Finding Nemo’s Representation of Disabilities
“Finding Nemo” is a wonderful Disney movie. Following Nemo, a young clownfish whose fin is slightly smaller than it should be due to an accident when he was still in an egg. His overprotective father, Marlin, meets a new friend, Dory, who has short-term memory loss. Many people do not see the representation of physical disabilities and other health impairments.
The characters that represent a physical disability are the following. Nemo, with his fin that is slightly smaller than it should be, finds it harder him to swim. Marlin, Nemo’s Dad, had PTSD due to the accident where a predator fish devoured his wife and all his eggs, but Nemo sadly still left him physically disabled. And finally, Dory, who has short-term memory, lost.
There is a mix of high- and low-incidence disabilities in this movie, which is a wonderful thing, showing such a wide variety. The main ones that have a high incidence are Dory and Marlin. Nemo is considered low incidence. There are many things that “Finding Nemo” does amazingly.
According to our textbook, “Exceptional Learner: An Introduction to Special Education,” to represents all these types of disabilities. They did not make any of these characters’ disability a flaw but a part of who they are; for example, Nemo is still able to swim and wants to be independent, and at the end of the movie, he does just that. They also brought light to the social aspect instead of the physical. A big part of the movie wasn’t that Nemo couldn’t do something.
He could, but he had to work harder; his biggest barrier was how overprotective his dad was. was due to his own PTSD, but he did let go a little and figure out ways to calm himself as well. When he finally started to talk to other characters about how their parents and things they have been through. No one is perfect; this movie is not either. Certain things could have been done a lot better, like some feel that calling Nemo’s fin his “lucky” fin downplays things he had to overcome and avoid what it truly is. And although the intent is to put a more positive spin on his disability, some feel it suggests that the term “disability” is a negative or taboo word; it gives children the idea that it is okay to joke about things like this rather than being understood.
That’s how Finding Nemo portrays various physical disabilities and health challenges, highlighting both the aspects it handled thoughtfully and those it exaggerated or simplified to fit a Hollywood narrative.
