Dory > Current Events

I've tried so hard to keep up with current events and stick to them so that I can get blog views. Because if on the night of the Trayvon Martin decision, I post about Trayvon, I get blog traffic, and then that's good because I've made an impact! But that depresses me because current events are depressing, and the stuff that makes the news is dictated by the White supremacist power structure and stuff anyways.

*Laughs a little* *Cries a little*

I'm still gonna talk about Trayvon, obviously. But I can't do it now. I'm still processing. I know it's been awhile... But I'd rather write a good post than a relevant one.

So let's talk about Dory.

Image: Dory from "Finding Nemo". She's bugging out her eyes, pursing her lips, and raising a fin to her mouth, as if in awe, or asking a question. She's in the ocean.

Dory is a fish voiced by the glorious and social-justice-y Ellen DeGeneres. I was very confused and irrationally irritated with her when I watched Finding Nemo as a child because I did not understand what about her made her deserved to be loved (read: any more than I do). I had this weird jealousy that indicated, "I'M a better fish than HER! Why is SHE a protagonist?" She was annoying and forgetful. I thought there had to be something "wonderful and special" about people who get to be in movies—but nothing about Dory made me want to BE her. What I did not realize is that Dory is a champion.

Today, the most important part of Finding Nemo to me is Dory's bildungsroman. She experiences a mental disability—which I identify with because I have a mental illness—but remains positive despite trials, and has little victories (P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney) that can be attributed to her friendship with Marlin. And regardless of whether you buy into the conspiracy theory that she and Marlin later get married, she deserved to be loved because everyone does.

Dory taught me that what matters about us is how we grow, and what matters about relationships is how our growths are compatible.

Dory is now a mascot for me who helps me analyze and eliminate the internalized ableism I had towards myself as a child. As someone who has had an invisible disability for most of my sentient life, I have always thought that what makes me "strong" is leaving my disability—a part of me—behind, instead of living with it. So I harbored a terrible prejudice towards Dory for having small victories instead of undergoing total disability erasure. I did not see her strength.

The moral of the story is that you are not strong just because you overcame an obstacle, any more than Dory would be strong for suddenly having a miraculous recovery from short-term memory loss. You are strong for experiencing growth, and putting in the effort.

I'm looking forward to Finding Dory, needless to say :)

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A transcript of the article I based this off of is below with a link to the site. (It's reformatted without huge pictures.)

Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? You know – that Pixar animated film that made you sob into the collar of your coat for 45 straight minutes in a darkened theater after the credits finished rolling?

If you haven’t seen it, Finding Nemo tells the tale of a father and son clownfish duo who become separated from each other and learn all sorts of life lessons on the journey to (SPOILER ALERT--but come on, it’s Pixar) their eventual reunion. As he ventures far out of his comfort zone to locate his son, Marlin, the neurotic fish father, struggles with one the most painful parts of parenting: learning to let go.

Early on in his journey, Marlin pairs up with Dory, a cheerful and well-meaning surgeon fish (voiced by Ellen Degeneres) who is happy to keep Marlin company, even though she struggles with serious short-term memory loss that often leaves her overwhelmingly anxious and disoriented if she’s left to fend for herself. Dory is persistent, devoted, and skilled, though (she can read English and speak a little whale), and Marlin finds her company useful…if not a little challenging. But Dory was an audience favorite when Nemo was released in 2003, and the film’s fans were thrilled this week when Pixar announced that Finding Dory will be released in 2015.

Amidst the flurry of social media shares and visions of Dory merch that surrounded the announcement, there was also speculation about how Pixar—a name synonymous with beautiful (and beautifully heartbreaking) storytelling—will approach having a main character whose sunny disposition is offset by some pretty serious cognitive and mental disabilities. As Michael Arbeiter of Hollywood.com asks in his article, will Finding Dory be Pixar’s first attempt to embrace and explore the topic of mental illness?

HOLD UP, you might be saying: Dory isn’t mentally ill, she’s just quirky! Well, sure, you can certainly see it that way. And Pixar can choose to see it that way too…or they can decide to take it a little further. As Arbeiter points out, Marlin and Dory’s relationship mirrors that of other famous film couples, namely Charlie and Ray in Rain Man (refer directly to Arbeiter for a full explanation), and it’s not unreasonable to expect the film to at least touch on Dory’s differences.  Finding Dory could easily incorporate Dory’s struggles in living with her mental disability as an allegory for the millions of people who fight a similar battle, many of whom will undoubtedly be sitting in the audience on opening day with their children (or their parents). Dory is already a beloved character; wouldn’t it be an interesting and valuable experience to see someone we know and love handle the challenges of less-than-ideal mental health?

I believe Arbeiter puts it best: “Sounds like a silly venture for a Pixar movie, maybe, but just think of the Toy Story franchise: a trilogy that expanded from ‘What if toys came alive when we left the room?’ to a heartrending allegory about self-preservation, loss, and identity.”

—"WILL PIXAR ADDRESS MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE UPCOMING SEQUEL ‘FINDING DORY’?" by Gayle of artwithimpact.org, artwithimpact.org//node/1201.