As a wheelchair user with a slight facial deformity, THANK you for using your platform this way. Being a disabled media consumer is fucking exhausting, I simply want to watch content without being reminded that my body is used as a shorthand signifier for moral corruption. I’m evil because I’m bisexual, not because I’m disabled! Get it right!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Spoonie gheys ftw!!!!!

@DefenderOfHumanity

Жыл бұрын

I LOL'd at the last bit!

@MaryBauman

2 ай бұрын

I am also evil because I’m bisexual rather than because of my disability

As a paraplegic with a missing leg I thoroughly appreciate this video. I completely agree with everything you said. I wish everyone would watch it!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! Feel free to share it around, hopefully we can get everyone to watch it!

One of the first villains that came to my mind that ticks off so many boxes is Drago Bludvist from HTTYD2… some of it is him being a villainous reflection of Hiccup, but he still ticks off more boxes than what is directly parallel to Hiccup.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I never thought of him!

@FlybyStardancer

2 жыл бұрын

@@SewBiased on the other hand, would Hiccup and Toothless count as positive examples? They show that their disabilities aren’t slowing them down at all, and don’t have major hang ups over them. (I’m basing this off of the first two movies, as I haven’t watched the third movie yet or the shows.)

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

@@FlybyStardancer I think so, but having a villain who's the mirror of the hero, but MORE disabled is kind of gross

@FlybyStardancer

2 жыл бұрын

@@SewBiased Definitely. Ambiguously brown and with definite facial scarring (with the counterpart scarring on Hiccup being tiny and easy to miss if not being a plot point)… it’s definitely not a great look for the series.

I HIGHLY recommend watching “Raising Dion” on Netflix. One of the main characters is a disabled wheelchair user, played by a disabled wheelchair. Without giving away anything important, one of the episodes Dion lifts the girl out of the wheelchair so “she could be “normal”” and Netflix did AMAZING at writing the response-Dions mom asked why he did that and asked him if he asked her how she felt about her disability or knew anything about her disability and he learned from that! I’ve never seen a show do that before!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds awesome, I'll see if I can find it!

When I was a beginner artist first getting into horror art(not yet knowing I was disabled) I read an article on how to make scary art they suggested using real disabled people as references. Even as preteen artist I was disgusted by the idea of blatantly calling disabled people “grotesque”

@SewBiased

Жыл бұрын

Wow. That's just. Holy crap that's so awful and dehumanizing.

Late to the party, but In terms of facial disfigurements, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Zuko from Avatar: the Last Airbender. He is a major antagonist at first, bur joins the heroes later on, playing an instrumental role in ending the war. Also, his scar was given to him by his father, the Fire Lord and the epitome of evil, who has nary a mark on his skin. Zuko also recieved the scar as punishment for a good action, speaking up for the lives of soldiers that were being sent out simply to be killed by enemy forces. Also his evil sister has flawless skin and prides herself on her appearance.

The OG villain of Christian culture, the devil, is depicted with a limp. Woland, the devil from Master and Margarita, also has heterochromia, which does the same job as face scar without making a character "too ugly". Also, when you showed Captain America, I almost screamed, because isn't his origin story that he was healed from disability? He had severe asthma that prevented him to go to the army. And also Daredevil, who was "cured" from his blindness? And Peter Parker's eyesight... Apparently, Healed Hero is a trope it self??...

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

I've never heard that about the Devil! And yeah, villains are made disabled as a punishment, and Heroes are miraculously cured for their goodness! Barf.

@robinschicha4712

2 жыл бұрын

If you think God is nice 👍 and fair 😇 to good People, you never read the Story of Hiobs. God is messed up 😉😎

@redculturedash8074

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, maybe there should be another video about heroic characters with disabilities. Two such ludicrously specific trope is that is the person becomes disabled and either gives up on life, or tragically gets a cure too late.

