Editor’s Note: Jenny is the mother of two children with special healthcare needs and a Patient & Family Advisor at her local children’s hospital. In addition to her lived experience, Jenny calls upon her professional experience as a social worker to help her write blogs from her home in Wisconsin. – Cara L. Coleman, JD, MPH, Associate Editor, Pediatrics
As winter draws near, my children and I have been spending many cozy nights together watching movies. I’ve shared some classics with them from when I was young, and they’ve introduced me to some of their more recent favorites. One movie we all enjoy is Moana, the tale of a young girl who goes on an epic adventure across the ocean to save the people of her island village.
Back in the spring of 2020, when the global pandemic first began, we watched Moana over and over again. The inspiring story and fun music kept us coming back for more, but our favorite part was Heihei, Moana’s beloved pet rooster. Heihei was always doing something goofy like eating rocks or falling off the boat. His silliness brought so much light and laughter to our home during a time that otherwise felt so dark and stressful.
Heihei is just a rooster, but there is something unique about the way he looks. His eyes are crossed, and they move separately from each other. This is a condition called strabismus. The creators of Moana made a choice to have Heihei’s eyes look this way. They also made a choice to make him seem not very smart, with no common sense. As it turns out, this happens a lot in movies. This month’s Pediatrics explores this trend in an article entitled “Depictions of Strabismus in Children’s Animated Films” (10.1542/peds.2024-067355).
What is strabismus and how does it impact children?
Strabismus is a condition in which a person’s eyes are not aligned with each other. This can be caused by a number of factors, such as vision problems that are not corrected and issues with the muscles and nerves around the eyes. There are four types of strabismus:
- Outward drifting of eyes
- Inward crossing of eyes
- One eye pointing higher than the other
- Separate roving eye movements
Strabismus usually begins in childhood and can impact social, motor, and emotional development. Children with strabismus are more likely to experience:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Lower self-confidence
- Social phobia and isolation
- Fewer invitations to birthday parties
- Fewer friends willing to sit next to them in class
What did this study find about strabismus in movies?
The authors of this study looked at 125 children’s movies from four different studios. They found 46 characters with strabismus, the vast majority of which were portrayed negatively. Specifically, in looking at their personalities and physical traits, characters with strabismus were more likely to be:
- Stupid or foolish
- Clumsy
- Scary
- Villains
- Sidekicks
These findings are problematic because they make social stigmas and negative attitudes toward children with strabismus even worse.
What can you do with this article?
- Share this article with your family, teachers, and healthcare team. Read through the list of movies together and think about how your favorite characters are portrayed.
- Raise awareness about this topic in your circle of friends and on social media. We do not need to stop watching our favorite children’s movies, but we can start thinking about their impact.
- Advocate with movie studios to stop using strabismus in a negative way and reduce the harmful effects of social stigma in children’s movies.
- Perhaps most importantly, talk about this topic with your children. This does not need to be a formal discussion. Simply name the things you notice in children’s movies and go from there.
As I prepared to write this blog, my children informed me that Moana 2 will be coming out soon. At dinner that night they talked excitedly about the previews and the return of their favorite characters. When it was my turn to talk, I said, “Have you ever noticed Heihei’s eyes? What did you think about that?” And then we had a conversation. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.
