For this week’s review, I chose “Of Mice and Men”. This movie was originally a book by John Steinbeck. I had actually read the book for a book report when I was in grade school. While the movie was made in 1939, it had some interesting themes. Here are some of them:
1. Not being allowed to talk for himself– This is something that even I have unfortunately experienced. It is honestly quite annoying. George spoke for Lenny a lot in the movie, making it like because of his mental impairment, he could not talk for himself. In particular, this has happened to me a few times when I have been in a wheelchair at the airport. You want to tell people, “I can talk for myself even though I am using a wheelchair.”
2. Women– I had done some research for a job once. The research talked about how people with disabilities were not really taught too much about the opposite sex. This was also shown in the movie. Lenny was told to leave one of the character’s wives alone because she was nothing but trouble. Especially during the time in which this movie was made, I can see a lack of information being given about this topic to those with a disability but, definitely disagree with it.
3. Being characterized as crazy because of a mental disability– Even though this is an old movie, sadly, this still has some relevance today. A lot of people just assume that if you have a mental impairment, that must mean you are crazy. Just because a person has some mental impairment does not automatically make them crazy. It also brings up the issue that there used to be a lot of institutionalization of the disabled. This is definitely not necessary. People with disabilities can and should live in the least restrictive environment possible so that they have the opportunity to enjoy life.
4. Not knowing his own strength– Lenny was big but, had an intellectual disability so he didn’t understand some things, including how strong he himself was. This caused his character many problems in the movie. I think that if George would have helped Lenny better understand his own strength, he wouldn’t have been so misunderstood by others.
5. Over protectiveness– George was over protective of Lenny to a certain extent. As I have said before, I know this is done out of love and concern for the person who is disabled but, if it is done too drastically, it could be detrimental to all involved.
All in all this was yet another movie I quite enjoyed. To be honest, the only thing I did not enjoy was the ending. I thought it was a great movie that showed how someone with a mental disability was treated and characterized at that time. I say that because I feel like it can also show us how to improve the treatment of people with mental and other disabilities.   If we could improve the treatment of people with disabilities by everyone in society, people who are disabled could live with the dignity and respect that everyone else receives on a daily basis.
Thanks for reading..
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