Merrick’s story has been frequently adapted, most well known in David Lynch’s 1980s movie The Elephant Man, starring Anthony Hopkins, with Jon Hurt as Merrick. In film, television, and plays, Merrick has been played by actors who are able-bodied.
Friday, August 31, 2018
The Elephant Man Casting Facing Backlash from Activists
Merrick’s story has been frequently adapted, most well known in David Lynch’s 1980s movie The Elephant Man, starring Anthony Hopkins, with Jon Hurt as Merrick. In film, television, and plays, Merrick has been played by actors who are able-bodied.
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This controversy rings similarity with the issue of an able-bodied child playing the role of August in the pretty recent movie "Wonder." The lazy argument is always made that the [able-bodied] actor is a better fit for the role...but wouldn't the personal connection and understanding between actor and character be so strong and remarkable if the two can relate in a way that an able-bodied actor couldn't possibly be able to? The entire experience would be more authentic. This is why in movies such as "A Quiet Place," which featured a young deaf actress playing the deaf daughter, the reaction was incredibly positive. The young actress (Millie Simmonds) was able to play Regan in an authentic way that no hearing actress would have been able to imitate. She actually knows what it's like to be deaf, and how she would have to react in that situation. So as for The Elephant Man, it would be more respectful to the character Joseph Merrick to have an actor who knows what it's like to face the world like him, and not just someone who will get to put Merrick on like a costume but then not have to go home and live like him.
I feel like with stories like the Elephant Man this argument becomes even harder. On the one hand there is the respect of having a disabled person play a disabled character and the basic human decency of considering disabled actors for roles and not writing them off with a shaky excuse. On the other hand there is the nature of the story. Given that the Elephant Man infantilizes its disabled character, do disabled actors want to tie themselves and the community to this role and this story? Perhaps a disabled actor can help bring a strength to the story and not play up this stereotype, but perhaps we should be focusing on better stories on the whole. In A Quiet Place, the deaf girl is just a deaf girl, it’s not about how her life is hard or she is incapable. In fact, the families ability to communicate in ASL is actually helpful for their survival. I agree that having able bodied actors take these roles when talented disabled actors exist is a thing that should not be still happening. But I also think that these stories, at least spun with the same stereotypes should also not still be happening.
This article talks about the casting and the problems of representing a person with a disability onstage. Casting discrimination is common, but usually not related to disabilities, and more common with racial issues (e.g. Matt Damon playing the main character, instead of an Asian actor, in The Great Wall). Yet this article raises the point that disabled actors are often disadvantaged purely because they are disabled. This is absolutely true and definitely unfortunate, yet in theatre disabled roles, it should not be excluded to just disabled actors, as the point of being an actor is playing a part in which you are not. I believe that this is a different case when it comes to race however, as there is a history of insensitive and malintended racial representation, especially in the United States with the history of Vaudeville and blackface being so very prevalent. And while offensive representation of disabled people exists, it is not a societal problem such as blackface has been in the past.
This is the unfortunate side effect of the “Hollywood standard”. Even when playing a disabled person, the entertainment industry is constantly concerned about the outward appearance of the shows they put on. Let’s take “Gossip Girl” for example. Blake Lively is subjectively a terrible actress, but she is stunning and fits in the with “Hollywood look”. She doesn’t represent a real teenager, but a glorified and unattainable one. There’s a change that needs to be made where film and television start representing the actual world and not just the “beautiful” part. Art should be about representing the people, the artist, emotions, and opinions, not just selling beauty. Disabled people are just as talented and represent themselves better than anyone else. It’s our job to put a mirror up and say, “look at yourselves and see what’s really there”. “A Quiet Place” did a great job at this by hiring Millicent Simmonds who is deaf. She did a brilliant job, proving that disabled actors and actress have the chops to make amazing art.
I agree quite a bit with what this article is getting at. It's time that Hollywood (and it's audiences) start recognizing the disparity between roles which portray disabled characters and the able-bodied actors cast. Some more recent movies have started moving away from this (see: A Quiet Place) but overall the trend is not great. In an era where diversity is hitting an all time high in Hollywood, we need to be thinking about this aspect of diversity as well. Of course, there is also the larger issue mentioned in this article too. Not only is Hollywood not casting disabled actors, it’s choosing to use disability in a harmful way. The Elephant Man is a tragedy, born not just of the cruel nature of humanity, but also by utilizing Merrick’s condition as a sort of tragic flaw. And while when the movie was originally produced I’m sure it was progressive, we’ve moved beyond that point in the year of 2018. We no longer want stories about a disability. We want stories about people, people who are disabled. And that’s a fine line to ride, I know. But crazily enough, if they started hiring more disabled actors, those actors may have some insight on how to modernize a movie’s take on disability.
It isn’t like disabled actors don’t exist. And it isn’t like none of those actors are talented enough for mainstream film. The issue is the industry is not willing to even give them a chance. They are furthermore not reaching out to find the diversity. This is an ongoing problem. Like Talbot said, “Disabled actors still often face huge barriers to break into the business. Not only are the roles few and far between but castings and locations are often not accessible. […] There is a massive pool of disabled talent being overlooked. The creative industries should be embracing and celebrating difference and diversity, not ignoring it”. The whole point of performing arts, film or theatre, is to tell a story, and privilege should not profit off of the oppressed’ stories. Again, diversity should be embraced and promoted, and these companies are relaying the message that only able-bodied actors deserve roles and are capable of them- which is entirely untrue.
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