5301 Media Evaluation Paper

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Media Evaluation Paper: Finding Dory Josh Liman Educational Leadership Department SPED 101 Survey of Exceptional Learners Dr. Zack Efram March 12, 2023

2 Media Evaluation Paper: Finding Dory In Disney/Pixar’s 2003 blockbuster movie Finding Nemo , audiences fell in love with Dory, the adorable blue tang who suffered from amnesia. Despite her memory issues, Dory helped Marlin, an unfunny clown fish desperate to find his kidnapped son Nemo who had a physical disability, an undeveloped fin. Dory and Marlin’s antics provided the audience with comedic relief when the tension of Marlin’s search for Nemo became too heavy. (Stanton) In 2016, audiences were treated to a return of some of Finding Nemo ’s favorite characters: Marlin and Nemo, Gill, Crush, and, of course, Dory. (Stanton) In Finding Dory , audiences were never told what caused Dory’s disability, short term memory loss (aka anterograde amnesia), but they were shown a more in-depth illustration of the effects of Dory’s exceptionality on her life and on the lives of her family. (2016) Dory is particularly significant to me and to my family because my daughter, A, also suffers from short term memory loss. Unlike Dory’s parents, we know that A’s “Swiss cheese memory” is the result of a rare, incurable brain condition called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, which presented with the symptoms of a brain tumor without the presence of a tumor or any other discernable cause; however, like Dory’s parents we did not know what caused the initial condition. Characteristics of Exceptionality in the Movie Physical characteristics of the character with the exceptionality in the movie: In the movie Finding Dory , the character Dory was a vibrant blue tang fish. Dory had neon yellow stripes on her tail and fins, prominent bright magenta eyes, and a large, frequently smiling mouth. (Stanton, 2016) I speculated that if she were human, Dory would be portrayed

3 as a female Barney Fife, the deputy sheriff from The Andy Griffith Show ; a loveable goof who did not conform to society’s hallmark of beauty. Cognitive characteristics: of the character with the exceptionality in the movie: Dory’s cognitive abilities were frequently overshadowed by her exceptionality. When Marlin met Dory in Finding Nemo , (Stanton, 2003), he often became frustrated at her apparent brainlessness. In Finding Dory , (Stanton 2016), Dory was shown as having a flashback where she remembered that she used to live with her parents in California. Through a series of flashbacks, Stanton, showed the audience Dory’s childhood and ways that Dory’s parents recognized their daughter’s exceptionality. The audience saw the strategies that Dory’s parents used to equip her for life: role play, visual cues, scaffolding, and modeling. Social and emotional characteristics of the character with the exceptionality in the movie: When the audience met Dory in Finding Nemo , (Stanton, 2003), she was alone but appeared to be happy. She eagerly embarked on an adventure with Marlin to save his son Nemo. In Finding Dory , (Stanton, 2016) the audience learned that Dory had been living happily with Marlin and Nemo. For the most part, Dory was cheerful and optimistic. When she felt she had let a friend down, Dory was apologetic, but she held no grudges when friends became frustrated with her lack of permanent memory. Characteristics of Exceptionality in the Literature Physical characteristics of the character with the exceptionality in the literature: According to Friend, because Dory has a disability “that cannot be seen,” Dory’s exceptionality would be classified as “other health impairment.” (2018. p. 395) In actuality, my daughter A’s exceptionality mimicked a traumatic brain injury: easily tired and lethargic. A

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4 explained her physical capabilities using the spoon theory: each day she had x number of spoons with x being variable. A was able to do y number of activities depending on x. Cognitive characteristics: of the character with the exceptionality in the literature: The cognitive effects of Dory’s and A’s anterograde amnesia closely mimicked the effects of traumatic brain injury. A had difficulty processing information and completing multi- step tasks: cooking, laundry, washing her hair, but A did not have difficulty learning Greek or memorizing names and dates from the New Testament. Dory and A both had difficulty recalling words or specific events and struggled to connect to peers. (Friend, 2018. p. 394) Social and emotional characteristics of the character with the exceptionality in the literature: According to doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, people who experienced either retrograde amnesia, loss of recently stored memories, or anterograde amnesia, inability to store new memories or both rarely forgot their entire identities unlike characters on TV and in movies. ( Amnesia: Types, Tests, Diagnosis, Symptoms & Causes , n.d.) Dory had flashes of memory and also used memory strategies like visual cuing, repetition, and word association as memory aids. Analysis of Characteristics How is the main character in the movie similar to the description of the exceptionality in professional sources? Dory was similar to A and to a student who suffered from a traumatic brain injury(TBI) in a number of ways. The amnesia itself is quite often a symptom of TBI to some greater or lesser degree. In addition, amnesia also affected Dory’s ability to interact successfully with peers and to make new friends. Emotionally, Dory suffered from self-doubt and low self-confidence, especially when she could not remember important details or events. Just like in a real

5 classroom setting, Dory required accommodations and modifications to help make her successful. Dory’s parents created social stories to help Dory understand how to interact with peers. They modeled what Dory should do if she became lost, and they showed the audience that Dory was not dis-abled but differently abled. How is the main character in the movie different from the description of the exceptionality in professional sources? Unlike those who suffer from amnesia in real life, Dory gets a happy ending. Dory remembers her family and with the help of her friends, she is able to rescue her parents from the research facility, and live happily ever after. In reality, individuals who experience long term brain conditions that cause or contribute to amnesia must constantly and continuously adapt to their lack of memory. They frequently face a lack of understanding from family and friends and often experience guilt because their exceptionality is both invisible and little known. And unlike Dory whose friends and family always believe that she isn’t forgetting because she is lazy or thoughtless, perhaps the most difficult part of having amnesia is the lack of belief from medical professionals who discount the existence of the amnesia because the cause is as yet unknown. Determination of the accuracy of the media’s representation of the exceptionality: Disney/Pixar does a surprisingly evocative job of representing Dory’s amnesia. Andrew Stanton, the director of Finding Dory , gave the viewers a multi-dimensional perspective of the effects that intellectual disability stemming from amnesia can have on the person (fish), the family, the person’s friends, and on those with whom the person interacts. (2016) However, in reality, “having long term amnesia is not the adorable quirky exceptionality that the movie

6 shows. At times it is soul-crushing.” (A. Vestal, personal communication, March 11, 2013) Living with an intellectual disability requires an alternative view of norms from the exceptional individual, as well as the person’s family, teachers, employers, and friends. Implications for Future Practice Lauren Applebaum, writing for the non-profit organization RespectAbility, illustrated a number of ways the movie Finding Dory gave those who work and live with people who have intellectual exceptionalities hope that what was once considered a disability may become universally viewed as simply a different ability. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbility, explains that in Finding Dory : “You see the parent who’s really trying to do the scaffolding, the teaching of the skills, so that people can, well, in this case, fish can be successful. The truth is that needs to happen for children also. They need to have those accommodations so they can build upon those skills and scaffolding so they’ll become independent and successful.” (Applebaum, 2018)

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7 References Amnesia: Types, Tests, Diagnosis, Symptoms & Causes . (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21455-amnesia Appelbaum, L. (2018, January 21). Finding Dory, speechless & born this way prove disability is winning theme for Hollywood . RespectAbility. https://www.respectability.org/2016/07/finding-dory-speechless-born-this-way-prove- disability-is-winning-theme-for-hollywood/ Friend, M. (2018). Special education: contemporary perspectives for school professionals . Pearson. Stanton, A. (Director). (2016). Finding Dory . Disney Pixar. Stanton, A. (Director). (2003). Finding Nemo . Disney Pixar.

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