty of villains who aren't disabled though

[@sopyleecrypt6899]

Facial differences in particular. And not just in film. Throughout literature “the bad guy” is described as ugly, scarred etc consistently. The wicked witch hides her evilness with beauty, then is revealed as bad by showing her true face: old and “ugly”.

[@Tweej]

I got a facial scar as a 15 yo, from a stupid but innocent accident involving a smashed bottle but from that moment I was treated differently... The ambulance man was sure drugs were involved for some reason... At school teachers all presumed I was involved in gang incident, one actually said to me "I'm sure however it happened, you deserved it". Family and friends wanted vengeance on the person who supposedly did it (it was me) and for years afterwards I was presumed to have been involved in a violent incident and to have been complicit. Thankfully a beard has helped cover it mostly now. People make quick judgements but that it changed how ppl that knew me saw me shows the power of this.

[@BritaMooreKutz]

@@Tweej I'm so sorry you got treated that way. You didn't deserve that. No one does. This kind of bias needs to be addressed in anti-bias trainings if it isn't already.

[@TalentCaldwell]

@@Tweej I remember reading how Tina Fey had similar experiences when it came to her facial scar, which was part of why she chose not to ever cover it up with makeup on SNL.

[@zitronentee]

The problem is the visual contrast. Audiences are so used to extreme black and white. So, when the protagonist is ugly, the antagonist is beautiful (nerd-bully) or vice versa (the usual). Gray area is rare.

[@sammyvictors2603]

@@zitronentee Something I want to do in my book ideas. Having both villains and heroes have disabilities and/or abnormalities, particularly in my depiction of mythical creatures, both good and bad (and some ambivalent or neutral).

[@ashleightompkins3200]

It's a shame that there aren't more disabled heroes because being able to counteract or overcome the setbacks that we were given should be seen as superpowers.

[@trinaq]

I agree, Matt Murdock from "Daredevil" might be the only heroic character who happens to have a disability that I can think of.

[@ashleightompkins3200]

@@trinaq If you'll allow me to give a small headcanon, I would like to put forth Batman. I suspect he's on the autistic spectrum (same as myself).

[@ashleightompkins3200]

@@Ella8i8 Perhaps but when everyone else in the cast is able bodied, then it doesn't really work out.

[@onettaviator5396]

Bruno from Encanto seems very autistic-coded!

[@charcoal8]

I think people always want the inspiration to see us overcome it, if done well then sure. If not then it can easily reinforce the idea that all we need is the willpower and we will overcome any obstacles. Which is total bs, bring diagnosed is hard af

[@justthatblueguy]

I like how Jaime Lannister is kind of the opposite. He was a villain who grew as a character from his disability

[@sweetimmortalife]

Don’t get me started, I’m still sad about the ending he was given, I loved his growth as a character from his disability so much just to be given “a lion can’t change its nature” bs.

[@SJPace1776]

@@sweetimmortalife sadly another character the show didn't understand after it no longer had the books to guide them.

[@mankytoes]

Good point, it's like a reverse fairy tale how he starts off as this visually perfect knight, but loses his sword hand, while morally improving.

[@neuralmute]

YES! Jaime *looked* like the perfect knight, but threw a kid out a window while having sex with his sister. After he lost his hand, he was forced to both rely on Brienne of Tarth, growing to recognise her worth, and to grow a personality beyond being the "greatest knight in the realm". I like to pretend that the last 4 seasons of the show never happened, and that only the books are canon.

[@rahbeeuh]

Until he became a shell of a character in the last few seasons

[@eliza5059]

As a disabled person I'm so happy to see this topic covered. Disability often gets left out of media conversations even though we've been saying this for decades

[@charcoal8]

Ikr 👍

[@Mr123Gibson]

Right?

[@nenmaster5218]

@@charcoal8 Want some epic Supplement to this video here? Then check out Hbomberguys video on Vaccines and Autism!

[@SingingSealRiana]

Either it gets used to "show inner corruption" or to serve as aspiration for others. Impaired seeing vanishes so a girl can "suddenly look hot" and all that bs. It is annoying as hell. Like a disability could serve as a villainous motivation if it where well done... But I can not recall a single time that was the case and even then, there is a sevear lack of positiv and neutral depictions.

[@leliapurky9462]

Here here 💯 I have Cerebral Palsy and there isn’t a movie or film portraying someone like me

[@starrsmith3810]

I think Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon series, Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Edward Scissorhands are some pretty good examples of people with disabilities or facial scars who aren’t the villains.

[@LucyLioness100]

And for Toph, her blindness is a key asset to her fighting techniques. Her senses of touch and hearing aid her in locating her foes and tossing them around like rag dolls

[@starrsmith3810]

@@LucyLioness100 yes. I loved that about her character. Plus the show criticized her parents for always thinking she was frail and fragile even after seeing that she wasn’t and it lead to her running away.

[@LucyLioness100]

@@starrsmith3810 and her companions don’t discriminate her for her lack of sight. It took them some getting used to her other heightened abilities, but all accepted Toph for being herself and a great ally in their cause

[@flovonnejohnson707]

@@LucyLioness100 they didnt treat her differently so much that they sometimes forgot she was even blind lol

[@f.n.p3710]

Dont forget daredevil

[@ladygreenlife]

The Notre dame hunchback was against this trope. It questioned people's view of Quasimodo vs the actual Villan!

[@sharp52092]

Right, as the song goes, who is the monster and who is the man?

[@Jane155-x6d]

Another of Victor Hugo's stories The Man who Laughs also subverts several tropes. The main character is disfigured and has a romance with a blind girl and it's actually one of his most sweet works, even with all the realism writing current still being very present (which means everyone is dead or miserable by the end).

[@ladygreenlife]

​@@Jane155-x6d Yes! Hugo in general challenged many of these medical ideas! Even in les miserable, the way Fantin is described was quite contrary to other authors of his age like Tolstoy. jean val jean tells costte, "now, it is time for you to know your mother's name. Her name was Fantine whenever you say her name kneel and pray she suffered throughout her life and now she only knows what she is doing in heaven among all her stars".

[@tahsina.c]

@@Jane155-x6d omg literally was thinking about The Man Who Laughs too! the 1920s movie is just amazing- bought be to tears, idk if you've already watched but if not do it!!

[@troyjardine5850]

Even "Phantom of the Opera" does this, with Gaston Leroux's self insert remarking that Erik could have been great it society was nicer to the disabled.

[@archer1949]

Doctor Doom is a good twist on this trope. In most canon, Victor Von Doom wears an iron mask to hide his facial “disfigurement”. But when his face is finally revealed, it turns out to be an insignificant scar, but his obsessive perfectionism and egotism magnified it to a hideous all consuming “monstrousness”.

[@mysterylovescompany2657]

And in other versions, it _was_ a tiny scar but in his vanity, he rushed to put the obscuring mask on too soon before it had even finished cooling properly after being forged, and, Whelp.

[@TechnicJunglist]

Love me some Doom

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

Idk, I think the problem with tropes / characters associating tiny imperfections with hideousness does more damage to irl-people who actually have visible afflictions. Minor or major. And those with more major ones, the unhideable disfigurements and injuries etc., start to think "if Mr. Tiny-Scratch is hideous, then *I myself* must be a monster!" . Similarly, the fashion industry unofficially officially encourages female models to be starving-skinny. So when some put on weight (aka return to healthy weight for their height & shape, from the undernourished figures they'd previously had), they were called 'curvy' to eyes used to seeing very, *very* skinny girls. And it made all the actually curvy irl girls looking at the ad (for what product, I forget), quite upset. Because where that barely-healthy-weight amount of curve was 'curvy' then actually-curvy was being equated to 'fat'. Which was wrong, and still promoting unhealthy bodies and beliefs, but now twice-over at once.

[@krisrhood2127]

Typical Marvel

[@YoureRightIThink]

@@iprobablyforgotsomething the thing is that he associates it with hideousness because he's a vain perfectionist, while other characters like Cable have a scar too, or Deadpool when he takes his mask off, Doom magnifies the the reality of his scar.

[@AliciaNyblade]

The Joker's entire creation reflects on how society dehumanizes people with disabilities. In 1869, Victor Hugo wrote a novel called "The Man Who Laughs", which followed Gwynplaine, a young boy who is disfigured with a Glasgow smile because his father angered the king. Gwynplaine grows up not knowing about his background and instead becomes a clown, working alongside and having a romance with a blind girl. He's a wonderfully sweet, compassionate character who feels for the less fortunate in the crowds even as they laugh at him. He even stands up for the people when, later, his past is revealed to him and he's whisked away to be reinstated to his father's titles as a lord. The novel was made into a silent film in 1928, starring Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, and it followed the novel fairly well. But apparently all the Batman creators got from it was, "Hey, look at that dude with the freaky face. What if he was a villain instead?" and thus, the Joker was born.

[@georgeprchal3924]

Except the Joker is a ruthless killer who enjoys murder, mayhem, torture, etc regardless of who or how it's happens.

[@AliciaNyblade]

@@georgeprchal3924 I know he does and that's my point: Gwynplaine defies the trope of the character who becomes bitter and/or goes mad due to his disfigurement. Most incarnations of the Joker, meanwhile, play directly into that trope. The creators of Batman, therefore, fell right into that old trap of portraying someone who is disfigured as a bad guy. Then again, they created a world where a rich guy dresses like a bat to play savior when he knows damn well his wealth could be used to help fix the systemic problems which create the criminals he instead punches in the face; we're not exactly dealing with the nuance and complexities of classic literature here.