@K1ng1995

7 ай бұрын

@@SewBiased You just don't get comic books do you? -.-

@SewBiased

7 ай бұрын

@@K1ng1995 yeah, I get that lazy writers can't make a villain without making him disabled, and that's discriminatory and gross!

In the U.S., under the ADA, social disfigurements are legally classified as a disability, because many people are subjected to discrimination as a result of them. I respect that not everybody with a facial disfigurement identifies as Disabled, but I thought that was worth mentioning. :)

While not a hero or a villian, the coroner on CSI in 2000 was a disabled man - Robert David Hall. He lost his legs after an accident where his car was crushed by an 18 wheeler. This was a positive representation of disability and such a person having a really good job. Also, actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, has had numerous roles in movies, etc, portraying being deaf as a difficulty but not a reason to go off the deep end. As for a villian, the latest version of Roald Dahl's The Witches caused outrage when the head witch was shown as having deformed hands. This was a brilliant video, and covered topics I'd not considered.

Such a great video, I see this trope so often and it does my head in. Also the way mental illness is portrayed. I remember a while ago a big chain store was selling a Halloween costume with a straight jacket called 'mental patient'.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Oh ffs. Can we just not? How did that one get through marketing where a human actual said "yep, sounds great to me!"

@craftingwithcasca

2 жыл бұрын

@@SewBiased Exactly, like at no point did anyone say this is a bad idea.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

@@craftingwithcasca I have 3 friends off the top of my head who have spent time at an inpatient psychiatric facility. Like, this is a common thing, I just don't get why people think it's fun to mock it.

@craftingwithcasca

2 жыл бұрын

@@SewBiased Same, I suffer from mental health stuff and it's definitely not a fun thing.

Wow, this was such an eye-opening presentation! I’m sitting here as I type this comment trying to think of a villain that doesn’t appear disabled in some way and I really can’t.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Right! They're everywhere!!!!

I noticed the James Bond villains have scars thing too. It feels already forced sometimes. Like the Chiffre. In the novel, the Chiffre doesn't have any scars at all, but of course, in the "recent" movie, he just had to get a scar, cuz he is a James Bond villain.

This video is well done! I have noticed the scarred faces on villains but didn't think about how this affects people with visible disability! Thank you for opening up my eyes to this!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, yeah, it's been an issue for years, and the newest James Bond has finally brought the issue to the forefront.

@robinschicha4712

2 жыл бұрын

„If you are good, good things will come to you..“ Lets ask Spider-Man and Hiob about that 😉

What makes this all even more annoying is that none of these characters are ever, ever played by abled actors. As a Disabled actor (although my disability is invisible, which admittedly is a bit of a different situation) this really angers me. Not only are they exploiting disability for profit and further harming Disabled people in the process, but none of that money ever makes it back to any actual Disabled people.

You're a hero ✨ To add to the list of Actually Good Representation: "Even If We Break" by Marieke Nijkamp has a character who uses crutches, and while it's not explicitly stated in the book, it's implied that he has EDS, the same disability as the author.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks hon! That book sounds awesome, I'll check it out!

*Spoiler for Ready Player 1* In the Ready Player 1 book Artemis, the love interest and kick butt female, has a facial difference, but it isn’t revealed until the end and it’s something she is very self conscious of. This and H not portraying themselves as they really are feel very much like social commentary about how we expect heroes to be.

A show that came out after you made this video is Arcane, a TV14 show about the backstories of two League of Legends characters, which is a video game MMORPG. The game itself is less about good vs evil, but in this show the most villainous character so far is Silko, who uses a cane and has facial scarring with a prosthetic eye. The next round of episodes comes out tomorrow, so maybe Silko will be portrayed as a villain less, but I doubt it based on the set up. As a cane user myself who cosplays, I loved their representation of the steampunk cane aesthetic in the show, but it's ridiculous that it's always gotta be the villain! Silko is experimenting with turning people into monsters and other evil things. The loss of his eye is attributed to a past fight with the dad hero (who is sorry about that, we'll see where that story goes) and he literally says that experience taught him that he had to be ruthless and do whatever it takes to succeed, morals be damned. So it's the exact "make the world pay" trope you were talking about. Silko is a great character so far and I like that the show is hinting that he has more complexity than the tropes he embodies, but I would love to see a Silko type character portrayed as the dad hero from the beginning in other shows/movies! I have so much more to say about this, but I don't wanna spoil the plot for anyone since it's so new! Looking forward to the new episodes tomorrow too :) Thanks for making this video!

