Before 1990
A main pattern I found while completing my qualitative data was the use of humor in film. Although there are definitely some outliers, the majority of the trailers that used comedy in the ‘before 1990’ film was used to make fun of the disability itself, while in the ‘after 1990’ films when humor was used, it was because the person with the disability was included in the general joke being made, or the person with the disability themselves were the one to make the joke. This shows that in the later films, there is a better understanding of disability because people realize those who are disabled can have the same sense of humor as anyone else. Humor is generally seen as a form of intelligence, so when it is used, it is showing that a person with a disability can be just as smart or just as funny as anyone else.
While watching the ‘before 1990’ films, there was an overwhelming amount of humor used to make fun of a disability. This occurred in films such as; Of Mice and Men (1939), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Being There (1979), Rain Man (1988), Homer and Eddie (1989), and My Left Foot (1989). In all of these films, the disability was used as a laughing stock for the audience.
Screenshot from Youtube, Of Mice and Men (1939) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t91ecmMnG18
In Of Mice and Men (1939), Lennie is the character with a disability. Lennie is seen as ‘dumb’ throughout the entirety of the movie. There are several instances in which he is being used as a ‘laughing stock’. One of these instances is shown above, when Lennie’s brother forces him to carry a heavy trailer on his back. While he is carrying it, Lennie’s brother says, “He won’t drop it until I tell him, unless the supper bell rings!”. When Lennie’s brother says this, the other three men laugh at him. This makes Lennie seem incompetent. He is also not able to defend himself due to his disability.
Screenshot from Youtube, Rain Man (1988) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlNwXuHUA8I
In Rain Man (1988) there was a scene in which Raymond and Charlie are in the car. Raymond ends up grabbing Charlie’s steering wheel which is portrayed in a ‘funny’ way in the trailer. In addition, later on in the car ride, Raymond randomly says, “I’m not wearing underwear”. Clearly, this is portraying Raymond as unpredictable which is used to induce humor for the audience.
Screenshot from Youtube, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXrcDonY-B8
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), the main character acts in unpredictable ways which can potentially be seen as funny. For example, in the scene above, he is turning on a water hose and spraying it on the other patients. Later on in the trailer, people ask him if he has “anything wrong with his mind” which is implying that he is ‘dumb’. In addition, he has an unpredictable idea to steal a bus full of patients and take them to go fishing.
After 1990
When watching the ‘after 1990’ trailers, there seemed to be a decrease in the amount of humor being used from making a laughing stock out of one’s disability. Instead, humor was simply included in the film. For example, this occurs in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993), Jack of the Red Hearts (2015), Me Before You (2016), Please Stand By (2017), The Upside (2017), and The Peanut Butter Falcon (2020). When humor is simply incorporated into the film and not being used to belittle someone with a disability, it is a more accurate representation of a disability.
It is important to note that there were some outliers to this theme, such as Rainbow Time (2016). This movie follows a man named Shonzi who likes making action movies. The trailer was full of inappropriate jokes made about his disability. This film did not even establish he had a disability, they just said he was ‘a little slow’. The trailer portrayed him as ‘stupid’ and unpredictable which can reinforce stereotypes about people with disabilities.
Screenshot from Youtube, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgp8rR2fykU
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011), the boy who has autism is included in several jokes being made. Unlike the earlier films, humor is not being used to make fun of his disability. Instead, the boy is treated as an intelligent individual and laughs along with his dad when he makes a joke. There is nothing about this that is dehumanizing or malicious.
Screenshot from Youtube, Me Before You (2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh993__rOxA
In Me Before You (2016), the person with a disability is portrayed as a humorous character. He makes many jokes, while his girlfriend laughs along with him. Nobody uses his disability as a laughing stock. In the scene above, he gets his girlfriend a pair of bumble bee tights as a joke. She had previously told him that this outfit was her favorite when she was younger so he gave them to her as a gift. This is one example out of many of the character with a disability being included in a joke rather than being laughed at due to his disability.
Screenshot from Youtube, The Peanut Butter Falcon (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNl9RqjLCwc
In The Peanut Butter Falcon (2020) , a boy with down syndrome and his brother go on an adventure together. Throughout the trailer, his brother is laughing along with the funny things the boy with down syndrome says, but not in a malicious way. In the scene above, the brother says he has two rules: “Rule number one, don’t slow me down. Rule number two, I’m in charge”. He then asks his brother what rule number one is, and he responds, “Party!”. This is an example of a person with a disability being the one to make the jokes, and other people laughing at how funny he is rather than being laughed at due to his disability.