[@georgeprchal3924]

@@AliciaNyblade depending on the version he was like that before. Either way Batman or the state should have executed him long ago.

[@seannanana84]

And depending on if you go by any one of the origin stories of the Joker within the context of Batman he was first wearing face paint and wasn't disabled or deformed then later it was because of being thrown into toxics. In the 1989 movie they established him as being evil long before the nerve damage happened to his face from being dropped into the chemicals. As for Two-Face it depends also on the stories. In the animated series from the 90s, he was already established as having a split personality of sorts being a good guy with a darkness to him for a few episodes before Harvey Dent became Two-Face. So when he got his injury the trauma pushed him over the edge however in both cases the Nolan movies didn't handle the origins well and it comes off as the deformity causing the bad behavior on its own. And a lot of comic book stories in print and on film rely heavy on their villains being othered whether it's through a deformity, or disabilities or just straight up not meeting what we as a society think is attractive. The positive representation is still lacking.

[@AliciaNyblade]

@@seannanana84 Yeah, the '90s animated series did a great job in giving depth to characters who otherwise come across as flat stereotypes or cliches. Also, I love how so many of the Batman villains' origin stories are just, "He fell into a vat of chemical-y chemicals and he was never the same after that," or, "She was a scientist doing science things and turned to the dark side when the authorities wouldn't let her finish her work!" Really shows the era the stories came from, the '40s and '50s when everybody was terrified of what chemistry and nuclear experiments could do. Not that I blame them; the horrors of WWII were fresh on the public's minds. Still, portraying disability as the springboard for evil hasn't aged well (not that it was ever appropriate).

[@terracerios5924]

I remember watching Elephant Man when I was a preteen. It taught some very deeply engrained lessons about seeing the person within. Hearing him yell “I am not an animal!” still moves me to tears. The raw exhaustion and pain in his voice is soul piercing.

[@carlathedestructor2454]

That movie made me cry so hard when I was little.

[@jennyfab312]

I can't bring myself to watch it. John Merrick (sp) was misdiagnosed as having neurofibromatosis - which I have. Imagine the bullying and teasing. And I still have crippling anxiety and shyness from having to cope with being mocked and bullied my whole life. It's disgusting that people judge others' level of good or evil based on their appearance

[@nobbie01]

Yeah, I tear up every time I hear those lines. Starting that clip, I was in tears watching this video

[@tahsina.c]

Love that film ❤

[@drej6216]

If you have a chance, can you make a video into the villainy associated with those of Eastern European or Slavic ancestry as well? The stereotypical “bad guy” is always this, to the point where the mock it in cartoon films like Despicable Me and the show Phineas and Ferb. We studied this briefly in our film noir and detective book course in school, but I’d love to see a deeper analysis.

[@eps3154]

Eh.. I think that could probably be traced to the Cold War. Since WW2 villans were coded German, since the 80s, they are Slavic. But it may go back further! That would be an interesting video essay for sure

[@arina4387]

To piggyback off that, a deep dive into Eastern European women and their depiction in media as well, especially in the wake of Emily in Paris and And Just Like That

[@apatouros7572]

I think this has to do with the idea of evil being "foreign" to the Hero.

[@georgeprchal3924]

Well there was this thing called the Soviet Union a while back...nuclear war...a Cold War...a Berlin Wall...

[@drej6216]

To everyone replying, I appreciate your input. I am also aware of some of the history behind this, such as this trope being heightened with the Cold War, but I want a deeper dive into why this stuck around so long and remains today.

[@lucasartgames]

I feel a child oriented character who's done particularly well coming off the criteria listed in this video, is Finn from Adventure Time. When he loses his arm, it is something that he has to grapple with mentally for quite a long time, and in a way he starts looking for "alternatives" in an act of denial. But each time his arm is "replaced" either with a faux grass arm, or an actual prosthetic, he finally grows to accept the development in his life. And he is often seen without his prosthetic just vibing in the future. And most importantly, he's just as capable at adventuring with his disability. I feel it stands out because he's very much the main protagonist, and in some ways is a paragon of morality in the show (despite his flubs with general kid friendly naivety.)

[@melindaboulton9070]

I’m partially blind. I really appreciate this as I can’t drive but am otherwise healthy. I understand why people would become villains because our lives are made harder, so you might as well become a villain. Mr. Glass is a perfect example.

[@davidcurtis7236]

I have the same problem. Not allowed to drive, but functional enough to not be disabled. I totally see how these types of people in the wrong mindset would become super villians

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I get not everyone chooses that path, but that is how I see some characters too. If someone has a hard life especially with a disability where they have to learn how to adapt by themselves, it makes sense they may turn evil. Not everyone of course, but with some people.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

I think you're hitting something important. I _do_ think this could be done better in films that it is though. It's all about the framing. The film can be shot and edited in a way that makes it clear that villainy is coming from the messed up way society treats the person, rather than the deformity or disability "reveling the evil within'.

[@nataliaalfonso2662]

I was born with a crappy heart with holes and messed up valves, and I have autoimmune disease and through extreme violence I’ve suffered my spine is very messed up. And yet people keep hurting me Bc they think it’s punching up. I guess because I “dress well” or have a good face or whatever. It’s made doctors not believe the extent of my illnesses or injuries, heinous friends are constantly victim playing and saying the “trauma” of seeing me sick is too much to make them go to the hospital to see me, my family is made up of a bunch of cartoon villains…. Maybe I would be a villain if I wasn’t in extreme pain all the time. Or if I had even one henchman. But it seems like a real waste of time when STANDING is a true difficulty.

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

@@t3tsuyaguy1 well phrased.

[@aminaawartani5969]

This is why the X-men are my favorite comic book heroes. Because their “mutations” are read as disabilities in their societies and they’re targeted because of them, but in reality they are what make them super-heroes. I love that Professor X is not just a genius in a wheel chair, he is also caring, patient and incredibly empathetic, which is why he creates a safe haven for all the mutants. I don’t think X-men gets the hype it deserves in disability representation.

[@seannanana84]

Agreed and Marvel in general is at least trying with positive representation overall. I mean Dare Devil is blind, Hawkeye is deaf, Echo is deaf. Those are who I can name off hand and then of course the entirety of The X-Men which I agree deserves a bit more hype in how it handles representation.

[@VibingMeike]

And that he also wanted to educate ''normal'' people on why mutants deserve to live just like anyone else.

[@pablomontesino7379]

But they left it out of the video because it would make Hollywood look not that bad

[@AndSoWeLaughed]

Good comment! I wonder why they weren’t mentioned! I don’t think it’s fits the narrative because how can you say you don’t want villains with disabilities or disfigurements which to some people aren’t the same thing, when x men is literally about mutants they could be coded as disabled, as aliens, as witches many things. Does it cancel out if they’re in both sides? It’s quite confusing. But I’m not sure if I would call professor x caring, he’s quite manipulative.

[@redculturedash8074]

I thought figured the X-men sub franchise was always focusing on racial representation

[@CodeEquestria1]

As a person born with cerebral palsy, watching this video was refreshing and was so will done. I'm also not a fan of how people like me are treated in entertainment. Even as a youtuber, many people don't watch my videos because of my voice. When. I see disabilities in tv, it's always a joke or pity party. We want heroes, love and understanding. As a longtime sub, this vid filled me with pride. Thank you.

[@bellareid3488]

I also have CP and agree with you, so happy to see this video.

[@Cove_Blue]

I'm so glad they did this and hope more people start openly talking about ableism and non disabled folks start listening.

[@ladyofavalon]

I have CP as well and I'm glad to see it.

[@cabbiecarmvp145]

I feel like the trope of villains with facial disfigurements comes from the broader prejudice we have to people based off their looks. So often the heroes are conventionally attractive, like a symmetrical and even facial structure somehow correlates to virtue. I feel like a lot of ableist tendencies in society also discriminate against large groups of non-disabled ppl. Like a high school dropout and someone with an intellectual disability are both bullied for being “slow”, and people are judged harshly off their appearance regardless of if that appearance was caused by a disability or just their genes. Fighting ableism helps everyone, not just disabled people

[@lkeke35]

I read somewhere that at the root of all social issues is ableism. Its at the root of racism, homophobia, misogyny, and I was inclined to agree because a lot of the base stereotypes surrounding these different groups of people revolve around insults to their abilities, especially their mental and physical acuities!

[@CristalianaIvor]

@@lkeke35 I am not sure if I would go as far as calling it "the root" but I 100% agree that all discrimination is connected.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Just like fighting sexism even if it is "just" directed against women. Women not getting taken serious by doctors does and will cause their male relatives distress and loss too. Same goes for medications only being tested on males, carsafty disregarding women etc. It will effect men by proxy. Boys do not get the same attention of teachers or parents some time for "boys will be boys" the lower standarts expected of them will lead to worse performances due to a lack of guidance. In the end no matter what, we are all people, all human and every improvement for others will also be an improvement for us!

[@nijodesu3659]

For anyone looking for a heartwarming story about a disabled protagonist on screen, I highly recommend the following anime: "Ranking of Kings" and "A silent voice" ☺

[@adrianghandtchi1562]

Thank you I appreciate that!

