“In the old days, the good guys wore white. Now Hollywood’s villains are turning pale, and real-life albinos are crying foul as movies like The Matrix: Reloaded arrive with a fresh supply of pigment-challenged bad guys.
The silver-clad, dreadlocked Matrix villains known as The Twins are the latest Hollywood incarnations of pale-skinned people as evil incarnate, said Dr. Vail Reese, a San Francisco dermatologist and creator of skinema.com, a cheeky website that examines skin disorders in film.
Other recent movies have played upon that motif, including Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, Tomorrow Never Dies, Blade 2 and Star Trek Nemesis. The Time Machine, starring Guy Pearce, even features an entire race of evil albino creatures known as Morlocks.
The movie characters frequently have red eyes — just like some real-life albinos whose irises lack pigment — and often dress entirely in white.
“Audiences recognize it very quickly,” Reese said. “They’ve learned that if you see a character with albinism in the movie, it’s going to be an evil character. It’s become part of the film language, for better or worse.” MORE
{ 0 comments… add one now }