A comparative analysis of the outsiders’ urge to fix the problem body (in the films Me Before You and Finding Nemo)
Introduction
This essay will focus on how the films Finding Nemo (2003) and Me Before You, (2016), portrays the outsider’s urge to fix the problem body. The problem body stands for bodily differences that signify the irregularities that challenge the understanding of the normal body. Therefore, the problem body relates to disabilities—physical, mental or other—that differs from that of the outsider (Chivers and Markotic, 2010, p. 9).
The outsider is a character, usually able-bodied, who assists the disabled protagonist and attempts to solve the disability. The efforts to solve the problem body demonstrate the outsiders’ urge for normality, depicted by assisting the disabled in integration, death or cure.
This essay will explore the social and medical models of disability, utilising them to compare the films Me Before You and Finding Nemo and the portrayal of the outsider in their quest to solve the problem body.
The social model implies that impairment does not cause or equal disability; a person with an impairment has the social disadvantage thrown upon them (Tremain, 2006, p. 41). However, the Medical Model assumes any somatic difference from the normal body must be cured or eradicated, (Markotić, 2016a, p. 75).
Problem body in Me Before You
In Me Before You, Louisa and Will are introduced during major transitions in their lives. Will had a motorcycle accident which left him paraplegic; Louisa lost her job and desperately needs employment to support her family. Will is distraught about his new life and decides that the best—and to him the only—outcome is death. Barton argues that having a disability:
‘involves social isolation and restriction. Disability is a significant means of social differentiation in modern societies’
(Barton, 1996, 13).
Here, Barton clearly states that to have a disability means being excluded from society. It is clear that this has not escaped films like Me Before You. Will’s Parents argue about his desire to die. Mrs Traynor wants Will to live a full life and become involved in society once more, but Mr Traynor would rather see Will’s wish fulfilled with their support rather than alone and isolated:
Mrs Traynor: I cannot believe that you are willing to help our son end his life! / Mr Traynor: I’d rather that, than risk him trying it again, alone…
(Springfield Springfield, 2016)
By fighting about Will’s choice to end his life, his parents and Louisa isolate him, as Barton states, by ignoring his feelings. Louise, shares Mrs Traynor’s thoughts and becomes determined to show him that his new life can just be as good as his past in the hope that she can get him to change his mind.
Me Before You and the Social Model
Louisa and Mrs Traynor’s belief that reintegrating Will into society will solve the problem body favours the social model, while Mr Traynor attempts to understand his son’s desire and by doing so acknowledges the medical model by accepting that Will wants to eradicate his disability.
A handful of characters try to pull Will into society and his ex-girlfriend, Alicia, states:
‘You can only help those that want to be helped’
(Springfield Springfield, 2016).
Although not fully explored in the film, this implies that Alicia intended to stay with Will and give their relationship a chance but Will’s behaviour and attitude towards his disability pushed her away. It is a subtle way of showing the outsider, in this case, Alicia, attempting to fix the problem body as she identifies Will as somebody who requires help.
The Problem Body in Finding Nemo
Likewise, Nemo is isolated in Finding Nemo. The eponymous, disabled protagonist of Finding Nemo is oppressed by his fearful and overprotective father, Marlin.
Nemo is depicted as having a deformed fin; he nicknames it his ‘lucky fin’ (Stanton, et al., 2003). However, Marlin is reluctant to give Nemo independence in case it places him in danger. To fix this problem, Marlin is determined to do everything for Nemo.
Marlin interrupts Nemo’s chance to make friends by highlighting his weak and smaller fin. This empathises Nemo’s medical condition and makes Nemo feel incapable. It is Marlin’s smothering that forces Nemo to prove his capability and touch the boat, resulting in Nemo’s kidnapping.
In a sense, Nemo’s father inadvertently instigates Nemo’s ‘fixing’, where the youngster finds strength within the problem body, rather than curing it.
Nemo is in a tank with other fish with disabilities. The fish tank and the ocean both become a metaphor for society. The ocean is full of able-bodied fish, while the fish tank is social isolation. Although the tank does not initially look threatening, it becomes clear that if Nemo remains in the tank, his life will be at risk because of the dentist’s niece, Darla, ‘a fish-killer’ (Stanton, et al., 2003).