[@paulac.munoztorres]

Thank you!!

[@Zoroasto1]

And Hitori Bocchi... Is not about disabled characters, but is also pretty good anime.

[@edouardmaurice2817]

Daredevil ???

[@martinchristianaguilar5135]

JoJo Part 7 Steel Ball Run

[@AlexirLife]

I have an acquired disability. I had an accident that changed the way the world sees me. I can absolutely understand the rage from having "it all" & losing it all because of an accident. While I hate that the rage is only portrayed as turning people into villians, the rage is real. It would be nice to see that rage represented in a different way. I lost all the privilege & control over my financial future in a capitalist system. It has changed my attitude to the wider world. I'm much more angry at capitalism, I was before the accident but it's different. So I get the reason for expressing that as trying to destroy the world....but there is more to being disabled than rage

[@lunacouer]

Thank you for this. I have an acquired disability too, and there really is a mental and emotional journey that comes with that. Rage and sadness and fear are all a part of it. It's not the whole story - learning acceptance has been a huge growth journey for me. But it's a true part of it. When I first got this disability, I said to a friend, in actual shame, "I'm not like those people in the movies where this makes them a hero." Up until that point, media was my only exposure to disability, and I thought that's how I was _supposed_ to be. If it hadn't been for the internet, I'd have no idea that was internalized ableism reinforced by a bad, BAD trope. So hell yes, we need actual representation of that journey, without turning it into inspiration for the able-bodied to say "You have no excuse" or making someone turn into a serial-killer over it, or god, that one movie where the main character says "Nah, I'm killing myself" despite the chance for a lovely life. Someone in the comments up above mentioned Finn from Adventure Time as an example of this journey, and then the video talks about Ruben from Sound of Metal too. So we're making some headway. But I appreciate you pointing out that we don't have to gloss over nor villainize the emotional journey. The truth itself makes for a great story.

[@AlexirLife]

@@lunacouer Agreed! Our stories are interesting enough stories without the inspiration porn! We aren't here to be anything for the abled. We are here to live our best lives, just like everyone else 🤷 We deserve real representation. Tho in the other direction, Rose McGowan in Planet Terror is my absolute favourite representation. She uses a huge gun as a prosthetic leg & fights off the zombie hoard. It's joyous! It's ridiculous but perfect

[@lunacouer]

@@AlexirLife omg, I love Planet Terror 😂 That is camp *gold* right there.

[@AlexirLife]

@@lunacouer Right!?! I have watched that & the other Grindhouse movie way too many times. They are next level camp! Only a true aficionado of camp can pull off that level of camp without it dropping into pure ridiculousness. Camp is my jam

[@yesterdayseyes]

Capitalism is why you are taken care of. Have you seen what socialist countries do to the disabled? You should be thankful, not angry.

[@bellamaz1972]

I love this. As a disabled person I’d also love it if you took on a bit of a riskier archetype: the Tiny Tim trope. The over-romanticized, saint-like cripple or otherwise disabled person, sometimes in the form of a savant. It’s subtly just as dehumanizing as villainization. Edit: this video touched on it a bit by talking about “inspiration porn“, but the Tiny Tim trope is substantial and frequent enough IMO to deserve a separate analysis. :)

[@thevideocommenter3061]

I wish you also talked a bit about schzioprenia and how much it is wrongfully portrayed. Maybe in another video, talking about other mental illnesses too.

[@vanessaheine8093]

This. I remember seeing As Good As It Gets when it came out and was appalled how the main character’s debilitating OCD was just played for laughs.

[@agnessofiacastrocarvalho774]

@@vanessaheine8093 you didn't get the movie at all

[@vanessaheine8093]

Bless your heart but I very much did.

[@alannahmayes7169]

Agreed. Living with psychosis and seeing how wrong some shows portray mental illness is sad. I feel like Manic did a good job in showing a POV of someone living with Psychosis.

[@call666ontherebound2]

Represent! Totally agree

[@nervousbreakdown711]

I like the Phantom of the Opera deformity because it’s not the facial disfigurement that’s the issue, it’s how he was abused for having it that’s the issue.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Same with the creation of Frankenstein. The creature is showen to have an immense capability for empathy even if it has never experienced it itself, bu no one, not even its creator ever looked past its looks. People call it a monster, but it basicly is an abandoned kid with no one to raise it, no one to hold it no one who even considers feeling the slightest bit of sympathy despite it having done nothing to deserve it. Seconds after it swore to hate humans for their reaction of it, it jumps into an river on instinct to save a child and gets jet again attacked for its effort.......

[@TandaSandaBanda]

Ah, yet another reason why Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame is my favorite movie of all time. An important lesson taught is that just because a person looks a certain way, doesn’t determine their entire personality or morality. Although he is mistreated, Quasimodo proves himself to be the hero that he was capable of being all long, while his “normal” adoptive father is pretty much evil incarnate. What’s even better is that while Quasi is a good person at heart, he isn’t perfect and is allowed to have flaws, such as acting frustrated. He believed that romance could be the key to solving his inner conflict of wanting to be accepted, when that isn’t what he needed. Overall, he’s a badass protagonist. Granted, he was deaf in the novel-and some people could argue that his level of strength is unrealistic for someone with a severe form of kyphosis, but I digress.

[@K1ng1995]

The problem is that most people are more like Rick Riordan's version of Hephaestus from The Percy Jackson Universe.

[@Fullmetal1890P]

I'm going to make an argument on behalf of The Phantom of the Opera, because it is so frequently misunderstood. Firstly, it was written in 1911, a time in which France was only JUST beginning to reconsider the way they had treated disabled/"ugly" people ("ugly laws," mind you, still existed in much of the world at this time). This is what inspired Gaston Leroux to write the character of Erik (The Phantom) as this individual who, despite having lived relatively well in Persia as an assassin, was treated terribly after coming to Paris. Despite the fact that he is an incredibly talented musician and a genius in general (writing many of the operas performed in the opera house under which he lived), he knew that he would never be treated fairly by the citizens of Paris because of how he looked. This eventually affected his personality and he went from being a pretty personable guy (well, as "personable" as a professional assassin could be) to becoming incredibly antisocial, even to his closest friend. It was upon meeting and falling in love with Christine that his now "evil" identity was truly revealed and though he did rather horrible things to try to force her to love him, in the end, he realized how horrible he had been to her and let her leave because he realized that love is selfless, and he couldn't subject her to staying with him in misery. It's actually a very beautiful ending that showed his realization at the monster he had become, having come to believe that he WAS a monster because that's how people treated him, and how he managed to overcome his *own* pain to not inflict more suffering onto others. In the end, he apologized to Christine and let her go, as well as apologized to his friend before dying. The real message of POTO is not about *Erik* being evil, but the bougie French people of its time being cruel and how mistreatment of anybody could eventually turn them into a monster, despite their talents and what they can contribute to society. At first, it starts out as a "monster story," like many other horror stories of its time, but by the end of it, you realize that Erik is just a man who has been wronged for so long that he's *become* a "monster." He wasn't born a monster, he *became* one because of how he was treated by society, and in the end, he still did the right thing. POTO is a story about *compassion* and the importance it plays in determining someone's fate, whether they can thrive, or are forced to hide in the sewers, alone and unloved. His disfigurement isn't what made him evil, it's what made *other* people evil to him.

[@ruisenor8993]

Thank you!

[@colonyofrats4193]

One thing I do hate about phantom though is the actors portraying him in stage musicals around the world are told to act autistic to play the phantom. F*cking infuriating!

[@MsJaytee1975]

I mean that might be true of the original book, but I’m not sure it carries through to the musical

[@SingingSealRiana]

Frankenstein goes there even harder, it is truly beautiful and heartbreaking

[@fiona_6714]

I'm so glad they decided to dive into this. It's always bothered me that disabled people are used as either Martyrs or Villains. We're people, not plot devices.

[@charcoal8]

Even in real life we're seen as either innocent or fakers, it's patronising beyond belief

[@fiona_6714]

@@charcoal8 EXACTLY!!! It bothers me so much, we shouldn't have to prove our disability to anyone and our disability doesn't make us delicate little flowers that you need to walk on eggshells around!

[@ed1rko17]

Actually, all characters are plot devices. You are treated like people in film.

[@geniosityfilms]

@@ed1rko17 wow, you don't just misunderstand the social issue but also writing in general.

[@Cove_Blue]

@@ed1rko17 It's this kind of dismissal and talking over disabled people that helps perpetuate rampant ableism. Maybe stfu next time and listen.

[@raven3067]

Failing to see them as people is what turns them into villains.

[@Cove_Blue]

100%

[@neuralmute]

Absolutely. As a person with invisible disabilities, I used to joke that the Phantom Of The Opera was my spirit animal. The line from the musical that echoes this most clearly is when he is asked to show compassion and replies, "The world showed no compassion to me." I've worked past this attitude, but many people don't.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

Yes. That's a definite. I am disabled although you wouldn't think it to look at me. I was registered disabled as a small infant, having been born with Spina Bifida Occulta and Hydrocephalus. It's only those that are sharp-eyed that can spot my gait becoming awkward and a limp showing. However, other than that, I appear to be as any regular human being. Scratch that. I AM a regular human being. There is NO such thing as a normal or regular human being. I am a human being. End of.

