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Isolation: A History Of Physical Disability In The Movies

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Norden, Martin F. The cinema of isolation: A history of physical disability in the movies. Rutgers University Press, 1994. Print.
In the introduction of this book, Norden reveals the phenomenon that most movies tend to isolate people with disabilities from other able bodied characters and examines the reasons of the isolation. His main claim is the way mainstream society identifies disabled people as an isolated entity is a result of both political and historical factors. The first sub-claim he proposes is that to isolate people with disabilities is a political strategy of sizable proportions. His evidence is that societies take this “divide and quarantine” approach for self-continuance, since societies can maintain powers by controlling the …show more content…

The evidence is that in ancient societies, disabled people were discriminated because they contributed less to the community and were considered as evil and lack of spirits. Many ancient works depict disabled people as the “punishment from God” for their physical impairment (7). Also, Norden points out that the Bible describes disability with prejudicial attitudes, as Jesus provides healing for men with disabilities instead of accepting them to be equal individuals. These portrayals in literature remain in the cultural context and are applied to the depiction of disabled characters in movies. The warrant of Norden’s discussion is that political and historical factors can shape the mainstream society’s assumptions of disabled people and form the stereotype that disabled people are isolated from the majority. These assumptions may increase future discrimination and isolation and conveys a sense of self-loathing among the audience with disabilities themselves. The warrant for this article is that political and …show more content…

It enlightens me to upgrade my topic to a higher level by extending my discussion to the field of politics and history. This book provides background evidence for another article of Norden, “‘You’re a Surprise from Every Angle’: Disability, Identity, and Otherness in The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, since that article criticizes the inappropriate depictions of Quasimodo while this book points out the reasons why the depictions are widely applied in films. Also, it extended by “Introduction: Disability as Narrative Supplement” written by Mitchell and Snyder, since Mitchell and Snyder identifies the reasons why disability is interpreted with assumptions, and Norden narrow down the discussion to the representation of disabled characters in films. So I will use this source to provided evidence for the cruelty received by Quasimodo since he is being isolated throughout the film. And I will combine Norden’s articles and the article of Mitchell and Snyder to apply this cruelty to the cultural context and explain the reason why the isolation is depicted in the

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