I don’t tend to watch black and white films in my spare time, I prefer life in technicolor. However, I found myself watching David Lynch’s ‘The Elephant Man’ during an unproductive free period. I was simply curious as to why it had earned the commendation of being “a brilliant movie that everyone must see at least once “. After watching it, I could see why; I felt an incredible need to write about the movie.
The film is based the real life story of John Merrick, who was born with a disease that had rendered him so badly deformed that he aptly became known as ‘The Elephant man’.
We can’t deny that all humans, as much as we try to hide it, have a sense of prejudice. We find it harder to accept things that are out of the ordinary. The world is superficial, that is fact. Most times, we take ourselves for granted, always wanting to ‘improve’ our already more than satisfactory selves.
John Merrick desires nothing more than to be ‘normal’. To be treated like a person of the society, to be the recipient of civil address. Unfortunately, his grotesque appearence lands him in the derogatory life of a circus freak. Yet despite being ridiculed, scorned and degraded daily, Merrick still possesses a heart of gold. One can’t help but be captured by his humble character. Initial horror or disgust is replaced by sympathy and sadness as we slowly come to know him not for the monster that he is, but the gentleman. He is but a beautiful soul encased in an atrocious body.
It is a meaningful film that reflects both the frustrating nature of humanitys insensitivity as well as humanitys surprising acts of kindness.
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