Hollywood’s Inaccurate Portrayal of Albinism Isn’t Just Hurtful, It’s Dangerous
If asked to name a character with albinism, who first comes to mind? The twins from The Matrix? “The Albino” from The Princess Bride? Or, God forbid, Silas from The Da Vinci Code? I don’t blame you if this is the case. The representation of people with albinism in mainstream media is so few and far between there isn’t much else to reach for. But before I go any deeper, let’s get the facts straight. There is nothing evil or magical about albinism.
The Representation I Wish I Had Growing Up
Growing up, I didn’t really have the opportunity to witness accurate and positive representation of persons with disability in media. Whenever a character with a disability was present in a show or movie, they were usually a side character with no real character development or were often portrayed with negative stereotypes that were presented as a joke. Media has come a long way in the past couple of decades, and representation for persons with disabilities is becoming more normalized and is moving in a more positive direction.