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Serena Gonzalez
Professor Granillo
English 103
20 November 2019
Understanding Disability
Have you ever wondered about how an ordinary movie can leave such a strong
impression? The reason for this is because movies are often based on a philosophical foundation.
A philosophical foundation can create an effect on your subconscious mind that could only be
detected through a lense. For instance, looking through a psychoanalysis lens is a method that
has been used to investigate and treat personality disorders while looking through their childhood
experiences that may have contributed to the way they function as adults .Therefore,With the
involvement of the critical disability theory we will be able to explain how having a disability
can contribute to certain state in which they function their lives based on their experiences . In
the movie The Fault In Our Stars by John Green suggest that it is a poor interpretation of real
cancer patients, however, it enforces the true reality of cancer and to live life to your fullest. The
movie relies on the concepts of critical disability theory and a Psychoanalysis lense; therefore
making society recognize the unintentional negative perceptions they implement onto people
with disabilities.
The Movie The Fault In Our Stars is about a sixteen-year-old cancer patient who goes by
the name Hazel Grace Lancaster. Hazel falls in love with a similarly afflicted teen from her
cancer support group who goes by the name Augustus Waters . Augustus is a very charming and
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witty man who has recently been cancer free from Osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Hazel and Augustus share the same acerbic wit and a love for book mmm. Throughout the time
they spend together they embark on a roller coaster ride of emotions such as love, sadness, and
romance while trying to get their questions answered by their favorite author Peter Van Houten
of an Imperial affliction. On they're trip to Amsterdam, Augustus has some heartbreaking news
to embark on Hazel and both of their worlds fall apart. After their trip to Amsterdam they try to
make the most of the time they have left with one another.
Fault In Our Stars involves a poor understanding of cancer patients. John Green includes
characters that react to cancer in the same way in which creates a stereotype that all cancer
patients share the same opinion of life and cancer. Also the characters are shown to have nothing
going in their life other than their illness and Agustus and Hazel book choices are an example of
their reaction to cancer. The typical audience that this movie is portrayed for is mainly for
teenagers because teenagers are more into the idea of a perfect love story. Also, the producer
It is sometimes hard for a person disability to get around in the world without appropriate
accommodations that will tend to their needs .According to the article, Integrating Disbaility,
The Feminist Theory by Rose Marie Garland Thomson states “Although this comparison of
bodies is ideological rather than biologi- cal, it nevertheless penetrates the formation of culture,
legitimat- ing an unequal distribution of resources, status, and power within a biased social and
architectural environment”(Thomson 5).” The world often isolates the diffenated bodies based on
an unequal distribution of resources that only accommodates the needs of a healthy body. The
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limited resources indicate an environment built on a foundation of a bias towards the unhealthy
bodies. During Hazels and Agustus trip to Amsterdam littevy, the assistant of Peter Van Hough
takes them to go see the Anne Frank house. Littevy tells Hazel and Augustus,” I’m afraid there is
no elevator”(1:15:10). The Anne Frank house is only equipped with stairs which is only
accessible for abled bodies. As you can see in the film the stairs make it especially difficult for
Hazel to get up to the top floor. Hazel isn't suited for this type of architectural environment and
has to make various stops which will allow her to catch her breath because of her non-working
lungs. The inequality in resources make it difficult for unhealthy people to be able to experience
The inequality perceived through architecture disallows people with disabilities to enjoy
certain environments. This creates inequality because without an easy way for the person with a
disability to gain access in a certain environment can often lead to trauma. In the book Critical
Theory Today by Louis Tyson informs that “The unconscious is the storehouse of those painful
experiences and emotions, those wounds, fears, guilty desires, and unresolved conflicts we do
not want to know about because we feel we will be overwhelmed by them”(Tyson 12). Wounds
and fears that are very overwhelming are often hidden in the unconscious part of the mind
because of the inability to handle that certain emotion. The inability to gain access to a certain
environment can create an emotion of hatred towards abled people or even too themselves
because society is not acknowledging certain needs that a disabled person might typically need.
Hazel can be seen taking large deep breath and apologizing to people about having to make
frequent stops because of the inability to make it up the stairs. This can often be perceived as
feeling sorry for herself because she is blocking the way of others and she also cannot go up the
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stairs as easily as an abled body would. It is important to create equality within the architecture
environment for it will accommodate to all bodies. This will help alleviate the biases that are
Disability can often be perceived as an illness that could cause sympathy from others.
Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace have just met and are trying to get to know one another. Their
conversation takes place in Augustus's car and Hazel realizes that Augustus is a bad driver. Hazel
then mentions this to Agustus about his inability to drive and that where the story of how
Agustus obtain his driver's license sparks up. During their conversation, Augustus tells Hazel
that his driving instructor let him pass even though she knew he was an unsafe driver. Hazel and
Augustus laugh and Hazel responds with “Cancer perk” and Agustus response back saying
“Total cancer perk”(0:13:14). Augustus and Hazel's joke is based on the fact that they can get
away with things because of their illness. Their illness makes people have sympathy for them
which then creates an environment where they are perceived differently from society. In the
Article, Common Portrayal Of People With Disabilities by MediaSmarts explains that” Perhaps
the most common stereotype of persons with disabilities is the victim, a character who is
presented as a helpless object of pity or sympathy.” A disabled person is often stereotyped into
the idea that they are helpless and weak. This stereotype often leads to an interaction between the
abled and the disabled to be based on sympathy. In the movie, Augustus explains to Hazel that he
basically passed his driving test because his driving instructor sympathized with him. The idea
that they can joke about the cancer card goes to say that they have encountered sympathy all
People can feel a certain way towards certain words and actions based off of experiences
that they have encountered. According to Frued “When we look at the world through a
psychoanalytic lens, we see that it is com- prised of individual human beings, each with a
psychological history that begins in childhood experiences in the family and each with patterns
of adolescent and adult behavior that are the direct result of that early experience”(Freud 12). A
psychoanalytic lense revolves around experiences that may contribute to the way you interact
with the world.For instance, Hazel and Augustus being able to joke around about the cancer card
because they know that cancer kids are often categorized into a category of sympathy. This is
based on repeated experiences that they both share through their many encounters with healthy
individuals. The sympathy that is given to Hazel and Augustus has been given to them
throughout their whole childhood life, primarily from close family because of their illness. This
has allowed them to get used to the fact that people will often portray them with sympathy.
Which therefore should be acknowledged by the society that rather than labeling someone
because of a flaw that they identify with others, everyone should be treated based on their
individuality.
Relationships can be tough to figure out when having a disability. For instance, Hazel and
Augutus have a talk on what they call a sad swing set. Their talk involves Augustus expressing
his love for Hazel but Hazel says,”Look uh… I like you and I like hanging out with you but I
can't let this go on further because I don't want to hurt you”(0:46:02). Hazel admits that she like
Augutus but doesn't want to be more than friends. Hazels based this off based on her disability
because Hazel could go any second. Augutus being cancer free also plays a role into Hazel
decisions because she doesn’t want Augustus to get hurt when or if she goes. According to
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and health norms often have similar disciplinary goals” (Thomson 10). This initially is stating
that females who aren't disbaled go under the knife for cosmetology while people with disability
go under the knife for medical reasons. Either way both of these try to achieve normalized
bodies. For example, Hazel suggests to Agustus that if she could get reconstructive surgery that
would make her healthy then she would date Agustus. Her sickness keeps her from being happy.
People with disabilities could often have the fear of intimacy when involved with
self-image issues and a disability. For example, Hazel's illness is still ongoing and her lungs
could give out any second so when Augustus admits his feelings to her she denies him. Hazel
denied him because she doesn't want to hurt him when the time comes for her to die. In the
article Tyson informs that “Fear of death is thus often responsible—along with other reasons, as
is an overpowering emotional feeling that will potentially cause hurt if it doesn't remain at a safe
distance. Fear of intimacy is used by Hazel to protect her and Agustus from being hurt when
death comes. Hazel safe distance is portrayed through the denial of being boyfriend and
girlfriend.Fear of intimacy should stop a person with a disability from enjoying the life they were
given because it does not allow them to enjoy the life they have. Instead, they will resent the life
they were given because they don't want to experience what life has to offer based on their
disability
At the beginning of the scene, Hazel's grace is shown in the doctor's room with her
oxygen cart that's attached to a nose tube, she is in a patient gown with her hair cut short which
points to obvious signs that she is sick. The movie wants to point out to their audience the idea
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that Hazel is sick. According to Common Portrayal Of People With Disabilities by Media Smarts
” The wheelchair allows the character to be obviously disabled, whilst still looking ‘normal’, and
does not, therefore, present any major challenges for audience identification”. Wheelchairs are
used to show an obvious form of a person who has a disability. In the scene the movie does this
obvious action with Hazel as she is continually being seen struggling to carry her life support
with her every day and everywhere. This allows sympathy to surface from the audience and will
also evoke certain feelings that will allow the audience to pitty Hazel.
