NOAH GIBB
Special to The Leader
This semester I decided to take an English course (ENGL 387) called “American Directors” with Dr. Shannon McRae. I highly recommend taking the class, especially if you are someone who likes to watch films.
In the class, we are studying Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch, two amazing American directors. I have watched a few of Lynch’s films, and the night after our second class, I remembered the name of a Lynch film that I hadn’t watched before. The 1980 film was not on the list of films that we would be watching: “The Elephant Man.”
At the beginning of the film, I assumed the movie was an artistic horror flick, but I was wrong. “The Elephant Man” is about an English man named John Merrick whose real name was Joseph Merrick.
In the film, Merrick has an unknown condition that causes tumor-like growths on his head and body. Because of Merrick’s condition, he cannot sleep like everyone else. Instead, he has to sit up with his head in his lap to sleep. Merrick’s condition makes him appear as a shocking sight to people, many are terrified of him and because of this, he was called The Elephant Man. The film portrays the treatment of Merrick in his life.
While watching the film, I felt as if I was getting to know Merrick and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Merrick had a traumatic life in both the film and real life. His mother died when he was young and his father abandoned him. He was on the freak show circuit until his road manager robbed him of his life savings. Merrick was also beaten often because of his appearance. The film portrays all of this so accurately that you would think it was a documentary. Merrick was taken to the London Hospital where he was studied and provided for. After evaluation, it was found that Merrick was intelligent and could even speak. By the end of the film, I felt sorry for Merrick as he never had a chance to live a normal life because of his outward appearance. After the credits stopped rolling, I knew the powerful message of the film and what Lynch and the writers were trying to get across to the audience.
Ultimately, “The Elephant Man” at its core is about people. The film’s message is that we are all human, no matter our race, gender, sexuality, or appearance, and that we should all treat each other as humans. The movie’s message is also about how just a little bit of kindness can go a long way for someone. I thought about the film for days and realized that more people should watch the film for the message it presents. “The Elephant Man” is not a Hollywood blockbuster, it isn’t a film where you are on the edge of your seat and anxious about what happens next. Rather, the film is about humanity and provides a good example of how we should treat everyone as a person because that is what we all are.
So why should you watch the film? The film sends out a powerful message that everyone can take into account. The film’s message is also contemporary and really feels as if you could use the message at any point in time. There are other films that are similar in that they hold a message that can be used at any point in time, for example: Dead Poets Society.
The real Joseph Merrick died when he was twenty-seven years old at the London Hospital. He died after laying down to sleep like a normal person. Unfortunately, Merrick was not laid to rest after his death as he continued to be studied years after it.
“I am not an elephant, I am not an animal, I am a human being.”