[@neuralmute]

@@KittyKatt_Luna80s I hear you so clearly. I was also born with the seeds of my disabilities - premature, with breathing problems and an underdeveloped immune system that would develop into some of the chronic illnesses that I still live with as an adult. I look normal, but I've never really known what "normal" is like for healthy people who haven't known that very simple, everyday things could kill them since they were a young child. Being on the autistic spectrum as well, I don't think I could find "normal" with a map! I just want to be treated with respect and care, like anyone else.

[@neuralmute]

@@dcworld4349 Wow. I have rarely seen a point missed so completely.

[@kahkah1986]

A few years ago, the children's tv station where i live started to use a disabled presenter in its rotation. The backlash from parents was intense, who wrote in complaining that she was frightening their children. The tv station fought back and said the children were picking up the fear from their parents as there was nothing inherently frightening about a disabled person. Now the government wants to cut its funding and accuses it of being 'woke'; not all of its decisions have been as good as that one, but that one definitely was the right thing to say.

[@SingingSealRiana]

The fuck, yeah, the unknowen can be frightening, but the only way to combat that is making it known. Hiding away everyone who looks different will only make it worse later on. Exposior is the best treatment there!!!

[@sandystudios223]

Oh what’s it called

[@Angi3_6]

I hate how schizophrenia (and disabilities along the schizophrenia spectrum) are almost always tied with the villain. The only time that didn’t happen (that I’m aware of) was A Beautiful Mind, a movie that came out over 20 years ago.

[@justaname6011]

I saw a movie, from 2020, called Words on Bathroom Walls and the protagonist has schizophrenia, and the movie is about his struggles as a person having this condition.

[@Angi3_6]

@@justaname6011 I’m gonna look it up. Thanks for telling me! ❤️

[@annejohnson5875]

It would be nice to see how those of us with mental illness are portrayed in tv and film and how we are treated by society.

[@gakailyn9249]

Poorly. Monsterized, fetishized, romanticized, demonized...some of the same problems that disabled ppl face in representation, but we're either scary or pitiful. Shit, sane person trapped in the madhouse is a running horror story favorite.

[@kikikokonyc2137]

I think they did two videos about that, one was about mental health portrayed in media and one is about how neurodivergent ppl are portrayed

[@whatever5401]

@@kikikokonyc2137 like to the videos?

[@junrobin9335]

I mean from what I've seen not much changes. At least in modern portrayals. If we talk about movies from a few decades back on the mentally ill stuff like that doesn't entirely happen anymore. But there's still places that would kill their kids for it or send them to fixer camps or even still use electroshock therapy to cure things. Without the person's consent. And abuse and discrimination is still a very real thing.

[@DynamicWatcher]

3:22 I have to stop you right there The Take. In Hereditary, Charlie is considered an incomplete host for Paimon not because she is disabled, but because Paimon's host is supposed to be male, it's described in the occult book, in movie as such.

[@sapphic.flower]

I also noticed that. Although sometimes people just interpret film differently or just misunderstand things, it does lend into a narrative that makes Hereditary look more ableist than it was. But I don't think it dilutes their point that the film, intentionally or not, used Charlie's disabilities and the quirks it can come with to heighten the horror.

[@Ashandonyx]

Yes, I was going to say this.

[@bigdognuniff]

I get that but the disability was used to make people uncomfortable with her and to isolate the character by othering her. I also want to point out the cultists did mention "healthy"

[@Jane155-x6d]

@@bigdognuniff It was refering to her nut allergy.

[@red_calla_lily]

I mean, even if the cult rejected her because of her disability - it's a cult for Satan, they're not the most politically correct people and are not portrayed as such

[@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664]

The ending of freaks was really bad though. Some of the actors spoke up after the release of the movie, saying how unhappy they were with the portrayal of disabled people in the movie.

[@jessiemayfield6749]

Why? How did it end?

[@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664]

@@jessiemayfield6749 a pretty, young woman married one of the "freaks" for his money. During the celebration the freaks sang "one of us, one of us! We accept her!" She then started yelling about how she would never be one of them and how repulsive they were, resulting in the "freaks" attacking and eventually disfiguring her.

[@AliciaNyblade]

@@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664 (SPOILER ALERT) That wasn't the reason they attacked her. Cleopatra married Hans just for his money. At the wedding scene, she slips poison into his drink and continues to poison him with the "medicine" she later gives him after he falls ill from the initial drugging. Hans' friends find out that Cleopatra's trying to kill him and so they attack her to protect him.

[@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664]

@@AliciaNyblade thank you. It's been years since I watched the movie. Apparently I dont remember it as well as I would like

[@AliciaNyblade]

@@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664 You're welcome, and no worries. It's a great film, one of my favorites.

[@garimasingh4426]

So here's my thoughts about voldermort. I don't think him being the bad guy had anything to do with how he looked. Tom riddle was very handsome and charming, and was still very evil. His looks (disfigured face) has nothing to do with him being villian.

[@red_calla_lily]

Well he gets uglier as he loses his humanity (killing people for his Horcrux). So it is correlated with "losing humanity"

[@MsJaytee1975]

Then why make him disfigured?

[@leahjenner6765]

@@MsJaytee1975 hadn’t he died and split his soul multiple times and it made him look strange ?

[@fellinuxvi3541]

​@@leahjenner6765 so it is tied to his evil

[@fellinuxvi3541]

But it kinda is a "fate worse than death" seeing as how it's a direct consequence of selling his soul, so some ableist concepts do leak from that portrayal.

[@sapphic.flower]

I really liked Isaac's character in Sex Education that it made me so devastated to see people hate him so much. Of course people can be mad about his choices and they don't have to like him but it's so rare to get a disabled character who's also charismatic that I really wish viewers and the writers gave him a chance. I really hope they can still give him a part to play next season instead of what happened with Rahim. edit: I saw a lot of ableist jokes made at Isaac too which I think made me angrier about it rather than just thinking "ok, it's sensible to dislike him". It's really just this attitude where because people hate a character, they think they can use their disability against them and think it's not ableism.

[@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664]

He was my favorite. I was really disappointed that he got so little screen time.

[@kirathulhu]

I'm glad to hear someone else say this! It meant a lot to me to see a disabled character that felt like a whole person on screen and it sucked seeing some of the audience reactions to him. That show is full of imperfect characters that make bad decisions and hurt the people around them - I always felt that the hate people showed towards Isaac was way out of proportion compared to the abled characters. There are absolutely reasons to not like him, but people were going really far with it and definitely dwelling more on disability-related things.

[@stephanieclark8327]

@@kirathulhu I liked Isaac. I was a little disappointed with the season 2 finale with the deleting text thing but I was so glad that they kept his character intact in season 3 by having him being honest about it. I came out of season 3 thinking Isaac deserved better.

[@mpGreen03]

Idk, with Voldemort - he doesn't have disability due to so car accident or something tragic like that, he simply chose to throw away his humanity in order to be immortal and succeed in gaining power of darkness. He "deformity" symbolised that he himself threw away his humanity. he became to look like the symbol of a house which was created by tyranical monster just like him. He doesn't look like a person who lost a nose due to accident, he looks like a snake man.

[@Elly-z7q]

his entire aestheticTM is snakes and death so like its pretty obvious he wanted to look like this

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah, but that also equates not looking "normal" with being evil

[@maxenswlfr1877]

Yeah but it's still "look my face is deformed and that shows I'm a monster, ooooh ain't I scary"

[@mpGreen03]

@@maxenswlfr1877 In a way yeah, it felt to me more nuanced than just that, however given Rowling's, what is considered today, problematic writing as well as her own personal beliefs (shown on Twitter etc)- I would not not be surprised if that is just as you guys said. (What I mean is constant clowning on Vernon and Dudley for being fat, Petunia for being "ugly" etc.)

[@SingingSealRiana]

@@mpGreen03 well, I am not proposing that it was her intent to throw shade on disfigured people with her decision to turn Voldemort into a snake hybrid, but that dies not shange, that that is kinda the result

[@AntoniaGeorgieva]

Someone misread Hereditary. Charlie is considered a wrong host because she's a girl and the demon wants to possess a male body.

[@blaskiewicz]

why then explicitly mention that's he's healthy?

[@AntoniaGeorgieva]

@@blaskiewicz I think it's said to praise the new host to the demon, but I don't think it's meant to be taken as a juxtaposition to Milly (Charlie). Also, the only health issue Charlie has in the movie is her nut allergy, so I don't think there is a reason to believe she's disabled in the plot (neurotypical people can develop ticks like hers). Lastly, she's not the fantastical disabled person, because I believe she's not disabled and because she wasn't meant to be the host. She was only the host because she, rather than her brother, spent time with their grandma.

[@lalasuribe6729]

@@blaskiewicz because he is

[@mysterylovescompany2657]

@@AntoniaGeorgieva I believe Charlie _is_ intended to be read as having a disability, because when she fretfully asks her mother, "Who's going to look after me when you die?" her mother pauses, & then says that her brother will. I think if her character wasn't written as having a disability, they would have simply had her mother tell her - as one might expect - that she'd be an adult by then & ready to look after herself. Her anxiety when she asks, & her mother's reply, seemed to me to subtly indicate a shared understanding that Charlie could never expect to be independent (which is a whole other conversation, of course).

[@jasbelial3943]

@@blaskiewicz so butt hurt ?