The Problem Body and Isolation
Markotić indicates that media representations of disabled people assume:
‘a normalcy that reinforces itself through medical and psychological regimes and, in some cases, incarceration and isolation’
(Markotić, 2008, p. 7).
This is a profound statement that can be found within the films. It implies that there is no safe sanctuary for those who are cast aside or who are different.
In the case of Finding Nemo, Nemo must choose to escape to the ocean (and return to society) or risk death by becoming Darla’s pet. This choice is not unique to Finding Nemo as Will also makes a similar choice in Me Before You. Will decides to die by assisted suicide rather than risk isolation and exclusion from society or live a life governed by his medical needs.
Similar choices are found in other films with disabled protagonists, such as Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Whose Life is it Anyway? (1981, cited in Darke, 2010). All of these films have an able-bodied protagonist who attempts to help the disabled protagonist join society using one or both of the disability models.
Isolation in Me Before You
In Me Before You, Louisa attempts to convince Will that there is more to life than the life he had before his disability and takes him on day trips in an attempt to persuade him to change his mind about his assisted suicide. However, Will decides that if he cannot live his previous life, then a substituted life of ‘forced happiness’ is not enough for him to endure a lifetime of medical care.
Consequently, he remains determined to end his life. He also implies that it is a sacrifice so that Louisa does not wake up one day regretting she fell in love with him:
I don’t want you to look at me one day and feel even the tiniest big of regret or pity.
(Springfield Springfield, 2016)
This decision means that Louisa’s mission to save Will fails. Will’s decision to die highlights the medical model within the film by restoring a form of normality and removing the burden of disability from the able-bodied characters’ lives.
Isolation in Finding Nemo
On the other hand, Nemo does want to return to the ocean and attempts to do so. Marlin, the able-bodied protagonist, attempts to rescue Nemo by swimming across the ocean but by the time he arrives at Sydney, Nemo has almost rescued himself by feigning death. This is an interesting turn of events as a disabled person is often contextualised:
‘as children in need of nurturing and protection by able-bodied adults’
(Norden, 2013, p. 169).
Which is why both Marlin and Louisa feel that their disabled protagonist needs rescuing, and to some extent, Marlin feels the same about Dory, which will be explored later.
The Medical Model
Marlin’s view on the disabled represents the medical model by identifying those with ‘impairments as “less-than-whole”… and hence unable to fulfil valued roles and obligations’ (Barnes and Mercer, 2003, p. 2).
Ultimately, Finding Nemo counters this stereotype by depicting Nemo, who—to all intents and purposes, is a disabled child—rescue himself and return to the ocean. On the contrary, Me Before You reinforces the stereotypes since the attempt to save the disabled protagonist’s life fails.
In a similar way to how Marlin treats his son and Dory as incapable children, Louisa treats Will as a child. She takes him out on day trips with the intention to show him what life has to offer. However, this fails. Will’s dependence comes from relying on someone else to show him the life and achievement he is still able to have. This need to rescue and protect the disabled protagonist as if they were children is part of the outsiders’ attempt to solve the problem body.
By nurturing and protecting, the able-bodied protagonists highlight the disabled protagonists as abnormal, which ultimately leads to their isolation from society and forces the disabled protagonist to be reliant on others while also displaying disability as a ‘personal tragedy’ through the medical model (Barnes and Mercer, 2003, p. 2).
Re-integrate the disabled protagonist into society
One of the outsider’s tasks is to try and integrate the disabled protagonist into society—mostly through the medical model which attempts to normalise the problem body. If the outsider fails, the disabled person bears the consequences.
