"Finding Dory" Is About To Change Everything We Know About Living With Disabilities
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"Finding Dory" Is About To Change Everything We Know About Living With Disabilities

This narrative is so important and here's why.

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"Finding Dory" Is About To Change Everything We Know About Living With Disabilities
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"Finding Dory" has already broken records by having the biggest single day box office opening for an animated film massing over $55 million (Source). However, "Finding Dory" isn't just making a splash in the box office. It's going to change lives.

That's kind of a large load for a single film to carry. You're probably thinking, how is this movie about a blue tang fish going to change my life? The answer is this...

There's already been a lot of press about "Finding Dory" because of some of the statements it's made. For instance, the subtle statement it has made about Sea World illustrated best by this quote "there are no walls in the ocean" has already been reported on (Source). And we've all heard the hype about the lesbian couple being featured in the trailer and a scene in the movie (which after few/no LGBT persons being featured in Disney before, this is a huge step) (Source). These are both very important topics. But it's neither the focus nor the most important facet of this film (in my opinion).

This film is about disabilities. It may not be apparent to everyone who goes and sees this film to start off. Yes, it's about family and about how Dory finds hers, ultimately realizing that Marlin and Nemo are her family too. I think we all saw that one coming. It's practically written in a Pixar/Disney formula.

But what truly surprised me was how amazingly pointed this film was when talking about mental (and physical) disabilities. The first film, "Finding Nemo," introduced us to the character of Dory, a blue tang fish with short term memory loss. And it was funny and entertaining to watch Dory get confused and forget. By the end of the movie, she starts to remember because Marlin was one fish that continued to stick around. We also get to see the not-so-funny part of having a mental disability with Dory's confusion, frustration, and heart ache. In the end, everything ends up perfectly and the movie ends with a smile.

Except it doesn't really for Dory. Dory and Marlin found Nemo, but Dory still struggled with her disability and she still dealt with the daily trials that come along with it. Finding her family became her mission in this second movie, "Finding Dory."

Often, however, her mental disability held her back and presented obstacles that seemed impossible. That's when this movie became really good and vitally important. Throughout, the theme was Dory constantly having to ask for help to conquer these obstacles from her old and new friends.

However, by the end of the movie... The "Finding Nemo/Dory" franchise has a new tag line. "What would Dory do?" This line in the film helped Marlin and Nemo take a step back from situations and, ultimately, find Dory. Instead of Dory's disability being treated as an obstacle any longer, it was treated as simply a different way of doing things.

That is why this movie is so important. Dory's short term memory loss was treated as little more than a comedic tool in "Finding Nemo." However, "Finding Nemo" did address a lot of the stigma surrounding physical disabilities as well. I applaud Disney and Pixar for that. But what is equally important is that mental disability also be regarded in the same way. At the end of the movie, Dory is able to conquer any obstacle in front of her and grow in her independence.

She no longer relies on others and instead embraces her short term memory loss and not simply a disability but as a different way of living life. This movie says that disability and restrictions are not one in the same. Life can still be beautiful and every aspect of it can still be experienced. It just may be experienced in a different way.

This film can change the way people think of individuals with physical and mental disabilities. They're not broken. They're no different that anybody else. They should be treated the same and respected the same.

But it must also be noted that Dory sees her disability as something she must apologize for. She constantly says "sorry" for forgetting. However, by the end of the film, she doesn't apologize for being different. She embraces it. She found her family in her own way and that's something to be proud of, something she is content with.

Disabled individuals representation in the media is scarce. The "Finding Nemo/Dory" franchise is providing characters that give insight to the lives of individuals with special needs. Even more than that, the secondary characters of this film also provide voices to this community. Destiny, the near-sighted whale shark, struggles with swimming. Hank, the sneaky camouflaging octopus, has only seven tentacles after losing one in an accident. He voices his fear more than once at being hurt again. Dory accepts each of them and helps them to see their fears and different abilities as simply being unique. She says to Destiny after she repeatedly runs into walls due to her near-sightedness, "You swim beautifully! I've never seen a fish swim like that before." Destiny's bad eye sight wasn't seen as a disability but as simply a unique (still beautiful) way of doing life.

This movie is going to mean a great deal to people with disabilities and to their families. It's a story that needed to be told. It's so incredible that such a wide audience is going to be able to get a new perspective and see the world a little differently. I came out of this movie thrilled that this story, a story that so many people experience, is finally being told.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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