The idea of the actors pretending to be disabled can affect a real person who is diagnosed
with that particular disability because it can be offensive. The act of an abled person taking part
in the role of a disabled person can be seen in a movie as having a bias towards disability actors.
This can feel very jarring for a disabled person who has dealt with this disability all their lives to
have some non-disabled person trying to pretend like they know the struggle of being disabled.
Through this, a disabled person can develop a defensive feeling towards certain movies that
involve disabilities. According to Tyson he explains,” Avoidance (staying away from people or
what we cant handle. Avoiding a certain situation will keep you away from situations that will
eventually cause a stir in one's emotion. Just like for a disabled person seeing a movie of an
abled person playing a disabled person will most likely cause them to avoid watching a movie
that pertains to that certain theme. Disability shouldn’t be used to entertain but rather be
portrayed as an identity just like race, sex, etc. and shouldn't be excluded.
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In one of the scenes Augustus, Hazel, and their blind friend Issac are seeking revenge on
Isaac ex-girlfriend. Issac ex-girlfriend dumped him because she couldn't handle Issac disability.
dominant assumption that disability is something that is wrong with someone”(Thomson 6).
Disability is often looked at as weak and inferior because of a person's differences. Issac
girlfriend was so in love with him in the beginning that they were very affectionate towards one
another. But once Issac lost his eyesight his girlfriend left him. Isaacs disability caused him to
lose someone who meant everything to him. This type of experience can create another form of
displacement .
After Issac's girlfriend dumped him, Agustus decided that it would be a good idea to pick
up Issac and Hazel to get revenge. They bought two, twelve dozen eggs and allowed their blind
friend Issac to throws them at his ex-girlfriend's car. The mother of the ex-girlfriend came out
and Agustus yells at her “Your daughter did and great injustice so we come here seeking revenge
we may not look as much between the three of us we have 5 legs four eyes and 2 and a half
working pair of lungs"(1:32:18). Agustus admits to the ex-girlfriends mother that they are there
for revenge and also uses the fact that they are cancer kids. This can be perceived as an act of
or something less threatening than the person who caused our fear, hurt frustration, or
anger),”(Tyson 15). Displacement is an action that can be typically caused through hurt or anger
in which is taken out on someone that you feel is less inferior to you. Issac takes out his hurt on
the ex-girlfriends' car because he was hurt that she left him. Isaac's ex-girlfriend car can be seen
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as less inferior to him because it’s a thing, it can't do anything to him but do to various places.
Also, the mother can be seen as less inferior to Issac because she runs away back into the house.
Issac feeling of hurt from his break up allowed him to build up hate towards his ex-girlfriend
self-aware of your unconscious minds because it could lead you to do very destructive things.
In the movie” The Fault in Our Stars” displays a fantasy of a teen's ideal love romance
which create tear duct, however, disability is often overlooked. Through critical disability theory
and a psychoanalytic lens, we can analyze the biases that pertain to people with disabilities;
therefore, people must acknowledge that disability is associated with identity. The importance of
people with disabilities having the ability to be treated the same way as an abled person allows
them to feel as much as a priority in society as an abled person. A disabled person is often
stigmatized by society and are often portrayed as if something is wrong with them. Many
issues. looking through a psychoanalytic lens helped analyze the emotions that a disabled person
might convey every day knowing that they aren’t as much as a priority in a certain environment.
Also, it helped to analyze why people with disabilities can develop a resentment towards abled
people and act out from their conscious state. There is a need to create more spaces that will
allow the disabled to feel more comfortable in different environments socially and architecturally
rather than being worried about whether it will Accommodate to them or not.
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Works Cited
http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/persons-disabilities/common-portrayals-persons-di
sabilities.
https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/www.english.upenn.edu/files/Garland-Thomson_Ro
semarie_Disability-Feminist-Theory.pdf.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.