Cheu uses the protagonist from Rain Man as an example; he states that it is Raymond’s ‘inability to be “cured” that leaves him no alternative but to be reinstitutionalized’ (Cheu, 2008, p.136). Thus, if the outsider fails to restore the normalcy conceived by the ‘perspective of the able-bodied spectator’ (Cheu, 2008, p.138), then the disabled protagonist is ostracised. Edward Scissorhands (1990) is another example where this happens. However, if the outsider fails then the disabled person is not only at risk of being isolated, but of dying. This is the case in Me Before You
Marlin fails his task to normalise or cure Nemo. Unlike Will, Nemo does not die or become isolated as a result.
Instead, Nemo adapts and becomes resourceful. Nemo’s resourcefulness and resilience acts as an alternative ‘cure’ that normalises his behaviour and accomplishes the able-bodied viewer’s ‘desire of normalcy’ (Cheu, 2008, p. 138). At the same time, it declares ‘the disabled body’s right to exist’ (Cheu, 2008, p. 141).
By adapting but not changing their disability, both Nemo and Dory demonstrate how their disability can exist in a hostile world through resourcefulness.
So, while Me Before You portrays assisted death as a solution to both the social and medical model facing the problem body, Finding Nemo depicts resourcefulness and adaptability as a way to challenge the views on the problem body.
Shortcomings of the Able-Bodied character
However, another task of the outsider is to realise their own shortcomings or flaws through the disabled protagonists or secondary disabled characters.
Markotić argues that disability presented in media represents a ‘shortcoming of the primary character, thus perpetuating images of disability as fitting examples for moral correction’ (Markotić, 2008, p. 7).
Louisa’s Shortcomings in Me Before You
Louisa’s interactions with her family, Will and her boyfriend, Patrick, highlight her shortcomings. Sheltered, naive, and desires to be needed. Louisa and her family struggle financially; this is only made worse when she loses her job. Patrick is financially secure and in good health. Furthermore, Will’s health deteriorates, and his quadriplegia leaves him dependent on others. Therefore, Louisa’s family and Will need her while Patrick does not, adding strain to their relationship.
Initially, Louisa attempts to show Patrick affection and remain professional with Will. However, the more cultured Louisa becomes from attending to Will’s needs, the less time she wants to spend with Patrick, depicted by their argument:
‘Louisa: But he needs me.
(Springfield Springfield, 2016).
Patrick: and I don’t?’
The image of the disabled as people who are ‘unduly dependent and cannot manage the details of lower-middle-class domestic life’ (Snyder and Mitchell, 2010, p. 196) is strong in Me Before You, and so if Louisa is able to change Will’s Mind, then she would have someone who would need her for the rest of his life.
Louisa’s task is to show Will that death is not the answer and he can live a full life; the exact opposite of the medical model which is to eradicate the disability.
It is Louisa’s determination to help Will that starts her journey of a more culturally experienced life and freedom for herself. In a sense, Will’s death marks Louisa’s completed transition into a life of her own and her flaws corrected.
Marlin’s Shortcomings in Finding Nemo
Marlin’s faults are his overprotective nature and his view that the disabled are less capable than him. Marlin does everything in his power to prevent Nemo from being harmed, illustrated when Marlin pulls Nemo out of the vase coral:
Nemo, don’t move! Don’t move! You’ll never get out of there yourself. I’ll do it. All right, where’s the break?
(Stanton, et al., 2003, p. 6)
This one quote shows two of Marlin’s shortcomings, the overprotective father and his belief that Nemo is incapable of looking after himself. Marlin also makes Nemo aware that the ocean ‘isn’t safe’ (Stanton, et al., 2003, p. 9).
Linking to the ocean as representing society, his warning that the ocean isn’t safe states that Marlin is afraid of the outsider’s view of Nemo and the dangers that it holds for both the disabled and the abled-bodied. After all, it is these dangers that caused Marlin to lose his wife, most of his children and caused Nemo to be disabled in the first place.
Marlin’s Transition
When Nemo is kidnapped, it is Marlin’s protective nature and belief that Nemo is vulnerable that forces him to travel through the ocean and overcome both, his fears and flaws. This is illustrated through Dory, who Marlin initially sees as incompetent due to her short-term memory. It is Dory’s ability to read that initially shows Marlin that Dory has skills he does not:
‘Wait a minute… you can read?!’