Thank you for sharing and making us more aware and to be mindful while costuming, I agree media is creating a bias towards people with disabilities by portrayals like these and it’s such a shame.

Excellent video! Well done! I am ashamed to say I never really considered this. Thank you!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you liked it! And no need to be ashamed, we're all learning!

Have you ever read any of Oracle's stories from DC? She is the first batgirl who got shot by the joker and loses her ability to walk. Her first few stories are done really well and her team Birds of Prey is actually really done well. I'd reccomend finding a reading list of her comics especially her first few comics, as they were written by an actual disabled woman!

OMG thank you so much for mentioning Phantom of the Opera! That has been bothering me for such a long time!!

The only Heroes that have disability‘s, that I can think of 🤔, are Daredevil, Nick Fury and Mad Eye Moody. And they are often played this characters like creepy Anti-Heroes. Mixed Messages?

@adiadean9962

Ай бұрын

What about Pit from Kid Icarus? He’s a flightless angel yet a badass captain of Lady Palutena

One example, though I'm not sure whether this is good or bad representation, is Balalaika from the manga/anime Black Lagoon who has extensive scarring, including prominently on her face, from fighting in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It is notable in that rarely do female characters have prominent facial scars. Whilst she is a mafia boss, she mostly isn't an antagonist for the main characters and isn't more evil than anyone else.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

That's a cool example, thanks!

i just found this channel and it makes me so happy!!!!!! now time to go check all my eyepatch-wearing characters to make sure theyre not disproportionately villains 😭 never realized that!

Very good video! I liked it. I think Agent Carter has a good portrayal of Daniel Souza who has a disability and is not a villain. I’m not even sure what his disability is because it’s almost never brought up but but he walks with a crutch. Also he’s just a great character.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

I'll have too check it out!

Thanks so much for making this!! love from a disabled follower

Marrow from the X men. She's (or sometimes he or they) can grow bone spikes and shoot them (but the story acknowledges this as a panful process and actually dives into how they feel about their "power" and how they only use it as self defense and if they have to. (So e writers do a trash job with this character but my favorites did a really introspective and deep look into the "what ifs" of a power with a huge flaw) This character also tends to wind up in arcs that use Mr sinister as well (his whole thing is eugenics basically and it really has the potential for some nuanced and interesting plot points but sometimes falls completely flat)

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

That's an interesting dynamic of a super power!

@kieraoona

2 жыл бұрын

They also later on in the series, made her less "scary" looking by making her look more feminine and less body horror with her bones sticking out as she became a super hero and working more with the Xmen, thus also still exacerbating the trope

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Because we all aspire to femininity over super powers, amirite?

Hi there, 'New subscriber' This video has helped me understand the negativity I revive for my facial scars and an eypatch. I feel better informed so thanks. 👍

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry you've been through that, people are the worst.

It has been a number of years since I watched it so I might be misremembering but I thought Auggie Anderson was well done in the Covert Affairs TV show, as a positive note, which by no means balances the general rule you are validly calling out.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

I don't think I've seen that one!

Wonderful video! Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows Duology and Harrow from the Locked Tomb series are two examples I can think of characters whose disability is (as far as I can tell, not being disabled myself) written as just a thing they live with. I would certainly not describe either of them as heroes, but their disabilities aren't portrayed as being related to their dubiously moral actions, they are both protagonists, not villains, and I know that their respective authors drew on their own experiences with similar disabilities when writing them. Also, I really love both those book series.

