The Princess Bride was a landmark picture of the decade, featuring characters and catchphrases that were destined to become a part of popular culture. One of the supporting characters in it was an albino, imaginatively named The Albino (names such as U-Vee, Snow and Mr White were already taken by other movies). The Albino served as an Igor-esque lab assistant to Count Rugen and Prince Humperdinck in the Pit of Despair, shambling along with his hunched back, tacky white wig and clear case of facial herpes. On a positive note, though, at least he wasnt played by Fred Savage. But Wait... People with albinism generally have normal immune systems (with the exception of being prone to sunburn and hence skin cancer), and certainly arent breeding grounds for herpes and other health issues that make viewers want to get an STD test every time that they exit the cinema. It is a common theme, though, for albino characters in Hollywood to have a myriad of health issues beyond their albinism. Dragon from the movie The Eiger Sanction needed his blood changed twice a year, and The Family from The Omega Man were mutant technophobic religious-fanatic albinos who needed sunglasses just to see at night time (as opposed to the book upon which it was based, that had vampires as the villains). It is a cruel irony that albinos are butchered in parts of the world because it is believed that potions made of their body parts can heal the sick. In todays world, there are not many minority groups who it is continually okay to discriminate against on film. For whatever reason, though, albinos are still fair game, with Hollywood seemingly happy to keep portraying them as killers, freaks, or just dorks with unimaginative nicknames. Heres hoping that attitudes change in future, and that it is the real-life people with albinism who end up seeing the difference. Did you enjoy this article? Share your thoughts in the comments thread below.
Matthew Chard is a writer who has lived and worked across Australia, USA, South Africa, UK, Cambodia and Tanzania. When not writing articles he can be found working on his next novel, traveling, in the surf, or listening to David Bowie while wearing red Spider-man underpants.