[@catlawyerwilldefendfortrea6038]

I think especially in kid's media we need better representation. One good example was The Extreme Ghostbuster cartoon. Garrett was in the wheelchair but he was so well written and had so much personality beyond that. Might be low bar from today's standard but as a kid in 90s it was great!

[@moonbyuliduh8612]

On the topic of disability, don't you think you should provide subtitles on your videos so deaf people could still understand what you're saying? And not just the auto generated ones.

[@bluelavender7252]

Yes! That's what we need! It's kind of hard for me to understand words too!

[@wolfkaiserf4430]

To be THAT GUY......It’s also really interesting to have a disabled character as a villain, especially when you’re first introduced to them and they seem harmless to only then surprise everyone else and leave them dumbfounded. It’s satisfying in an evil way to watch those that we automatically and subconsciously deem not able to be the villain based on their disability to then come out of seemingly nowhere and give sound reasons for their motives and sometimes their disability is used to further their villainous plans. There’s always going to be 2 sides of a coin, where some see a problem, others see a potential

[@jjtheraccoon61]

And also, some disabled heroic characters might turn out to be much more dangerous than previously expected (to be harmless).

[@SingingSealRiana]

It really hinges on how it is done and if there are enough positiv and neutral depictions that a whole group does not get judged over the negativ representation

[@carson11100]

At least the Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame gives the message that the deformed Quasimodo is a hero, a pure soul, a true man and in no way a monster. More characters with deformities should be portrayed like this!

[@TandaSandaBanda]

And given the medieval context that the video explained, the movie completely flipped that idea on its head! Frollo, a pious elderly man (usually seen as a “vulnerable” age group), is a borderline dictator who demonstrates both sociopathic and psychopathic traits, while Quasimodo is portrayed as someone with a heart of gold, but also human and prone to frustration/hesitance/regret.

[@TheTroutyness]

Plus Quasimodo wasn’t perfect. He had to deal with an unrequited love without become an incel.

[@meameam]

This trope goes back not only to medieval times but straight to Ancient Greece. There was the concept of "καλοκάγαθος", if you are beautiful (καλός), you're going to be good (αγαθός). That's why in many ancient text and stories the villain or the coward is also ugly/disabled (think of Thersites in the Iliad)

[@miticaBEP07]

Thersites even had a good point.

[@meameam]

@@miticaBEP07 definitely. But let's hit him for existing, I guess

[@aworldofhopes7627]

And this doesn't even go into how mental illness and other mental disabilities are used as a scapegoat to villainize individuals within media. Individuals with physical or mental disabilities deserve better and their characters deserve to be treated with the same thought, care, and respect as able-bodied characters.

[@MsJaytee1975]

In case anyone is wondering, the reason apologies are included from Anne Hathaway and Lupita Nyong’o and no-one else, is because they are the only two people who’ve ever had the decency to do so. And both made sure to say they apologised for causing harm and not just causing offence. This is a really good video, one of the best I’ve ever seen about disability in film. I’m really glad it looked at what disabled characters should be. I love my disabilities, they make me who I am and I get disheartened with the lack of disabled people who don’t hate themselves in film and TV.

[@jasmin_dd963]

Regarding witches: in Dahl's original art work, the witches claws were hairy and looked more like those of a cat. There was no reason to use a very real limb difference for a shocking effect

[@yurisei6732]

There was: This is far more grotesque than just having hairy hands. Shape deformities are in general more uncanny than texture/colour deformities.

[@jasmin_dd963]

@@yurisei6732 That's simple cruelty then. Imagine being a child, watching a children's movie, and seeing your body being used for shock value. There's stories of children with this limb difference being called "witch" and "evil" after the movie came out

[@yurisei6732]

@@jasmin_dd963 Everything in storytelling is cruel then, because unless your villains are literal forces of nature with no appearance and no personality, there's always going to be someone who feels bad about seeing a villain that resembles them. In which case, storytelling just needs to be a bit cruel, or else there are very few stories to tell.

[@raveenasavadi655]

I am the first person! For the first time in forever!! I would like to take this opportunity to say that I love the take, it’s my everything. This channel has educated me and changed my life. I look forward to the videos every alternate day and I am so grateful to be able to see its videos.

[@LifeUntilLove]

I think it is a little weird to treat minor facial scars, the kind that are often given to the grizzled hero or the retired warrior, in the same way as full face or body disfigurements/disabilities. Like Kylo Ren is already a villain before getting the scar and is still treated as a sexually attractive and redeemable character by the series afterwards.

[@K1ng1995]

God I wish he wasn't redeemed I Loved TLJ I loved when Kylo killed Snoke. It was the first time the "Rule of Two" was shown on the screen. Plus it proved that Kylo Ren was nothing but a broken sad little boy with to much power and not enough morality. Plus his whole thing was "I'm going to burn everything down to declare myself the winner"

[@trinaq]

I really dislike the implication of disability being associated with evilness. For instance, "Antman and the Wasp's" main villain, Ava, has chronic pain, doing everything in her power to find a cure. While pain or illness CAN cause people to act out of character, once Ava's condition is gone, she's not considered a villain anymore, which is a problematic message to send.

[@ed1rko17]

Why is that problematic? Is it problematic to humanize villains, and make them relatable? Because then any human trait they possess that WOULD actually be a realistic motivation for being a villain gets labeled as toxic, because humans possess those traits. Do you want villains to be relatable and understandable or just cardboard cut out, two dimensional mustache twirling people so that no one gets offended?

[@disneythequeen]

I think villains are supposed to be evil, but I get what you are saying! Not every ANTAGONIST has to be evil, they just have conflict with the protagonist.

[@jp9707]

Do you mean you dislike the implication of disability being associated with evilness? I think that might have been a typo, you said villainy instead of disability! If it wasn't a typo, could you explain what you mean? I thought 'villainy' was evil by definition?

[@deadshot1995]

Because once her condition is gone, she has no reason to commit villainous actions out of desperation to try to cure it lol. Don't see the problem here.

[@dance_ofThaDEAD]

It wasn't chronic pain.. it was some scientific warp energy that was slowly killing her. But ok

[@vivaelqueso]

I'm ashamed to say, I never was aware of this trope. Thank you for this video. It opened my eyes

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I like Hawkeye’s representation if hard of the hard of hearing and deaf community as well as having a deaf heroine in the Eternals. Watching Hawkeye, i felt seen in a way. The scenes where he could not fully hear on the phone even with hearing aids is something I go through. That scene where Maya crushed his hearing aid got to me because they are expensive and insurance companies don’t cover them. They are hard to replace. It is like someone crushing your glasses. Eeh. I resinate with Dr. Murphey in the Good Doctor because of the experiences he has. I am not a genius or have a photographic memory like he does, but the experiences he goes through because of his “disability” is very real. We both struggle in social situations, have difficulties understanding facial cues, have a hard time adapting to new changes, and can get disoriented sometimes. Qualities we share are empathy and compassion, wanting to help people, and having a difficult time making friends who may think we are annoying or too quirky. My mom told me that scene where he was learning to drive a car was how she felt when I tried to learn. She worried I would never be able to drive a car because of my coordination issues and being disoriented which are symptoms of my disabilities. It is also difficult to find jobs and I do not see a lot of shows or films that depict that. I am what they call an in betweener. People think I am neurotypical when I am not. Also, many jobs rely on my weaknesses and my strengths and most people don’t want to train me or provide resources that could help. Not trying to seek out pity or anything, but this is what is like so I can see how this trope is dangerous if there is no rational sense behind it. It is one thing having someone who happens to have a disability be evil or if enough bad treatment causes that path vs. disability=bad.

[@jibekmechler139]

I also feel like Maya is an example of how to do a disabled villain right. Her disability doesn’t have anything to do with why she’s evil

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

@@jibekmechler139 i felt she was more of an antihero, but completely agree with you.

[@jasmin_dd963]

Hawkeye should've been disabled from the start, not just in the series. The creators of the movies did him and the deaf community a disservice by erasing his disability.

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

@@jasmin_dd963 i did not realize that maybe in the comics, he was deaf or hard of hearing from the get go. I kind of liked how he lost it gradually from the work he did because that does happen so I don’t think they fully did him a disservice. But I get your point.

[@jasmin_dd963]

@@gabrielleduplessis7388 Oh yeah I am not trying to undermine your point, just add to it. In one comic series, he lost his hearing due to abuse as a child and he has a brother who is wheelchair-bound (no wife and kids either). He is a really interesting character, even communicating with his neighbors in ASL. There's empty speech bubbles when he is not wearing his aides, it's really cool. That's what I meant with "disservice" :)

[@rebeccapenders5050]

I'm 31, have been physically disabled by MS for a decade, and use a power chair full-time. I am writing a book on ableism in media, so this video is appreciated! You did a great job avoiding ableist language, though I would suggest dispensing with "disfigured." And THANK YOU for including "crip face" and "Insp porn!" Sharing and saving for references. Keep up the great work! ♿❤

[@K1ng1995]

So what are your thoughts on characters like Dr Doom, Hawkeye being Deaf, Xavier in a wheelchair, Echo being deaf, Daredevil being blind. Or characters that became disabled because of accident either by their own recklessness or by someone else's neglect that caused them to become bitter and want revenge.

