A young boy and his grandmother have a run-in with a coven of witches and their leader. Or we’re murdering babies because we lost an eye in a dart accident.”. “Playgrounds are where kids are sometimes the cruelest, and kids absorb what they learn, be it through stories we tell or what they learn from their parents,” said Penny Loker, a Canadian visible difference advocate and writer. With Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Chris Rock. All of which, Smith said, subtly shapes perceptions about an already marginalized community, whether “The Witches” intended to or not. If you aren’t already familiar, please check out the @Lucky_Fin_Project (video above) and the #NotAWitch hashtag to get a more inclusive and necessary perspective on limb difference. I am sorry. The studio said her hands were meant to resemble cat claws, but they looked a whole lot like split hands, or ectrodactyly. According to The Daily Mail, many disabled people have spoken out on the movie for ‘demonizing’ split hands. “This isn’t about being overly sensitive, a ‘snowflake’ or being too politically correct,” Briony May Williams, the British baking competitor, wrote on Instagram. After giving Anne Hathaway's character a limb difference in 'The Witches,' Warner Bros. is now apologizing to the disability community. Anne Hathaway apologises for her portrayal in The Witches remake. And I owe a special apology to everyone who loves you as fiercely as I love my own kids: I’m sorry I let your family down.”. Actress Anne Hathaway has issued an apology after The Witches received backlash for its portrayal of witches in the film. Here’s my post from Instagram, please take the time to give it a read: #TheWitchesMovie #NotAWitch pic.twitter.com/ogm9OJgsPk, — Briony May Williams (@brionymaybakes) November 6, 2020, https://twitter.com/CatrinPugh/status/1323710776641753088?s=20, Hey @wbpictures , thanks for your attempt to convince audiences people with limb difference (LD) are evil, scary and the villain. While advocacy groups are working with studios to change that, critics say disabled characters still fall too often into predictable buckets, among them the villain or the victim that provides uplift for all, which some have nicknamed “inspiration porn.”, “Disabled people either play villains or happy snowflake angel babies,” said Maysoon Zayid, a comedian, writer and actor who has cerebral palsy. After voicing their thoughts on social media, it prompted Warner Bros. to release an official statement on the matter, via CNN: They stated they were “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in THE WITCHES could upset people with disabilities, and regret any offense caused”, and noted the three-fingered hands were merely “a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book.”. The witches are bald, have no toes on their feet, and have three elongated fingers on each hand. Disability rights advocates said the whole matter could have been avoided if more disabled people were in the entertainment industry, be it in front of the camera or behind the scenes. This upset audiences that felt the portrayal was offensive to “limb different” audiences. People with disabilities have had some success in challenging the stereotype. As someone who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused. 2 months ago | 868 views. The portrayal of the character, which Warner Bros. said was a “new interpretation of the cat-like claws” described in the Roald Dahl novel, has led to criticism from the limb difference community. Jacob Dressler screengeek-social-icons email. See more about. Follow. These “claws” consist of only three fingers, which is where the problem lies. Jack Nicholson in “The Shining,” a film where the villain was depicted as possessed, but bore no physical disability. Using disability or disfigurement as shorthand for evil goes back centuries in Western culture, said Angela Smith, director of disability studies at the University of Utah. The book included an illustration titled “How to Recognise a Witch,” which included “claws hidden by gloves” as one of the trademark means to spot a witch. I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better. Many people with disabilities pointed out that she appears to … “The Witches,” a film in which Anne Hathaway’s character has disfigured hands, has resurfaced the debate over depicting evil as disabled. It is our hope that families and children can enjoy the film and embrace this empowering, love-filled theme. Anne Hathaway has apologised after the depiction of her character’s hands in The Witchesfilm was accused of being insensitive towards disabled … Report. “They have carte blanche to be cruel to people. Anne Hathaway has issued an apology after criticism about the depiction of her character's hands in The Witches film.. “Popular films like this send very clear messages: that disabled bodies are wrong or evil, that they don’t belong in ‘normal’ society or public view, that it is ‘natural’ to be disgusted by difference,” Smith wrote in an email. Shakespeare’s hunchbacked, butcherous Richard the Third. The latest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 book stars Hathaway as the Grand High Witch, who has three elongated fingers on each hand. ‘The Witches’ is based on Roald Dahl’s novel and is the second adaptation of the 1990 film. In the forthcoming Bond film “No Time to Die,” Rami Malek and Christoph Waltz both play criminals who have facial disfigurements. Certainly what’s deemed acceptable has changed over time. They have bald heads covered in sores that they wear wigs to hide. Browse more … A post shared by Anne Hathaway (@annehathaway) on Nov 5, 2020 at 11:11am PST. The object of the controversy, however, is their supposedly claw-like hands. That “The Witches” is a family film, they say, made it worse. Lord Voldemort. Outcry over Anne Hathaway's new film Witches over distorted hands. In a film released October 22nd this year entitled ‘The Witches‘ Anne Hathaway is apologizing for… acting. Anne Hathaway Apologized to the Disabled Community AfterCriticism Over "The Witches".The movie was criticized after Hathaway’s character could be seen with three webbed fingers on each hand.This is more commonly known as "split hand," or ectrodactyly. (CNN) Anne Hathaway is apologizing after her new movie, "The Witches," received backlash from the disability community. In 2018, spurred by a campaign for accurate portrayals of disabilities, the British Film Institute announced it would no longer fund films whose villains have scarred or disfigured faces. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. https://www.screengeek.net/2020/11/10/the-witches-character-design-backlash For as long as there have been stages and screens, disability and disfigurement have been used as visual shorthand for evildoing — a nod to the audience that a character was a baddie to be feared. All manner of scarred Bond villains and superhero antagonists. The Joker. One is when a disabled actor is playing the character, she said, so long as the disfigurement is not what makes them evil. The Phantom of the Opera. Let me begin by saying I do my best to be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others not out of some scrambling PC fear, but because not hurting others seems like a basic level of decency we should all be striving for. World News from PA Media. Anne Hathaway in The Witches (Credit: Warner Bros) Anne Hathaway has apologised after the depiction of her character’s hands in The Witches film was accused of being insensitive towards disabled people.. “It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them,” explained Warner Bros. “This film is about the power of kindness and friendship. You’re not crazy. The movie, based on a Roald Dahl children’s book, depicted Hathaway with hands that were wizened and disfigured, with two fingers and a thumb on each. Advocates are conscious of the criticism that the world has become too hypervigilant, and that the blowback against “The Witches” is another example of political correctness hammering away at artistic expression. I was called a monster, and I was called whatever the name of the monster was from the movie that was popular at that time.”. The other is when the evil person being portrayed is a person who has a disability in real life, and even then, Zayid maintains, only a disabled actor should be cast. Anne Hathaway, above. THE WITCHES Official Trailer (2020) Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Robert Zemeckis Fantasy Movie HD© 2020 - Warner Bros All the witches have deep, wide facial scars just like the Joker. This is particularly true of the Grand High Witch, played by Anne Hathaway. In the movie, witches, and most notably Anne Hathaway’s character, are identified by having three-fingered hands. Yet even as stereotypical portrayals of other marginalized groups are increasingly recognized as problematic, the disfigured villain has proved harder to rout. Anne Hathaway has apologized to the disability community after her new film “The Witches” caused backlash due to the negative depiction of her character having a limb difference.“I have recently learned that many people with limb differences, especially children, are in pain because of the portrayal of the Grand High Witch in ‘The Witches,'” Hathaway wrote on Instagram Thursday. There is more leeway, and less potential to offend, when villains are clearly fantastical creatures, unreal figments of imagination, like the Shadow Monster in “Stranger Things.”, Still, the question for many remains why clearly human or human-esque villains need to have visual signifiers connoting evil at all. But even such depictions tread a fine line, threatening to lapse into the timeworn indictment of mental illness, à la Norman Bates in “Psycho.”, “Monstrosity is something in all of us,” Smith said, “not something out there in a bodily form different than our own.”, Scary Is How You Act, Not Look, Disability Advocates Tell Filmmakers. People with limb differences, including paralympians and a “Great British Baking Show” semifinalist, posted photos of their hands and arms on social media with the hashtag #NotAWitch. The use of disfigurement and disability to spark fear in audiences goes back centuries, experts say. Heath Ledger as the Joker in the 2008 film, “The Dark Knight.” Disability rights activists are asking Hollywood to refrain from using disfigurement and disability to portray evil. Anne Hathaway has revealed her transformation for The Witches took a lengthy five hours during a pre-recorded interview aired on Thursday's Lorraine. As you can imagine, many individuals responded negatively to the portrayal of three-fingered hands in the film. While the three-fingered hands were used to make the witches appear less human, it also made them appear more like people with the real life disorder known as “ectrodactyly.” As you can imagine, it’s a condition featuring the deficiency or absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot. Of course, the use of identifiable hands for the witches can be traced back to the original book created by Roald Dahl. “Obviously, we don’t want a culture where everyone’s outraged about everything,” said Ashley Eakin, a writer and director who has Ollier disease and Maffucci syndrome, which affects the growth and formation of bones. But disability rights advocates say this amounts not just to lazy storytelling but stereotyping, further marginalizing an already stigmatized community that is rarely represented onscreen. 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