Good Example Of Disability In POP Culture Essay

Disability is seen as a curse and a burden in the popular culture. Disables are usually portrayed as dangerous people whose behaviour cannot be predicted. Usually they are portrayed as someone who can cause any harm to others. A number of movies and television serials have portrayed disabled person as unpredictable and irresponsible. This paper proposes a discussion on how disability is portrayed in the popular culture in respect of the movie, “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock.
Psycho is a brilliantly directed masterpiece that portrays the life and mindset of a mentally unstable youth Norman Bates. This young man is mentally weak and suffers from multiple personality disorder. He is a sober gentleman and owns a hotel but his behaviour changes when he is attracted towards any woman. He is deeply in love with his mother who is dead a long time back. He believes that a “Boy’s best friend is his mother”. He is portrayed as a depressed man who is sadistic and dangerous. This character has been portrayed as a murderer in the movie (Hitchcock, 1960).
In popular culture, people often consider mentally ill people as dangerous and violent; the same thought gets reflected in the movies and television serials. In psycho movie, the lead character Norman Bates kills three women and a detective. The movie shows that Norman is mentally ill and can be very dangerous to anyone. Viewers after watching such movies often develop a perception that all mentally ill people are very scary and dangerous; they can kill people.
In psycho movie, Norman was completely trapped in personality of his mother. He used to consider himself as his mother, and claims that all murders are done by her mother. The portrayal of lead character in the movie is strong enough to influence perception of people about mental illness and mentally challenged people. The movie clearly reflects what people in popular culture believe about mentally ill people. Very limited number of people including psychological experts raises questions and doubts about violent behavior of mentally ill people shown in the movies. According to them not all mentally ill people are dangerous, and only few of them can be dangerous and harmful.
After observing disability, and the way it is portrayed in the popular culture, the paper concludes that disability is portrayed negatively in a majority of movies and television serials. Disabled are often portrayed as depressed, unpredictable, abrupt minded, sadistic and dangerous person. They are portrayed in a manner that they do not deserve the sympathy or respect of the people. This trend is dangerous and should be changed in order to give them a place that they deserve.

Reference

Hitchcock, A. (Director). (1960). Psycho [Motion Picture].