[@rebeccapenders5050]

Daredevil, Professor X, and Dr. Doom are great characters, and I really liked the older adaptations of X-men and the more recent Matt Murdoch. As long as it's done well, I think able-bodied actors can play characters with disabilities convincingly, but many times there are discrepancies. Batgirl/Oracle was played by an actress who is an amputee, allowing her to film some flashback scenes with a prosthetic and long pants to show her time before her SCI. I thought this choice made her scenes using a wheelchair more convincing, since she is mobile front the waist up and unconsciously moves like a wheelchair user would, whether lounging or fighting. Professor X worked because he doesn't move very much at all.

[@mercuriology45]

It’s straight up ableism, also somenthing I found extremely sad is that back in the day, they used to have disable people in king’s courts for entertainment purposes :(

[@19EHF]

You guys should do Romani (Gypsy) Stereotype and tropes in media and real life and how its led to real world consequences (i.e. expulsion, persecution and the Romani genocide in the Holocaust) and even negative views and beliefs that are still held to this day edit. Also yes I am aware that most ACTUAL romani people view Gypsy as a pejorative term so i didn't mean to offend i just put that there because most people dont know the difference between the two

[@ladymary22]

Perfection and beauty has privilege. Don't say they don't. These tropes about disabled and disfigured shows how poorly they are treated

[@splatinumnunnie]

I don't think this should mean no disabled villains ever. As a disabled person, I feel like disabled people have just as much as a capacity as abled people to be evil. I just think we need to reframe the way we write disabled villains rather than get rid of them altogether.

[@Amethyst_J]

Facial difference is the more accepted term. I have a facial difference and personally know how painful it can me to be called deformed or disfigured. It’s great to discuss this issue but I just want express that many people with facial difference do not like being called deformed or disfigured. Also just because someone has a facial difference doesn’t mean they are disabled the two shouldn’t be used interchangeably.

[@DanielSmith-pq4yc]

As a person with an invisible disability I have experienced people, who have made harmful comments people they think all disabilities are physically or visible. However it's good that these conversations are happening

[@Jennandtonicx]

This made me cry from start to finish. I’m a paraplegic from chest down and this does not define me. But when sometimes it does, it’s people like family and friends helps us bounce back.

[@KarlieStarrSings]

I can relate to this. When I was younger I was told I looked like a witch by the other kids because of my facial deformity

[@Kiárán92]

You’re actually really beautiful looking ☺️

[@CourtneyCoulson]

I'll never forget that awful Atypical show (which somehow got two seasons), and hearing the director admit that he auditioned real autistic boys but ended up choosing a neurotypical boy because "he just seemed like a better fit for the role". You're telling me the non-autistic was better at being autistic than the actual autistics? Seems like he wanted a stereotype, not a real disabled person to me.

[@yurisei6732]

It's entirely possible. The non-autistic obviously wasn't better at *being autistic*, but may well have been better at *being an actor*, and ultimately, a TV production needs a good actor first and foremost.

[@tatyanawakefield8651]

@@yurisei6732 of course, but I think there's a case to be made about insisting on making stuff about us but refusing to use us to tell the stories. There are plenty of fantastic autistic actors out there who would jump at the chance to represent themselves.

[@yurisei6732]

@@tatyanawakefield8651 That's certainly true, but I don't think anyone should be jumping to condemn someone for a decision like this when the context is not actually known. People don't get cast in roles all the time, for all sorts of reasons. It also shouldn't be ignored that autism manifests in a wide range of different ways. What if all the autistic actors interviewed had a different kind of autism to the one this dude wanted to write about? Then in theory it may be purely down to acting skill and appearance.

[@K1ng1995]

​@@yurisei6732100%

[@redculturedash8074]

Last year, I made a collage of portrayals of characters with disabilities. Along the way, I saw a documentary that summarized three tropes on disabled characters through endings; they are villains and fall at the able-bodied hero’s hands; they are at the protagonist’s side and settle with an inferior life to ‘escape’ ableism; or after becoming disabled, either do not want or do not get to live through that. My collage was about the progress being made in recent years with disabled characters as protagonists. Abed Nadir as a natural filmmaker and cinephile, Fluttershy is an underdog in adventures while also being an empathetic caretaker, etc. I can see there is a long way to go, so it’s great to see the progress being made right now.

[@Amberk1985]

This video means a lot for me. I’m disabled and feel seen. I’m glad you brought up how disabled actors rarely get to play a disabled person.

[@grassj6002]

Not 100% sure if it falls under this category, but... Zuko from Avatar: the Last Airbender. His scar resulted from his trauma, served as a reminder of how he was unwanted by Ozai and Azula, and by extension, the whole Fire Nation and the world. But he grew from it, so it becomes a symbol of his own growth and victory and acceptance of himself by the end. Actually, most of Avatar has really interesting and overall good disability rep from what I've heard, not just Zuko. Hell, we've got that one kid with a flying wheelchair (I don't remember his name, sorry) and oh yeah TOPH BEIFONG, THE GREATEST EARTHBENDER EVER. Not sure about Korra, but the original show for sure was great.

[@finland4ever55]

and it helps that despite that scar he is still designed to be attractive rather than making him ugly or dorky looking (you know, looking "monstrous")

[@herryisathiccboi6762]

Ming-Hua in Legend of Korra lost both of her arms, but her waterbending skills make up for her lack of limbs since her powers flow much better without them and dare I say might even challenge Katara's.

[@GabyGeorge1996]

I want there to be a film where it looks like the disabled character is the antagonist but then it’s revealed that their (non-disabled) caretaker was the real villain all along

[@SingingSealRiana]

Write it!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

In Hindu Mythology which mostly came from a Dominant Caste perspective, the Asuras (Demons) were seen as ‘scary’ figures but were in fact a caricature of various indigenous communities throughout India that had to deal with a Dominant Caste ‘civilisation’ that would place its morality at the cost of vilifying everyone around them. This was one of the most earliest forms of colonialism.

[@davidcheater4239]

One of the associated tropes is redemption through being cured/fixed.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Hate that one more then a well written and reasoned disabled villain in itself

[@queerlyavictorianvamp]

I'm multiply disabled (both visibly and invisibly) and I absolutely love the way you handled this topic. It was nuanced and concise, and I definitely felt All of That growing up. I felt like I had to either be Perfect or Evil, and since I knew I wasn't perfect, well....

[@gabriellaberman]

I’ve always thought of myself as an advocate for disabilities and neurodivergencies, but I’ve never even noticed the abilism in so many of these movies! I feel ashamed

[@PhoenixRising87]

Don't be ashamed; it's hard to pick up on this when it's all around us.

[@cattt0016]

i'm disabled and neurodivergent and didn't notice a good deal of these lol. it's just so normalized that sometimes we miss it, especially stuff from when we were kids, like captain hook, who we don't really think about anymore. just stay on the look out and challenge things that continue to use these ableist ideas

[@emilymatthews2990]

That’s the USA for you. Anybody different is shunned and villanized.

[@LiteraryStoner]

The movie Music is hated by the autistic community, it's incredibly harmful to us. Please look into that. Also, if you care about disabled people, shouldn't this have captions so deaf/hard of hearing/people with auditory processing disorder can understand what you're saying? And please don't say "wheelchair-bound", wheelchair user works. While this video may not be perfect please know I do very much like it over-all! It's a wonderful conversation starter and over-all great. We need to continue these conversations until things change. Until we can have fully fleshed out disabled people that aren't just villains. To where we can have some villain's without it being a bad taste in our mouth, since disabled people are just people like anyone else. Some good some bad. But right now the media portrayals have been/are overwhelmingly bad. And some of us do wish we could be cured, because of stuff like chronic pain and suffering, that would keep us disabled even if society was as accessible as it could be. The social model, while a vast improvement, isn't perfect either. Some of us, would still be disabled. But as much as I wish I could cure some of my disabilities, i'd never attack anyone because of it like some media portrayals show. I just want a kinder world that realizes we're human to.

[@Br0th3r7]

Thank you for this video. And I’d like to add that depicting us as inspiring superhero figures is not the representation we need either. We’re not villains nor superheroes, we’re complex human beings. And yes, we need more disabled actors!!

[@NightmareLyra]

Also The Sound of Metal is super ableist, he's expelled from the community because he wants his hearing back for the sake of his livelyhood and its considered by the movie a just punishment because he is afraid of, you know, starving to death. A person should be able to do whatever they want with their body as long as it doesn't hurt others, and a hearing implant for a musician really isn't gonna turn you into a monster like the movie claims

[@knusprigeschuhsohle7939]

this is honestly so terrifying and shame on the film industry and directors that they think its okay to just do this trope over and over

[@KM-sc7pi]

As a disabled person I actually don’t mind horror films showing disabled (mentally or physically) or disfigured villains. A lot of the time they use it in a creative way to enact horrors. It’s a real horror to healthy people that one day something can go wrong and can become disabled not only physically and mentally on oneself but how others view such. If done right, it can be creative. It would be nice for disabled protagonists or side characters in these horror films though, since it does seem the villains (actual bad people like Freddy Krueger) are the only disabled/disfigured ones. We go through these everyday but we’re so used to it to that it’s our lives, it must be scary to those who just became disabled because they have to relearn how to do certain tasks that they once did all without falling into depression and anxiety. True horror I feel comes from the reality of life. For instance movies like Saw and The Ring don’t scare me but movies like The Girl Next Door and Hostel do scare me because hostel instances do happen everywhere and the girl next door was based on a real story. Spoilers for Us! In Us it was a nice twist whereas the protagonists doppelgänger (speech impairment) was actually the original and you feel spite towards the protagonist (abled) in the end. Seeing more of a horror for someone to harm another for their own gain. For the in depth review I recommend going to Kill Count by James A janisse to sort of see the point. It’s not of disfigurement to say but more of a social economic standing amongst everyone, disabled or not. Doppelgängers in the movie were both disabled and abled.

