Oppression and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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The use of power to silence, extinguish and subordinate another has been a millenia-old social plague. From the social divisions of the medieval times, to the prejudiced tendencies of the contemporary era, the human race, particularly, those seated in power, have been oppressing the weak in varying means. In any case, by context, oppression in the modern world does not differ from previous accounts that history has witnessed, hence, it is still plausible to utilize old works such as the 1939 motion picture The Hunchback of Notre Dame to exemplify and discuss the concept of oppression.
Oppression is the abuse of power that deprives an inferior group or individual of freedom, equality, and justice (Cudd 4). The destructive tendencies of oppression has long been a fatal disease for humankind, it has divided societies, obliterated several groups, and hindered some races from flourishing to their full potential. Cliché as it may seem but oppression also has its individual aspect found in a simple husband-wife relationship or employer-employee set up. In retrospect, the slave-master relationship and the much larger social hierarchies during the middle ages imply oppression both direct and indirect, hence there is a clear similarity on the concept of oppression in the past and in the present.
Most scholars, sociologists, and anthropologists believe that the motion picture The Hunchback of Notre Dame is too old to serve as a reflection of oppression and social issues in the modern era. However, the film contains some elements that that can aid modern students and societies in realization that indeed, there are similarities between some events in the film and certain occurences across the world. The film’s underlying depiction of oppression is synonymous with modern issues of oppresion such as the conditions of the Guerillas in Peru, the rampant abuse by warlords, the Taliban in Afghanistan, child labor in Afghanistan, forcibly veiled women in Iran, the Israeli devastation of Palestinian homes, and sexual slavery in Thailand (Cudd 3).
The fate of the film’s central character, Quasimodo, alone reflects the lost childhood of young Israeli and Paliestinians. Simply because Quasimodo was deprived of a happy childhood wherein he could have enjoyed and played with other children as well as receive the passionate parental attention. Likewise, the case of Esmeralda is not that different, for Esmeralda got separated from her mother since childhood as she was abducted by the gypsies in exchange for the hideously deformed Quasimodo. In turn Esmeralda’s mother was not given the opportunity to take care of her beloved daughter.
Similarly, the war between Palestine and Israel is causing trauma among families, particularly on women and children who are forced to digest the brutalities of war on a daily basis. The children are hearing gun fires, cannon explosions, and death cries instead of laughter, traditional values, and teachers’ voices. In this sense, the Israeli and Palestinian youth are growing up in a hostile environment of literally learning how to survive instead of how to read,write, and count numbers. The Israeli and Palestinian children are learning the laws of nature instead of the value and beauty of life.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame was first released in 1939, the height of Hitler’s regime and the Holocaust, during the time Jews and other minority groups were persecuted and executed because of who they are and because of their advocacies and outlook in life (Rossel ; Asthuler 20). If scholars view the film as too old for the modern age, then is it also plausible to say that discrimination of minority groups is already dead? Apparently not, and for such a phenomenon is coinciding with the Globalization of third world countries.
Quasimodo was the center of persecution and ridicule because of his physical flaws, much treatment has been received by african-americans who became the focus of hate crime perpetrators due to their skin color. Esmeralda’s case, on the other hand, is similar to how people conclude that every Muslim and Arab is a terrorist. She got persecuted because of her cultural heritage as a gypsy and the ever perfectionist eye of society eventually dubbed her as a witch who must be persecuted according to the Curch’s doctrine.
Works that mirror the flaws of society will always be useful in academic endeavors regardless of the time of production or creation. The past mistakes of oppression may always be used in an attempt to rid the world of the mindless and cynical nature of oppression. The instances may differ than that of the past events but the context and aftermath of modern issues still have analogous implications.
Works Cited
Cudd, Anne, E. Analyzing Oppression. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Rossel, Seymour, ; David A. Asthuler. Holocaust: The World and the Jews, 1933-1945.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Digital Video Disc). Dir. William Dieterle, Perfs. Charles, Maureen O’Hara, RKO Radio Pictures, 1939.