(Stanton, et al., 2003, p. 37)
But this is short lived. His full transition comes when Marlin must choose to hold onto the tongue of the whale or listen to Dory and let go.
Repeating the phrase ‘You think you can do these things, but you can’t, Nemo!’ (Stanton, et al., 2003, p.109), Marlin acknowledges he is hindering the success of both Dory and Nemo by treating them like dependent children who need guidance (Norden, 2013, p.169).
This realisation enables Marlin to let go of the tongue, overcoming his flaws and correcting his character in a way that the problem bodies cannot be fixed.
Erasing the abnormal body to fix the abled protagonist
Markotić states that in such ‘Metaphor-reliant narratives, an “ab”normal body does not—cannot and should not—exist’ (Markotić, 2016b, p. 46)
In other words, the disabled character must die or be cured if the flaw of the able-bodied protagonist is to be overcome. It is the medical model of disability that theorises these results as an option for disabled characters in an attempt ‘to “normalise” the population in its ranks’ (Preston, 2010, p. 56), with the dual purpose to resolve the problems of the outsider. Thus, narratives that feature disabled protagonists for this reason present the disabled protagonist with ‘a choice of extremes: intolerable life or a hastened death’ (Markotić, 2016c, p. 171).
This is true of Me Before You. In order for Louisa to overcome her flaw of being needed by others, Will must die so that Louisa can find a life for herself, solving both, the problem body, and Louisa’s faults.
Similarly, the problem body and Mary’s shortcomings are solved in The Secret Garden (The Secret Garden, 1993) once Colin is cured and reunited with his father, and Mary learns to cry.
Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands, 1990) is cruelly isolated so that society does not have to overcome their flaw of ignorance, selfishness and fear of difference, solving the problem body by isolation and returning normalcy to the neighbourhood.
Finding Nemo Challenging the Stereotypes
But Finding Nemo disproves Markotić’s statement. Both Nemo and Dory remain disabled at the end of the film with very little change aside from their enhanced knowledge and self-belief. It is Marlin who has had to change throughout the film, overcoming the faults which were not only disabling his view on the world, but also affecting how he treated those around him. Thus, it is Marlin who is fixed and not the problem body.
Using disability to correct the flaws of an able-bodied protagonist is ‘a commodity for viewers not only to reject particular bodies, but also to expect accumulated metaphorical weight’ (Chivers and Markotic, 2010, p. 8) thus, the death or cure of the disabled protagonist indicates that the immoral acts have been removed.
Outsider’s urge to fix and solve the problem body
The outsiders’ urge to fix or solve the problem body is a signifier of the able-bodied protagonists’ attempt to fix their own character conflicts and reject their immoral temptations or shortcomings.
Disabled characters signify ‘a lack of character’ which able-bodied characters ‘might succumb, while at the same time re-establishing… the presumed wholesomeness and integrity of the primary characters’ (Markotić, 2008, p. 7).
Marlin’s fear prevents him from learning more about the world he lives in, while his condescending behaviour of disabled fish prevent him from seeing the talents they possess.
Only by attempting to fix the disabled, regardless of success, can the able-bodied protagonists overcome their own shortcomings and reinstate normalcy in society.
Will’s death leads to Louisa’s shortcomings as a character to be corrected in Me Before You, depicting normalcy as freedom from others and the means to explore the world. However, Marlin overcomes his flaws despite neither Nemo or Dory being cured, isolated or dead at the end of the film.
They are both physically unchanged. It is only their view of themselves and their new-found knowledge of their capabilities that have changed which uncoincidentally matches Marlin’s change of view on the disabled and their potential skills. The disabled protagonists’ abilities make their disabilities almost invisible by the end of the film, while at the same time being present, illustrating normalcy as acceptance of others and disability as something:
‘arising at least partly from an environment that creates barriers for people with impairments’
(Preston, 2010, p. 56).
The subhuman / dehumanised protagonist
Disability is often dehumanised in the media through various ways, one of these forms is the implication of the disabled as a monster or subhuman. This characterisation of disability expresses:
‘the notion that disability involves the loss of an essential part of one’s humanity’
(Longmore, 1985, p. 33).
