Representation

     

    Mary and Max is a stop motion film released in 2009 and directed by Adam Elliot. The Film follows a shy 8 year old girl, named Mary, with a big brown spot on her head living in suburban Australia who accidentally becomes pen pals with a 44 year old man in New York City, names Max, who discovers he has Aspergers syndrome. Through out the movie our characters make connections about their similarities showing that confused child who hates a small part of her face living in a hostile home can find comfort in befriending a 44 year old man who is constantly at panic with how the chaos in NYC makes his life uneasy. The two characters are shown to have very different life's but surprisingly similar views about it, it shows this by using color to bring out the traits they hate most as a part of their environment, Australia being shown as brown and muddy which makes the spot on Mary's head a constant reminder of the life she lives an the black and white of NYC like if Max's life is so bleak and uneventful that it manifests around him, the only bright color that we see though out the movie being the occasional bright red seen in Australia, a bright red that Mary sends to Max in the form of a cotton ball which he places on top of his yamaka, as a small piece of hope in a world that seems so cruel.

    While autism may be a hot topic these days that is treated with a lot of respects it wasn't only a few decades. In the 90's the main thing your average American knew about the autism spectrum was the film Forrest Gump (1994). While this film is very beloved it also shows a stereotypical depiction of someone with a mental illness. Forrest Gump presents the titular character as a dumb undisturbed man, one who coasts through life easily and is always doing as he's told because he assumes it will be the best for him. This movie sought to break that belief of autistic people being someone who lives without a worry by showing the exact opposite of that. Max is constantly having panic attacks, before he types anything he has a panic attack, whenever he is confronted with anything he feels immediate panic. The film also shows him as doing what he's told but it is made clear that he does this out of that same sense of panic, if he doesn't question authorities he doesn't have to worry and can go back to doing what he enjoys. That is another important thing this movie does, in Forrest Gump he doesn't seem to really enjoy any aspect of life aside from making friends and being a part of something: a veteran, an athlete, etc. However this film shows our main character as being more focused in his own life than anything else, almost to a harmful point. He spends hundreds of dollars in collecting figures of his favorite characters or on his favorite food. He isolates himself since most people won't be able to understand him which leads to the entire film unraveling it self, as he finds comfort with the one person who seems to get him.

    Mary comes from an neglecting household. She was ignored her whole life by her alcoholic parents so made her own happiness. One thing that constantly holds her down through out the film is the muddy brown birthmark in her forehead. She hates this aspect of her life and is constantly made to feel ashamed because of it. This is part of the reason she finds so much comfort in talking with Max, a man who is shamed for his weight but could care less about it. The movie shows the extent that body dysphoria takes you through. Mary starts believing that this spot is a curse that leads to constant mockery be it friendly or outwardly hostile. This tiny mark in her face ends on her making a drastic unchangeable decision since she is incapable of undoing all because of her dysphoria. These are the extents of society that have made her feel as horrible as she does, a reality that many have to face as the media constantly makes your physical appearance the clear distinction for a characters morality. A big nose is given to an evil person, a rude or unlikable person is fat. These creative decisions are so integrated into our culture that they become our society, which leads to young minds like Mary being haunted by their own body.