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Stereotypes of mentally disabled
Stereotypes of mentally disabled
Vietnam war and watergate
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Forrest Gump is a movie about a man in the late 20th century who is on the verge of mental retardation. This story is told by Forrest Gump as he sits waiting for a bus to see Jenny. Despite his setbacks, Forrest takes part in several defining historical moments such as the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. In part because of his naïve nature, the viewer comes to love Forrest as he struggles and triumphs in his everyday life. Because this movie is told from the perspective of a mentally slow man, this movie illustrates the workings, misunderstandings, and naïve nature of mentally challenged people. Forrest’s IQ (Intelligence quotient) was 75 and according to the DSM-IV, it is possible to diagnose Mental Retardation in individuals with
From the beginning of the movie, people seem to have a fascination over a man with a mental disability. After telling his story another
...oung American men had to endure from the time that they had joined back in their boot camp days, and the brutality of war that showed them no mercy. To me the importance of the movie was to show what truly went on over in Vietnam through the eyes of a soldiers eyes of what happened, as the film created a very disturbing yet a real picture of The Vietnam War.
The two movies I choose to compare and contrast are I Am Sam and Radio. In both of these movies the main characters expressed signs of being exceptional learners. In I Am Sam, Sam Dawson, is the main character that shows autistic tendencies accompanied by intellectual disabilities. “The most common syndromes associated with intellectual disability are autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).” (berns peter, 2016). (Nelson, 2002) (Tollin, 2003) (Taylor, 2015) Radio is a young man who is said to have ‘mental retardation’ a term that has been changed to intellectually disabled because of Rosa’s Law. Radio stumbles upon a football practice where his world about to change for the better.
To begin with, Mister Forrest Gump has shown humbleness throughout his life. The first time he showed humbleness in the movie was less than 10 minutes into the film. This was when Forrest conversed, “My momma always said…” This phrase is repeated multiple times throughout the movie. It may sound useless, but is shows a lot. It shows the representation of ‘momma’. ‘Momma’ is showing the wisdom that Forrest never believed he had. This displays how humble Forrest is. Rather than calling himself smart and following his own rules, Forrest followed the rules and principles his momma told him to. This is just one big example of how Mr. Gump showed a pure humble attitude throughout the film. The second point in the exceptional film was when Forrest helped an African-American women by picking up a book she dropped. This shows the amount of humbleness in Forrest. The way it took place is as follows. Forrest walked to the front of school where he saw a big crowd. He asked his friend what was going on and he replied that black people want to go to
Sally Dibbs, Dibbs Sally. 461-0192 ."(Rain Man). This quote shows the remarable talent of a savant being able to remember a person from reading the phone book the night before .. This happens in literature as well as in life for those who live with savant syndrome. Forrest Gump, Raymond Babbit, and real-life savant Kim Peek all deal with the fact they are not the same as everyone else. Though dealt certain mental deficiencies, savants, whether fictional or real, all excel in there own ways. Savants are people who despite serious mental or physical disability have quite remarkable, and sometimes spectacular, talents (Hiles, 2002). Dr. J. London first described the syndrome in 1887, who also had discovered Down Syndrome in years earlier. He found that savants have a highly developed ability to play music or to solve complex math equations at great speeds. Savants usually have an IQ in the moderate mental retardation range. the mental state of a savant can be classified as being autism or mental retarded. These skills exist within a very narrow range of human abilities. ( Hiles, 2002). One in every two -thousand savants occurs in an institutionalized mentally retarded person. One in ten are found in autistic people. Savants usually live with someone else, in some cases they are able to live on the re own. Savants have been divided into two main categories in the ...
The awareness of mental illnesses has slowly become greater over the years. We’re starting to hear more about them in the news. In schools, students are learning about and with people with mental disabilities. In our society, practically everyone has an idea of what some of the common disorders are (OCD, ADHD, etc). Therefore, it comes with no surprise that we see these mental disorders depicted in movies as well. The movie I decided to watch for this assignment was Rain Man starring Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, and Valeria Golino. In this movie, the high-functioning autistic savant characteristics were depicted by Dustin Hoffman, whose character in the movie was Raymond Babbitt.
Exploring Autism in the Movie, Rain Man. Autism is considered a unique disorder that affects 1 in 500 people. Autism impairs three main areas of human development: speech. communication, and social interaction.
...nd genuine kindness extend further than just treating the President of the United States like a normal person, even though Forrest Gump is ignorant of the ‘issues’ of different people. At the University of Alabama, two African American students are granted acceptance after an enormous ordeal on blacks going to colleges with whites because of the insane amount of racism the United States of America had. As the two African American students made their way up the staircase, one dropped a book and Forrest rushed through police officers and rioters to pick up the book and hand the book to the colored student who dropped it. Forrest’s ignorance definitely contributes to his selflessness and generosity towards people who are different (during the time period in American history the movie was based on), however, it is one of his traits that makes him a true unexpected hero.
