Albinism in popular culture information

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Albinism organisations and others have expressed criticism over the portrayal of individuals with albinism in popular culture, specifically in movies and fictional works, citing the overwhelmingly negative depiction. There is concern that such depictions could increase social bias and discrimination against individuals with albinism.^[1] This phenomenon is often referred to as the "evil albino" plot device.^[1]

The "evil albino" stereotype or stock character is a villain in fiction who is depicted as being albinistic (or displaying physical traits usually associated with albinism, even if the term is not used), with the specific purpose of distinguishing the villain in question from the heroes by means of appearance.^[2] Traits of albinism commonly associated with the evil albino stereotype include pale skin, platinum blonde hair, and blue or pink-to-red eyes. Notably absent from most depictions is impaired vision, which is often experienced (depending on the type of albinism) by real people with albinism.^[3]

The stereotype has become sufficiently well-recognized to be considered a cliché. In response to the "albino gunmen" characters in The Da Vinci Code and The Matrix Reloaded, albinistic actor Dennis Hurley wrote, produced, and starred in a short film parody, The Albino Code, where he played up the stereotypes, illustrated a typical example of real-world prejudice, and pointed out that the vision problems associated with albinism would make a successful career as a hitman highly improbable. In The Big Over Easy, author Jasper Fforde includes an "albino community" protest against albino bias among his fictional news clippings, most of which satirise stock characters and hackneyed plot devices. Chicago Tribune movie reviewer Mark Caro says of this character type that it is someone "who looks albino and thus, in movie shorthand, must be vicious".^[4] The National Organisation for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) has stated that there were a total of sixty-eight films from 1960 to 2006 featuring an "evil albino".^[5]

Types of albinism include:

• Oculocutaneous albinism. Affects the skin, hair, and eyes. Around 1 in 70 people have a mutation in an OCA gene. There are several subtypes of OCA.
• Ocular albinism. Affects the eyes, causing blindness.
• Hermansky–Pudlak syndrome. Effects include a bleeding disorder, IBS, and fibrocystic lung conditions.
• Chédiak–Higashi syndrome. Similar to OCA but doesn't affect the whole body.
• Griscelli syndrome. Causes immune and neurological issues. Griscelli syndrome usually results in death within the first decade of life.

Conversely, a number of real people with albinism have risen to fame (see § Notable people with albinism, below) especially in popular music and fashion modeling (though, as in the case of the Winter brothers, may themselves be the subject of "evil albino" parody). Albino animals capture public imagination and wonder as zoo attractions, and even in the wild can attract popular, positive attention (see § Notable albino animals, below).