This representation often sees the disabled character cured or dead either through their own sacrifice or due to an unintentional act of Malice, depicted by the death of Lennie from Of Mice and Men (Longmore, 1985, p. 33).
Will chooses to end his life because he is unable to live as he had done before his disability. He acknowledges that he could live a:
‘good life but it’s not “my life”, it’s not even close’
(Springfield Springfield, 2016).
In other words, Will saw his live as over the moment he became disabled.
The connection between suicide of the disabled and their inability to live in society is something that Longmore explored within his study of disabled stereotypes on screen. He draws attention to the rise of disabled suicide depicted on screen in the 1970s and 1980s, with the disabled character seeking release from the:
‘living death of catastrophic disablement’
(Longmore, 1985, p. 33).
Disability as the living dead
In other words, disability is depicted as a life of the living dead due to the tragic way that the severely disabled have to live, dehumanising disability by portraying the life as undesirable and worse than death. Longmore discusses the film Whose Life Is It Anyway, the TV movie Act of Love, and the theatrical drama Navis Mountain Dew.
All the disabled protagonists are quadriplegic and choose to die rather than live a disabled life. Ken from Whose Life Is It Anyway, refers to his existence ‘as “a vegetable” and that he is “not a man” anymore’ (Longmore, 1985, p. 33).
Dehumanisation in Me Before You
The same dehumanisation occurs in Me Before You. When asked what he normally does, Will responds with:
‘I don’t do anything Miss Clarke. I sit. I just about exist’
(Me Before You, 2016).
Will insinuates that he lives a life of the living dead by saying his existence is minimal, indicating his loss of humanity.
Markotić draws attention to the portrayal of a disabled person as wishing ‘death, and alwaysh is able-bodied loved ones who do not understand the monstrous nature of maintaining such a life’ (Markotić, 2016d, p. 120).
Similarly, in Me Before You, Will wants to die but his family, friends and Louisa want him to live. Therefore, it is the task of the outsider, in this case, Louisa, to persuade the disabled protagonist, Will, that he is human and deserves to live. Will indicates that his past was a better life:
‘You never saw me before. I loved my life. I really loved it’
(Springfield Springfield, 2016).
He gives this as a reason for continuing with his decision to die, because the life he has now cannot match the life he had before and therefore, believes that a sense of normality will never return. This could be linked to Darke’s statement that disability is regularly devalued and degraded by the reflection of:
‘a glorious past or alternative normality seen in parallel with an abject present’ .
(Darke, 2010, p. 98)
This is further supported by Longmore’s analysis that disability is portrayed as ‘a serious physical impairment that prevents normal functioning… relationships, and… productivity’ (Longmore, 1985, p. 33). In the case of Will, his normal functioning is his previous active lifestyle, where he participated in extreme activities. Thus, the outsiders are forced to accept that the disabled protagonist wants to die.
Me Before You & Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Darke explores this by examining the film Whose Life is it anyway? (Darke, 2010). He suggests that Ken is portrayed as subhuman because he rejects medication that might cure parts of his disability but:
‘…overcomes his abnormality by preferring death to impairment’
(Darke, 2010, p. 106).
Like Ken, Will reflects on his life before his disability and it is implied within the film that Will initially refused to take his medication to sustain his life. Will feels that his loss of autonomy is too much of a burden, illustrated at the climax when he tells Louisa:
‘I don’t want you to miss all the things that someone else could give you’.
He implies his death Will insure that Louisa and his loved ones are guaranteed a normal life, rather than be trapped looking after him. His death also allows Will to overcome his abnormality.
Similarly, Colin is dehumanised in The Secret Garden (2017). His quadriplegic state is due to his incomplete state as he is a robot child whose creator died before she could finish him. Likewise, Edward Scissorhands (1990) is only seen as a man when he is useful to the community, cutting their hair, hedges and grooming their pets. Edward is tolerated until the novelty wears off but is subsequently perceived as a monster that must be driven away.
