Norman, the protagonist of "Pyra Norman: The Smart Boy", was born with the ability of yin and yang eyes and psychic powers. In his vision, ghosts appeared beside him from time to time like ordinary people, coexisting peacefully with each other. Norman also Greet and chat with them. However, in the eyes of others, Norman was just talking to himself in the air, so he decided that he was a strange child at all, and his father Perry said angrily: "Can't you be like a normal child?" And the mother Sandra thought that Norman was just unable to get out of the pain of her grandmother's death, and said lightly, "We have to return to reality."
Norman's "differentness" made him suffer from strange eyes, and made him a target of ostracism and bullying by his classmates. "Freak" was written on his cabinet, and the bully Aiwen repeatedly sought him. Trouble, other classmates are reluctant to have contact with him, except Nair. Nair's thoughts are simple, very innocent and lovely, but he and Norman suffer from each other, and they are both targets of bullying, just because he is short and fat, and he is prone to tears. Bullying, of course, is also a form of discrimination.
Discrimination does not just cause bullying, it exists in our society in various forms, such as witch hunts. Witch hunting began in the 12th century and reached its peak in the 16th century. From a psychological point of view, this behavior is actually out of fear of witchcraft and the unknown, that is, a collective fear. The "Lazy Town" where Norman lives has long been a historical event of witch hunts. All shops are decorated with this theme. Even the school performance is about witch hunts. The whole town is a ghost. Shadows. Having said that, whether witches, zombies or ghosts, are not allowed in this society. In the film, the residents of the town took up weapons to attack zombies, just like a replica of the witch hunt in the past; the residents' condemnation of Norman was like the judge's accusation of the little girl Angie in the witch trial, and they all Seen as the culprit of all problems, the scapegoat. The director made events that happened in two different time and space echo each other. It can be seen that the witch hunt fever still exists, but it only appears in other appearances.
What is the reason for discrimination? The judge who conducted the witch trials said: "We are very afraid." Norman's mother also said: "Sometimes people talk too much, and that is because of fear." It can be seen that fear is undoubtedly a major factor leading to discrimination. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, people feel repulsion or even fear of the unknown or different, mostly because we are used to putting ourselves and the groups we belong to, and trying to control everything, so we are afraid of Those "non-me races" cannot be controlled by themselves, and in the end they have to suppress and eliminate the existence of these "others/aliens" through violent means such as suppression.
Norman's late grandmother once told him: "Fear is human, but don't let fear shake your heart." Whether it was the people who conducted the witch trials or the residents who swarmed to attack the zombies, their hearts were filled with fear. Fear devoured them, becoming ugly and terrifying, just like the "others" they feared, or worse. Because the so-called witch is just a little girl with psychic abilities, and those terrifying zombies haven't hurt anyone at all, we only see that people who think they are "normal" seem to be red-eyed, eager to put these "normal" Alien" to death.
In the film, five children led by Norman stand up to defend the zombies and resist the adults in the town. In fact, it is not difficult to see the screenwriter's intentions and the overtones of the film in this scene. First of all, children are often regarded as simple symbols. They are not fully socialized like a blank sheet of paper. Unlike adults, it is easy to view the world with prejudice or stereotypes. Therefore, it is a very appropriate arrangement for children to wake up adults. Furthermore, from a certain point of view, these children are all people who are not allowed to conform to the mainstream values of society. Some of them are obese, some have bad character, some are gay, not to mention Norman who can communicate with ghosts. As for Nuo. Mann's sister Courteney, who has the courage to show her strong eroticism, is completely inconsistent with the traditional patriarchal society's expectations of female virtue. Therefore, their standing up is tantamount to speaking out for the "different people", pacifying differences, and changing the society from now on.
Everyone is born unique and has its "special gift", which is our innate "gift" and should not be negatively viewed and maliciously oppressed. Combining stop motion technology and 3D effects, "Pyranorman: Smart Kid" is not only impressive in visual style, but also packs a harmonious ideal utopia in a dark fairy tale.
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