Thirty years ago, this film might have had only one theme, that is, the exploration of the definition of "human", as human beings only wanted to pursue one thing from beginning to end. That is to become a "human" in the true sense, to be treated like a "human" by others, to think and communicate like an ordinary person, to lie down and sleep, obviously the movie has a warm ending, like a man fulfilling his long-cherished wish, he finally realizes that he is like an ordinary person. The feeling of lying down and sleeping like a human being, even if you never wake up again. On the other hand, the attitude change of doctors and deans also reflects this theme. The change in their attitude towards people has gradually changed from looking at monsters to treating them as equals.
However, with the change of ideology, the film derived a second theme from another angle. This is what I want to call "the boundary of goodwill". When I watched the scene of the hospital meeting, I suddenly felt a sense of deja vu, very much like the epitome of "political correctness". Elephant people have difficulty communicating and cannot take care of themselves in life. They belong to the most extreme vulnerable individuals. But when it is replaced by some "vulnerable groups", the situation may change, as in some European countries today. How to achieve true "equality" remains to be resolved.
There may be a third theme in the film. That is, the essence of "goodwill", the doctor himself does not know whether the reason for helping the elephant is to make himself famous, and the board of directors accepts the elephant because of the pressure of the queen and the dean. However, civilians who are not restricted by "zz correct" tend to have a "curious" vision. Perhaps Lynch was a proponent of the theory of evil, perhaps the essence of human beings is to exclude the dissident, or perhaps the support for the disadvantaged is just the product of social pressure.
In fact, the real Elephant Man is more tragic than the one in the film. John was originally a normal person, but only gradually became deformed as he grew up. He has personally experienced the changes in people's attitudes towards him, and perhaps the process is more cruel.
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