![]() ![]() ![]() It’s rare to find a modern movie in a realistic setting where a hideous villain is battling a handsome hero. Of course, in general, modern media is careful not to rely too heavily on them. And yet our culture is full of these cues. We all know that Johnny Depp and his rugged good looks didn’t keep him from being an abusive husband. We all know intellectually that Steve Buscemi’s unusual countenance tells us nothing about his character. The interesting phenomenon here is that we have to learn this lesson at all. Of course, adults need a reminder of this too, and John Merrick, the man saddled with extreme deformities in The Elephant Man, serves as a tragic reminder that we care more about looks than we care to admit. ![]() The beautiful princess Fiona, in a subversion of the fairytale princess, is actually happier as a kindly troll, and Shrek himself has many layers, like all ogres. Gaston’s the real beast! Movies, in their post-modern moments, have even self-referentially twisted the concept around in movies like Shrek. The beast in Beauty and the Beast has a heart of gold. ![]() In fact, children are bombarded with this message all the time. Anyone whose parents read them The Ugly Duckling as a child knows one you shouldn’t judge people by the way they look. ![]()
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