[@CraziRocka]

I think the point in some of these movies is missed (i.e. Dr Poison from wonder women). She was playing with "fire" and got burnt but has yet to learn the lesson from her ways. She was a bad person before her chemical burns, not because of them. And, being a person who has burn scares, theyre not a disability, I never check off "I have a disability" on forms, so to say that individuals who have only cosmetic burns as a disability is offensive to people with actual disabilities.

[@SingingSealRiana]

As always it is a spectrum, how deep are those scars, no mater what you will be treated differently, but it can make a massiv difference between only being cosmetically or well, impairing your ability to speak, conveying emotion, maybe eating, cause chronical pain.... Of cause it always could be works, but that does not mean that if it does impact you, you would not have a right to complain. I am a border case to disability myself. I am quite impaired but not as bàs as others with similar diagnosis and not in a way that gains recognition. It still sucks, but I to would not dare saying I am truly disabled unless it is kinda a joke

[@JeantheSecond-ip7qm]

You’re missing the point. Using disfigurement as metaphor is still showing a disfigurement as villainous.

[@Cove_Blue]

Thank you for doing this episode. So many times we are overlooked in the conversation and end up dealing with ableism constantly. It's so ingrained in people that even calling it out gets ignored or eye rolled when we just want to be seen, heard, and valued as people.

[@darkecofreak23]

Agreed 100% with this. I’m slowly, like over decades, losing my hearing in at least one ear, probably both eventually, so this speaks to me. I WOULD like to see a video about how disability or scars don’t always equate with evil or villainy. There are plenty of characters who aren’t scarred or disabled but act so much worse than Frankenstein or Two-Face, especially when one of their victims ends up scarred or disabled and tries to work against them. Perfect example from this century is in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” with Prince Zuko and Princess Azula. Zuko starts off exactly how you described the scarred villain of a story playing opposite the unmarred and attractive heroes. He’s angry, self-centered, and shortsighted compared to the hero Aang or the beautiful Katara. In second season, we meet his sister, the perfectly monstrous Princess Azula, who can bend lightning, outsmart Aang and friends at every turn, take over a city that withstood the Fire Nations’ attempts with just her two friends, and is absolutely normal looking on the outside, as are her friends. Zuko’s scars come from a ritualistic fight he had with his sister when they were younger in an attempt to win the notice and respect of their equally horrible and psychopathic father, Fire Lord Ozai. Azula didn’t just beat Zuko. She wiped the floor with him and left that scar as a reminder that he’ll never be on her level. Not until the third season does Zuko resolve to change his ways and fight with Aang and Co. to topple his father and sister’s plans for world conquest, thus defying the whole “Scars/Disability Equals Evil” trope. He was horrible, and his redemption arc doesn’t negate those things he did, but he recognized that his trauma and scars didn’t define him and became a better person.

[@MissMoontree]

ATLA was great. You might also enjoy the Dragon Prince. It is from the same makers (at least partially). It has a serious character that uses sign language.

[@darkecofreak23]

@@MissMoontree I’ll definitely give it a look

[@InshruTripathi]

I can only speak for myself. My chronic illness did make me a little bitter. I had seen normal life. I used to be traditionally productive. But today, I have none of that. I do feel envious of my contemporaries sometimes as their able bodiedness allows them to do anything they want and even be a little lax at times, while I can't have the same comforts. There's also this voice in me, begging, making unreasonable bargains with my fate to turn me able bodied again, but there's another voice who knows I will never be blessed with the comforts of able bodied again.

[@shivanikaushik1269]

In my country India we never use "Disabled" but always "differently abled"...in syllabus and normal conversations, now "disabled" feels uncomfortable to me.

[@hollydillon4613]

i don't know anything about the "disabled/differently abled" Indian community but "differently abled" is despised in most disabled American circles.

[@Amber86queenbee]

Where I am we use person with a disability - disabled has negative connotations in that it focuses on not being abled. It always comes as a bit of a surprise to hear disabled now.

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I feel this trope makes sense in some ways. Like anybody who is labelled as an outcast and gets treated badly for being different, it makes sense that some people may become villains because of it. If done well and written with some nuance, I do not mind it. Sometimes people with disabilities seen on TV are almost always ones who are geniuses in the autism spectrum like Dr. Murphey on the good doctor which can be harmful too. It is like how Asian people get stereotyped as musical virtuosos, doctors, lawyers, straight As when that is not always the case. What I do hate is that people with disabilities are always put on the back burner or mixed within the mental illness group like schizophrenia or which is wrong too. The deaf/hard of hearing community barely have representation. Autism is a huge spectrum and nonverbal learning disability is off the spectrum. Non verbal learning disorder or disability is a rare condition no one knows about, but some say (even though it is not true) that every person who has nonverbal learning disorder/disability but not everyone with nonverbal learning disorder/disability has autism. It kind of hurts to be lumped in with a group that I am not fully part of. We share similarities and experiences, but not to the extent of how the spectrum is portrayed. So demonizing people with disabilities is hurtful too when there is already rare representation of each. I just want it to make sense.

[@caiolucas8257]

The whole genius autism bothers me as well because it's like the only representation for autism and autism comes in different shapes and forms.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Agree, more and more variations of representation until you can write a good three dimensional disabled villain without them being perceived as the archetype of all disabled people

[@amyadams9970]

This reminds me of Stevie from malcolm in The middle. Yes he had one lung and was in a wheel chair, but for most of the series that wasn't a big problem for him. In the end, (spoilers) he graduates from high school and goes to college

[@thirstyforlaundrydetergent9664]

And he was just a teenage boy doing teenage boy things

[@RainyDayWolf]

If you read/watched Frankenstein and thought the creature was the evil one you weren't paying attention

[@RiverDancer99]

As someone with facial scars this was an awesome video!!!! I always hated being portrayed as the bad guy in movies! I love that there is a slow change happening!

[@yesterdayseyes]

Being a good student who found school easy they asked me to help with the disabled kids. One repeatedly grabbed me in inappropriate ways, he would physically pick me up and force kisses on me. It would take multiple adults to pull him off me. No one cared to even tell my parents what happened. I wasn't given any counseling. Multiple adults watched me be assaulted, but since he was disabled and I wasn't, no one cared what happened to me. I was just a child.

[@dotcombabytm4644]

This was such a great video! Very informative and insightful and in ways hit home for me as I'm disabled (neurodivergent), I'm autistic and I have depression, anxiety, bipolar, ADHD, OCD, BPD, tourette's, ASPD, C-PTSD, schizoid personality disorder, DID/OSDD, OCPD and schizotypal personality disorder. I've been dealing with mental health issues and disability for my entire life (my mental illnesses I didn't realize were there until recently), and for as long as I can remember, I've always had a heart for disabled people or people devilish society deems as outcasts and weirdos. And not in an inspiration porn type way, but, in retrospect, empathy and love. And I'm constantly reading and watching videos on this subject to be mindful of other disabled people and also in my own journey in understanding intersections of my identity too.

[@K1ng1995]

So what are your thoughts on Dr Doom and Charles Xavier

[@AliciaNyblade]

I've been visually impaired since birth and I'm a fiction writer and theatrical performer (actress and playwright). Thank you for this. Society today would give major backlash if people of color or the LGBTQ+ community were still portrayed as centuries-old stereotypes by actors who weren't part of those communities themselves, but able-bodied folks rarely bat their eyes at characters with disabilities being written and played that way. Until that changes, the industry's self-congratulating on "diverse inclusion and casting" will be just empty talk.

[@Turquerina]

When it comes to matters like the diverse representation we get in the media and how it reflects our current society, it's nice to know where the winds are blowing. My personal interpretation of an inclusive mantra is to *actually* include anyone, no ifs, whats, and buts about it! -Bigots may say otherwise.- Think about it, a disabled villain doesn't even need to be bad as long as their immorality isn't because of their disabilities. It helps to have a disabled heroic character in the same narrative.

[@AliciaNyblade]

@@Turquerina Exactly. If antagonists were written as villains who just happened to be disabled rather than as villains due to disability, I think that would be a wonderfully refreshing take. Every actor loves a role they can sink their teeth into, and everybody knows villains are often the most fun to play, so yeah, performers with disabilities would have a blast with such parts as our able-bodied colleagues would.

[@n.a.3071]

Voldemort's inclusion here confused me. According to the books, his appearance turned less and less human because of the atrocities he committed and because he used those atrocities to literally fracture his soul into multiple pieces. Voldemort as a child, i.e. Tom Riddle, was a normal-looking human. In fact, was considered by some to be handsome. So it doesn't seem right to label him as a disabled bad guy - he was already evil (and good-looking) before his face started to get disfigured.

[@yurisei6732]

That falls into the same thing as Two-Face: A character where a descent into villainy is visually reinforced by gaining physical deformities.

[@lunacouer]

It comes down to representation, aka, you never see people with facial disfigurements just being regular people in media. Here, he becomes disfigured because of his evil deeds, which sends the message that disfigurement = evil (which was the thesis of this video). He could've easily just kept his charming good looks and his deeds would've done all the work of broadcasting how evil he was.