Thank you for posting this.

Thank you for making this video.

Yes! I’ve been looking forward to this since you mentioned it in V’s comments.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Yay! I hope you enjoyed it!

I don't think the point of making Freddy Krueger look the way he looks is not to portray disabled people in a bad way, but to make him look disgusting and creepy.

I think there are plenty of disabled heroes in books. I just wished i saw more on television And I Dont Just Mean Professor X.

Love this so much -- thank you. One accessibility request: the text commentary in this video is right where the closed captions appear, which makes it hard to read both!

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Crap, that's right, I will adjust for future videos!

One hateful aspect of Richard 3 is the fact that most often, an able-bodied actor is cast in the title role and then made to "play disabled". This is every bit as bullshit as putting thin actors in a fatsuit to play fat characters. I keep daydreaming about making a film version of Richard 3 and have him be completely able-bodied (Shakespeare's Richard character is already so far removed from the historical person that you might as well erase his scoliosis as well): Have that famous opening monologue delivered by a specimen of physical perfection, ideally while he us stripping off his clothes and revealing his perfectly proportioned physique. Have the audience wonder "Dude, what IS your problem?!" and then realize that his problem is not any actual disability or disfigurement he may or may not have, but his own internalized ableism and lookism.

tysm for this vodeo!

Question for the comment section: Would you consider villains who became disfigured or disabled from their own actions (for example: Voldemort) to be included in this trope?

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Yes I absolutely would. It shows disability as a punishment for bad people and further stigmatizes disabled people as deserving their impairment.

🤗 I appreciate you

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

Awwwww, shucks.

I thought Freddy Kruger’s finger knives was just a glove? Is it a prosthetic?

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

It's never entirely specified

I think you're having troubles understanding symbolic representation and that's coloring your view on the topic. The eye patch is a reference to the Egyptian God Seth and his struggle with Horus (A good vs evil story). An eye patch symbolically represents willful blindness which is an important element that separates the villain from a hero. It's a metaphor. I'd suggest taking a class on semiotics or reading a book on symbolism or a book on character design.

@SewBiased

6 ай бұрын

I think you haven't lived with the discrimination of a disability and that takes priority over symbolism.

@jeremiahnoar7504

6 ай бұрын

@@SewBiased I like pointing out discrimination whenever I see it as most of my family ranges from neuro divergent to severely disabled. But our brains have recognized certain symbols since the beginning of story telling. Since that's unchangeable, isn't it better to realize that there are plenty of hero's too who are disabled as well? Luke Skywalker is an amputee for example (there's actually a ton of hero's that are disabled in someway). Why focus on just the villains?

You forgot Jason Voorhees

A channel I’m subscribed to called The Take has done its own video about disabled villains and how prominent that is in the horror, adventure and superhero genres: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nGWdxMmmpbu9nZs.html

Yes😊

Eh

Honestly I think the disability trope is not that offensive I feel like the reason why most of these villains are disable is because due to their own fault like how they got their scar or missing their arm or something and plus their disabilities can tell a story about them like how Harvey Dent has Half of his face burnt reflecting on Bat man’s identity Half playboy millionaire and half vigilante but twisted in a ugly way not saying disable people are ugly everyone’s beautiful when their own way.

@SewBiased

2 жыл бұрын

The point . . . . . You.

@K1ng1995

7 ай бұрын

Exactly and most disabled characters they became "Villains" because they want revenge on the hero who they blame for their circumstances instead of taking responsibility for their own actions. On the Opposite end of the spectrum you have the villian that became disabled because of someone else, normally a greedy CEO who cut corners to save money, and the villian is willing to cause the deaths of many innocent people to make the CEO look bad. Also yeah of Course Captain America allowed himself to be experimented on. He wanted to fight in WW2, and if you have medical problems you can't join the army especially not back then. Same with Spider-Man a spider's most prominent feature in their eye sight am I wrong or right?