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Dwarf Major 
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TITLE |
Elephant Man, The (1980) |
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DISABILITY |
Disfigurement Dwarf
Limb speech |
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A film about
an extremely deformed man, John Merrick (his |
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given name
was Joseph), who is kept as a freak in a Victorian carnival
show until a compassionate Doctor finds him. This film is a
landmark in cinema about disabilities. Superb acting from John
Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, and excellent direction from David
Lynch. Note the film is deliberately shot in B/W. |
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Despite such
praise there are criticisms. The opening scene |
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for example
being a metaphorical intro. To a film which then |
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plumps for
realism. And the film does appear to distort some |
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truths, like
Merrick's ability to speak (in reality he is supposed |
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to have
needed an operation before this was possible). Also |
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it's
possible he committed suicide. That kind of ending would |
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have negated
the film's general premise that Merrick is |
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courageous
to have overcome such disabilities. It is a matter |
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of debate
whether or not one's actions are courageous when |
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one's
disability is not a matter of choice. But we do see |
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Merrick
making a tremendous effort to survive against a tide of prejudice. |
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Kenny Baker,
Marcus Powel, and Gilda Cohen play dwarfs. |
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There are
many useful reviews and much information on the |
209.52.189.2/article.cfm/leicestershire/28531
www.josephmerrick.com/
rarediseases.about.com/cs/proteussyndrome/a/031301.htm
www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/books/suicide/06b.html
joseph-merrick.biography.ms/ |
Notes
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