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People with disabilities are often portrayed as “victims” or “villains”, and fantasy is no different. The genre commonly uses an offensive trope known as magical healing which misleads fans into thinking that disfiguration or disabilities should be fixed. Think The Witcher, The Shape of Water, or even Disney’s Peter Pan! These are just a few examples that have harmed the disabled community, including myself. And for what? Times are certainly changing and still, society hasn’t made room for people with disabilities, even if they think they have.
What is Magical Healing?
Magical Healing is an approach most notable in fantasy that is a solution to heal through natural or magical elements that cannot be scientifically explained. Through the many forms of media, it is still a prevalent trope that only in recent years society has seen as it truly is: ableist. The most recent form of this trope is The Witcher when one of the protagonists, Yennefer, trades her disability (or should I say the ability to differ from society) and her ability to have children so she can become a beautiful and powerful woman.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for an underdog to be on top, but I wished they didn’t rely on the tiresome approach that normality trumps people who are different.
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"You're born helpless, so you find strength."
Netflix's The Witcher, 2x04
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In this side-by-side picture is Yennefer played by actress Anya Chalotra in Netflix’s The Witcher (left) before and (right) after her transition. It’s bad enough that this happened but to have people comment on how revolutionary the scene was, is all the more reason why some of the disabled community feels mistreated.
Why this is Harmful
Choosing to include a disabled character in your story and then making what makes them stand out disappear or “fixed” is a negative message that says those who are among the disabled community will only be accepted into society if they change. Even making characters with disabilities the victim or villain isn’t any better because it allows society to think that just because you’re different or have some sort of abnormality, it’s okay to judge or treat them as if they’re the problem.
Take J.M Barrie’s classic Peter Pan as a prime example. Captain Hook is portrayed as an evil man whose sole purpose is to fight with the protagonist Peter in Neverland for all eternity. Yet, most people get the message wrong, Captain James Hook is the hero, and Peter is the true antagonist. At least ABC’s series Once Upon A Time got that meaning right.
Images by Disney and ABC
Still, it’d be nice to see good representations in fantasy, instead of bad ones. It’s not just Barrie’s work or The Witcher that is ableist. Tim Burton’s beloved film Edward Scissorhands is seen as revolutionary to some who associate themselves with a disability–– but to others, they find it ableist as the townsfolk tried to change who Edward was, though there was nothing to change about him.
Even the beloved comics—turned-film-franchise X-Men is also a grey area.
Sure, they’re different and Professor X is one of the most beloved characters with a disability out there, yet some may argue that it’s ableist as mutants are seen as “freaks,” or written with bad representation. I understand people’s perception of these two examples, but the fact that they gave people like me a voice and made them powerful without all of them changing is what made them so special in the first place. Given these reasons, I disagree that X-Men and Edward Scissorhands are ableist. In fact, I think they’re one of the best representations of disabilities in fantasy yet.
The following video below is a scene from X2 which allows viewers to understand the metaphor between mutants and disabilities.
Source: Youtube
I do have to note that with my disability, I try to give society the benefit of the doubt, but it becomes more challenging with these negative approaches in the media. Reforming people with disabilities isn’t woke; it is harmful in so many ways. I just don’t understand why society still thinks it’s acceptable to use these tropes, even though it has been voiced as offensive. This is all the more reason why magical healing and victimizing or villainizing the disabled community needs to stop. This goes for all media, not just films or tv series.
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Angels are mythical creatures that are often perceived as “messengers of God” or guides who serve the Lord at his every command. In the Fantasy genre, angels are one of the most popular creatures in the entertainment industry, but the question is why are people so compelled to angels of darkness? Is the answer as simple as they’re as close to immortality as we can get, or is it that the nephilim and fallen angels are like most of us— outcasts who have lost what made them “special” and therefore more human than mythical? The possibilities may be endless!
Fallen angels V.S nephilims
Before I discuss why people are compelled by these dark beings, I should mention that there is a major difference between fallen angels and nephilims. A notable distinction between the two is that nephilim’s are half angel, half human because fallen angels have reproduced with humans, while fallen angels are full angels who have sinned and are punished by exile and having their wings severed.
Are angels of darkness that compelling?
Consider best-selling author Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments as an example of why darkness sells (for angels that is because I can go into thorough details about the power of darkness itself.) I remember a time when I stepped into a bookstore that people became berserkers over the novels, and it was because there was a twist to the obvious cliché. Instead of good, bright angels with halos over their heads, they were depicted as dark and dangerous creatures who were anything but “picture perfect” in God’s eyes. This approach to fiction isn't unique only to Clare's work– best-selling series such as Hush Hush, The Fallen, or Fallen have captured many hearts and fans through this approach. Film studios have recognized the allure of darkness when it comes to angels, thanks to the collaboration of book adaptations to the big screen.
Rooting for the underdog/outcast
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Popularity is just one factor as to why fallen angels or nephilim's sell in the entertainment industry. And the reason behind it is quite touching— like most of us, these types of angels don’t feel like they belong or are depicted as “evil” when they are simply misunderstood. For instance, the CW network created the TV show Lucifer centred around Lucifer Morningstar– the devil and fallen angel. However, instead of him being the walking cliché of the King of Hell and an antagonist, he was portrayed as an anti-hero who sought out greatness, even if the human world unknowingly tried to damn his name.
The following video below is a clip that allows viewers to capture how an outcast, specifically a fallen angel, can compel people and draw them into the world of fantasy.
Source: Youtube
t’s not just Lucifer— many other wingless angels or nephilim’s sometimes outshine the protagonist by how the audience responds to the character and if they can relate to them. Think of Sebastian Verlac, Aaron Corbett or Siryen– all of them were tormented by their differences in society but became a walking— or should I say a flying symbol of the outcast/underdog trope.
Without a doubt, writers and casting directors understand that romance and connecting to the audience is the key to engaging storytelling.
When it comes to dark angels, you can pretty much do anything you want since most of them are "evil and devilish". Angels are an exception, as I assume that when people hear the word, they immediately think of perfection, but in reality, this is quite the opposite in fantasy. In fact, the entertainment industry portrays these complex supernatural beings as erotic, confident, powerful, and often with core morals hidden behind layers that only those who are worthy can see, thus making fallen angels and their spawn more alluring than their light counterparts.