The movie portrays Sam Dawson as a mentally deficient parent. The closest the movie, and any resource on it, came to giving an actual diagnosis of his condition is given by a judge in the film stating ?? you have the mental capacity of a 7 year old.? This movie revolves around Sam fighting for the right to raise his daughter beyond the age of 7. The film also has many sociological aspects that correspond to Sam and his daughter, Lucy?s relationship as well as the effects on them separately.
A genius. A prodigy. One might label this child as such after witnessing this type of performance, were it not for the little nuances of the situation: the rocking, the cold, unemotional expression on the boy's face, and his lack of response to the voices around him. Instead, this boy is diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, a disorder in which individuals with neurological developmental delays in socialization and communication (3) possess "astonishing islands of brilliance that stand in stark, markedly incongruous contrast to the over-all handicap" (6). From absolute pitch and chess playing skill to the card-counting talent popularized by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, savants may be developmentally delayed, but certainly posses a genius of sorts that is almost unmatchable. In this respect, I am fascinated by the biological and societal origins and significance of the existence of individuals with an IQ well below average who are capable of performing tasks about which some geniuses could only dream. The implications of these individuals are huge in terms of genetics, the nature of intelligence and the varying processes of thought present within humanity. I find that it is the presence of a "weakness" such as autism and its development...
Life is not a one way path travelling to our destination, there are many obstacles that people will experience in their lives. When these obstacles occur, there are many paths to be taken. However, the best option is to rise up and persevere through these hardships; to continue travelling down the right path. In the movie Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, Forrest lives a life full of obstacles, many of which develop from his low IQ. Along the way he also helps his friends get through their tough times. Despite being different, Forrest is able to overcome his obstacles and become very successful and happy. The challenges Forrest is faced with are very likely to happen in life, and by fighting through them he shows how persevering through
More often than not, the most startling capabilities of the human brain are exposed precisely when anatomical, or physiological, deficiencies take place. Take, for instance, savants - people who have mental abilities that could only be characterized as superhuman but otherwise severely disabled in daily cognitive functions and social interaction. At first sight Michael (Mikey), seems like an average seven year old boy; he’s slim, of short stature, with big almond-shaped green eyes. Mikey rarely speaks, and the atypical occasions, in which he does, it is to hum the sound of a nearby bird. Yet Mikey is everything but average; in fact he’s an extraordinary boy. Being only seven Mikey plays the piano, the organ, the violin, and the cello. His prodigious memory is palpable by the Vivaldi, Mozart, and Beethoven precise replicas played out of memory, as well as his exceptional ability to recall all capitals of the world. He likes order, prefers solitude, and is intrigued by musical symbols. He feels music, smells colors, and sees sounds, a rare neurological phenomenon known as Synesthesia1. Neuropsychologist Dr. J. Shea Ph.D MD, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in 2004, diagnosed Mikey,—four at the time— as an Autistic Savant, changing the complete course of his life, that of his mother, and bringing to Florida its first prodigy. To understand Mikey’s condition as an Autistic Savant, the pathophysiology, symptomology, theories, and treatment of both Autism and Savantism must be discussed. In addition, the differences between Savantism,—a syndrome—and Autism—a neurodevelopmental disorder—will be thoroughly examined as both a psychological, and a neurological deficit; and moreover, the standards, statistics, and theories of intelligence wil...
The character Jenny Curran from the movie Forrest Gump, had a tough life from the very beginning of the movie throughout to the end. During the movie, most parts were assumed and not actually said. For example, as a child she was physically abused as well as sexually abuse, however, it isn’t said, a scene of her with dirty ripped clothes and older Forrest narrating says “her father was always touching and kissing her and her sister” that implies that her father was sexually abusing her. Jenny’s father was not only abusive but an alcoholic and neglected the care of Jenny. Throughout the rest of the movie, Forrest is always there to support and love her, and the detrimental decisions she makes and the different paths she endeavors, inevitably catch up with her in the end. In this essay, one of the main points we see by Jenny’s character are all of the metaphors between what she says and the advice she gives to Forrest, for example, to run from danger and her own constant behavior to fun away from whatever she is afraid of. Jenny Curran will be the focus observation and personality study. Although the main character in this film is Forrest Gump, we are able to see the trials Jenny’s incurs and how it develops her personality. The main idea of this essay is to look at Jenny’s life and find the foundation for what her personality was build on and all of the influences of change throughout her life. Her various personality and life changes will be examined as well as the environmental and social influences.
Mental Retardation Mental retardation is defined as, an individual with limitations in cognitive ability and adaptive behaviors that interfere with learning. Individuals with mental retardation learn at a slower pace, have low IQs, and may reach a level where learning stops. There are no exact causes for mental retardation but some things are associated with the disability. Prenatal development problems, childbirth difficulties, and a childhood brain injury can all lead to mental retardation. An individual with mental retardation might have problems in learning and social skills.
Honestly, how is intelligence measured? If we only measure a student’s IQ in reading and math logic it would be unjust for the student. The student need to be measured on many levels other than reading and math as it was reflected within the movie; one can bring forth man...