[@yurisei6732]

@@lunacouer Although he'd look far less iconic and badass and evil, so in the end, disfiguring him was definitely the right move.

[@lunacouer]

@@yurisei6732 Then I suppose you missed the whole point of the video. By this logic, Harry should've looked like a glowing angel to show off how good and brave he was. Funny how that almost never happens with heroes (baring superheroes like Thor and Captain America). It's always the everyman that gets to have their deeds do the talking. Evil people get to be disabled and/or disfigured. Plus, it's just lazy writing. A charming villain is way scarier. There's that allure of pulling you in, and then discovering too late and with horror who they really are. She had it all right there, with all the snake imagery. It's so Garden of Eden. JK could've made his true, final form a snake monster. She could've had him save his hair to polyjuice himself to look human, to show how wily and cunning he is. There could've been the reveal when he thought he'd won. How terrifying would that have been at the final battle, to see him literally shed a human skin and go full monster? But nah, had to use the tired-ass trope of disfigurement to say "In case you were wondering, this is the evil one".

[@n.a.3071]

@@lunacouer Thanks for your insight. I understand better now.

[@FabalociousDee]

This is one of my favourites that the Take has done. Seeing the representation angle being laid out like this can drastically affect the self-image of people with disabilities. Bravo.

[@dorcasmalahlela2805]

I disagree with the interpretations on Hereditary and The Dark Knight. I always thought that Dent was 'stuck' from the moment of the explosion. Like his face, he couldn't go back and undo the change, and he couldn't move forward. I think some of the interpretations here are way oversimplified.

[@warlockgrimsmith]

As a schizophrenic with a facial deformity… I really appreciate this video. The villainy of disabled goes back to Aristotle’s Poetics. You don’t get awards for not following Aristotle’s template for tragedy and in it he states deformities or scars are how you can recognize a villain. I talk about it my from Frankenstein video on my page… I try to use storytelling rules as a therapeutic strategy for dealing with deformities. It’s really neat that you did a video like this. Thanks 🖤

[@tessy4018]

It's fascinating to think how so many sources of bigotry ie racism, transphobia, etc are rooted in ableism.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

Help me understand what you mean? How is bigotry against black people rooted in ableism? Those are real questions. I want to learn more about your perspective.

[@anisaabdi5055]

Me too? Like how?

[@hbsupreme1499]

@@t3tsuyaguy1 true, sound like a way to.piggy back of blk people pain the steams in colonial power and congenital wide genocide and slavery

[@kingdomofbird8174]

You shouldn't include captain hook in this list There's a difference between *born disabled, became disabled by accident, became disabled by consequences of it's own actions* There's a difference between the fact the early ones didn't do anything*while the latter did it* Villains who fight dangerous activities, may lose body parts while fighting, and *that's what happened to captain hook*

[@maxwellemery9179]

Is it not more likely that The Dark Knight's interpretation of Two-Face's turn to villainy is rooted more in the trauma of his partner's death than in his physical trauma? Characters like Dr. Poison, Freddy Krueger, Scar, Captain Hook, are villains before they're disfigured.

[@K1ng1995]

Most scientists that are disfigured don't even care about what they looked like "Science requires sacrifice"

[@tamsinendley3130]

Thanks for covering this. I think about this a lot as a person with an invisible disability. I often do find my disability enraging, terrifying, and ugly, but those feelings are my own. Able-bodies need to learn to ask disabled people how they want to be portrayed instead of just turning to the outdated Victorian-era stereotypes.

[@agraciotti]

Amazing as always. Ari Aster films in particular were a surprise for me to see here because I never thought of them through this lens on the characters with disabilities. It is so true. I still think they are good films but now I hope he doesn't repeat this trope on his next one.

[@natalie651]

Wow, I have to admit that I never thought of so much of this. I'm honestly kind of ashamed. Thank you for showing me how much work I have to do every day. It's not easy trying to be a good person.

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

I really appreciate this one. My mother had DID, and seeing her condition used as the basis of a monstrous supervillain in the ads for 'Split' really tore me up inside. I felt differently about the depiction of DID in Jessica Jones. **SPOILERS** It felt more like her mother's "villainy"' was the result of a lack of support for her condition. The emergence of her aggressive protective alter wasn't inherently villainous, rather it was the unhealthy, infantilizing, and possessive way that she was treated by her "benefactor" that led to her issues. Indeed, it was through Jessica's acceptance of her that she was ultimately saved, only to be murdered immediately afterward by Trish who is only capable of othering her. The way the actor depicted the switch was really affecting to me as well. It was eerily similar to what it looked like when my mother's protector came out.

[@FeministCatwoman]

Jessica Jones was sooo good!

[@SingingSealRiana]

Moon Knight is also very good in that regard. Yes, two out of 3 personalities are violent, but not beyond reason, not villainous, and those we get to spend time with are treated with a lot of empathy, and one can easly extrapolate where the need for a more callous alter came from. It is in a way a love story between two personalities that learn to look out for eachother and work togeather as a healthy system. One is unaware at the beginning, one is aware and kinda resentful of the firsts shelteredness and the last ones existence is only revieled at the end, but one can find him earlyer on if one is careful. It is overall very respectful and kind and appropriate to the given situation.

[@rhiannon7163]

Thank you so much for this. My daughter has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. There are also hurtful movies that seem to use the trope that suicide is the best answer for disability.

[@aussieman3021]

Ableism is easily the reason why this trope exists, why disabled characters tend to be portrayed as villains.

[@notdeadjustyet8136]

As someone born with a limp, I've noticed that many ppl in real life still expect us to be grateful for their pity and never ask for respect, fun, love, beauty, success and other things they take for granted. Our attempts to find our place under the sun, far from the background they put us in, challenges them.Then they start to view as as symbols to be disdained ,fetishized, even idolised, but always fail to see us as complex humans. It's changing, but we still need a lot of work to make it right(er). Vids like this certainly help ❤️ cheers 💜 🙂

[@Mistressofdark]

So I feel like that is totally slipping in their research these days. Not only did they miss the actual reason the daughter in hereditary is considered to be a flawed host but they also praised a film where an able bodied actor plays a deaf role which we just discussed is the wrong type of representation. And completely overlook shows like Hawkeye, and more importantly switched at birth. And while that show had its flaws and miscasting mistakes as well, still did a lot for visibility for the deaf community. And while I understand that the deaf community does not consider their difference a disability, if we are including deafness on this list, it should be a bit more thorough.

[@janillave2913]

Thank you for this, The Take. Watching this is all at the same time heartbreaking, heartwarming, and eye-opening...

[@BrokeredHeart]

It stems from our primitive days where humanoid figures or the sight of disease and differentness was an instinctive rejection, one that sadly pushed out anyone who had visible disfigurement, birth marks, congenital malformations, or blemishes. Social homogeneity was seen as the way to survive. In various cultures and civilizations, these disabilities were both rejected AND revered, often associated with either or both signs of demonic possession, and deity or supreme being gifts. In modern storytelling, disability has become a sign of duplicity, or someone who is so maligned to the core values of their protagonist that their social malignance is present in their physical form. That has been very isolating and ostracizing for anyone with physical or mental impairedness, and for centuries, we've marginalized their presence within social settings and public discourse. But it's encouraging to see representation taking news steps to include all varieties of mobility and sensory limitations on screen and TV, because it encourages viewers to consider a new perspective instead of villainizing and rejecting or belittling those who are deaf, blind, amputees, born with malformations, or who have other outward signs of disability. I love the Hawkeye series for involving a deaf actress to play a "villain" character who is both hearing impaired and an amputee, showing the MCU from the deaf perspective. Or how about Hiccup in the How To Train Your Dragon tales, where his leg being amputated doesn't impede him from riding dragons or cause him to lose compassion for the beasts, which is held up in contrast to the villain Drago who lost his arm to a dragon and spends his life trying to conquer and rule them all. Dr Kerry Weaver on the TV series ER proved that congenital health problems can be overcome, and that a busy, chaotic, even dangerous workplace should not exclude those who display an aptitude and passion for the work. And probably the biggest redemptive story arc in television, Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, flipped the "disabled villain" trope on it's head, using his burned face to initially mark him as an antagonist to the Avatar, and then explaining to the audience how he came by that scar, establishing sympathy for the trauma he endured at the hands of his own father. He goes on to heal his wounds, not the exterior scarring (despite being offered a possible healing solution), but one of the soul and spirit, and he becomes one of the most nuanced characters on the whole show. In fact, A:TLA invites many different characters with impairments to be shown on the show: Toph who is a blind earth-bending master, and Teo who is in a wheelchair, but who has invented self-propelling flying machines, and yes, villainous characters who have had limbs lost but who have still mastered various forms of bending in spite of their amputations. What that show has done is put all people on a level playing field, "good" and "bad," heroes and villains, displaying how the separation between able-bodied and disabled bodies is non-existent when there's a desire to achieve something more. That sort of inclusivity is admirable, especially for a show targeted at children and young adults. It further hones the point that a disability does not define you or your path, and it's your choices and actions that define you.

[@katherinemorelle7115]

Except we have evidence of the disabled being treated with compassion and cared for by groups in prehistory. The idea that all disabled people were thrown out immediately just isn’t true.