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Will Smith appears relieved to be dealing with a vampire, not an evil character with albinism. |
The latest film version of the "I Am Legend" tale stars Will Smith as final living human. Notably absent are evil characters with albinism. When this material was last made into a movie in 1971 as "The Omega Man," Charlton Heston single-handedly took on a cult of virally altered humans. A bioterror attack transformed Los Angeles denizens into monk-robed, sunglass-wearing villains with white skin, light eyes and alabaster afros. "The Omega Man" jump-started a trend which persisted unchecked for over 30 years: the movie stereotype of an evil albino.
After NOAH, the National Organization of Albinism and Hypopigmentation, mounted a press campaign about the vicious albino-like "Twins" in "The Matrix: Reloaded," there was lull: no major film featured an albino villain in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, however, the international suspense thriller "The Da Vinci Code," changed all of that. With actor Paul Bettany cast as a white-skinned self-flagellating albino monk assassin, the evil albino was back in full gear. That year, "The Benchwarmers" and "Flushed Away" also featured derogatory characters with albinism.
NOAH's response was far reaching, with a campaign illustrating the humanistic aspects of the condition rarely seen on-screen. Points included the fact that most people with albinism have vision problems, making them poor choices for the sharp-shooting fast-driving assassins seen in movies. "The Da Vinci Code" film fortunately dropped the stereotypical red eyes seen in Dan Brown's book (people with the condition usually have blue or grey eyes). The campaign was featured on CNN, MSNBC, Variety and People magazines.
We are delighted to report that no mainstream Hollywood releases in 2007 have featured evil albino characters . "I Am Legend" is notable for screenwriter Akiva Goldsman's decision to dump the albinism angle of "The Omega Man," and instead create gangly hissing vampire zombies. Goldsman, who adapted "The Da Vinci Code" for the big screen, was certainly aware of the controversy that film created, and opted against trotting out an evil albino this round. We can only hope this trend away from red-eyed killers with albinism will continue.
More on albinism in movies at skinema.com.
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