Hollywood’s Disfigured Villain Trope Does Major Harm to Disabled People
The idea that to be beautiful means to be good and to be disfigured means to be evil is not new. It’s a really tired, unoriginal trend in the movie industry, and only perpetuates damaging beliefs about individuals with facial differences.
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We REALLY need more stories that have characters who are scarred in some way as heroes or even just regular people in the supporting cast, instead of always having anyone who looks different or has some kind of scarring be the villain
“Basic narrative conventions based on the fact that severe disfigurement unnerves and discomforts people are EVIL AND OPPRESSIVE”
… no-one is saying that, but okay:
This is an old, unoriginal and extremely tired trope which constantly calls back to either a) “disfigured people must have done something to deserve it” b) “being disfigured will warp someone’s soul to the extent they end up a villain” or c) “I the writer/director believe this person is disgusting to look at, allow me to elaborate on that.” The effect this trope has on the self-esteem of people who have any sort of disfigurement is huge, as a quick glance through the notes of this post will tell you. Your average burn or acid attack survivor, coming to terms with having to look in the mirror and see something they’re not used to, are going to be delighted that the only people they see looking like themselves in the media are either villains, objects of pity, or both. (Or Deadpool. Go, Deadpool.)
People with facial disfigurements and disabilities have been complaining, rightly, about this trope for a long time. There are whole charities, in fact, devoted to the idea that just maaaaaaybe we in the twenty-first century can do a little bit better than “severe disfigurement unnerves and discomforts people”.