Social Issues in Nemo

Social Issues

Finding Nemo

Written By - Andrew Stanton Released - May 30, 2003

At face value, Finding Nemo is just a kids movie about a lost child but upon closer inspection there is a lot more going on. In the movie the main character, Nemo, is a small clownfish with one damaged fin. This makes it hard for him to do many things and it causes his father to be overly protective of him. This movie addresses the issue of people not believing disabled people can be self sufficient and over-protecting them, causing them to feel less human and under-represeted

"Something’s wrong with you, really. You’re wasting my time. I have to find my son"

"Clearly, you’re not ready. And you’re not coming back until you are. You think you can do these things but you just can’t, Nemo!"

"He’s not looking for me. He’s scared of the ocean."

Marlin's pirsuit of Nemo blinds him to the help sitting right in front of him. Dory, who suffers from short term memory loss, has trouble remembering where the boat went and Marlin's impatience gets them further from his destination.

Due to always being held back by his father's fear, he doubts his father's love will triumph over his fear and he feels hopeless.

Marlin's inability to believe in his son causes Nemo to resent him and attempt to prove him wrong.

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Connection

I have a pretty personal opinion when it comes to disabled people. I have a legally disabled girlfriend and I love her with all of my heart. The obvious dynamic between us is that shes 5'4 and I'm 6'3, people expect me to be her protector and body guard but she is extremely self sufficient. One thing that I stress the most is although I'm way bigger and stronger than her, I never make her feel small and weak. I let her be herself because I know people expect her to need all the help in the world and pity her which causes her to turn down help even when she desperately needs it because she feels the need to prove her value

Today, 26% (one of every four) adults have a disability. One of three adults with disabilities have unmet healthcare needs and one of four adults with disabilities have not had a routine checkup in the last year. Our society pictures people with disabilities as a burden or helpless, this causes people with disabilities to not get the help they need because they're forgotten

Langston Westbrook