Dehumanisation in Finding Nemo
Dehumanisation is obvious in Finding Nemo, due to the characters being fish. However, this can be argued as an attempt to challenge the dehumanised stereotype of disabled people. All the main characters in Finding Nemo are sea creatures, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. Moreover, the disability is not linked to a species of fish, but a variety of them, and able-bodied fish can be seen within the same species. Marlin is considered able-bodied, as are the parents of the school children with various forms of allergies, disabilities or other needs. Therefore, this prevents the dehumanisation of a species of fish due to their disability and more importantly, avoids the dehumanisation of Nemo.
Furthermore, Finding Nemo adds to the humanisation of the fish by giving them human-like tasks. Darke states that humanness is shown through the ability:
‘to be a thoughtful, rational, and intelligent person’
(Darke, 2010, p. 98).
Throughout the film, Nemo learns to be resourceful, specifically at a crucial point in the film.
At the end of the film, Dory is trapped in a fishnet with many other fish. Nemo uses his newly-gained knowledge to swim into the net and tell all the fish to ‘swim down, okay?’ (Stanton, et al., 2003, p. 133).
Nemo’s knowledge saves Dory, forcing the fishnet to drop into the ocean. Applying Darke’s statement to the film, by using logical and his experience, Nemo depicts human qualities. Here, Marlin is not needed, instead, he has to rely on the very people he sees as lesser than him because of their disability, so once again, the outsider does not need to do anything to make the disabled protagonist feel human unlike in the film Me Before You.
Conclusion
In films like Me Before You, The Secret Garden and Edward Scissorhands, one way to solve the problem body is by dehumanising and devaluing the disabled body, and thus the disabled person. By doing this, the disabled person is not seen as a person because they are not human and therefore not an issue for the outsider.
However, while they are fish, both Nemo and Dory are resourceful which enables them to share the same humane qualities of the able-bodied fish in the film. The fish act as a metaphor, with various diversities, none more human than the next, therefore, disability cannot be dehumanised in Finding Nemo as it can in other films, so Nemo and Dory displaying the same qualities as able-bodied fish challenges the dehumanised view of the disability while also stating that the outsider does not need to solve this problem.
Me Before You, along with many other films, features and emphasises the outsider’s urge to fix and solve the problem body in order to restore normality into the world. It relies on the social and medical model to isolate Will and to justify his desire to die.
Finding Nemo initially seems to follow these urges only to challenge and defy them at various turning points, promoting the faults in the outsider by wanting to change the problem body. It uses the social and medical model, not to enhance the stereotypes, and ultimately the view on the problem body, but to change them by using these models as an advantage against the stereotypes that they have created. This illustrates that while it is common for films to use either the social model or medical model to restore normality and fix the problem body, it does not have to be used this way.
Thanks for reading!
Long post, sorry about that, but I hope you enjoyed it. Below you can find my bibliography. If you liked this essay, you might like other case studies.
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Cheu, J. (2008) ‘Performing Disability, Probleming Cure’, in Sandahl, C. and Auslander, P. (ed.) Bodies in Commotion: Disability and Performance, Michigan: University of Michigan, pp. 135-146.
Chivers, S. and Markotic, N. (2010) ‘Introduction’, in The Problem Body, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 1-22
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I-O
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Markotić, N. (2016b) ‘Icarus, Gods and the “Lesson” of Disability’, in Disability in Film and Literature, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, pp. 39-53
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Markotić, N. (2008) ‘Punching up the Story’, Revue Canadienne d’Études cinématographiques / Canadian Journal of Film Studies, (1), p. 2-10. (Accessed: 9 November 2018).
Me Before You (2016) Directed by Thea Sharrock [Film]. Beverly Hills, California, : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; New Line Cinema; Sunswept Entertainment .
Norden, M.F. (2013) ‘“You’re a Surprise from Every Angle”: Disability, Identity, and Otherness in The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, in Cheu, J. (ed.) Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, pp. 163-178.
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The Secret Garden (1993) Directed by Agnieszka Holland [Film]. Burbank, California: Warner Bros; American Zoetrope.
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