The Theory Of Everything Movie Analysis

Exceptionalities of all kinds are commonly portrayed in modern media, and these portrayals vary in accuracy and the purpose that they serve. This may serve to create a variety of intended effects ranging from pity to anger depending on how the disability in question is portrayed. The movie The Theory of Everything, which stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as Stephen and Jane Hawking, is a clear example of this type of portrayal. This film follows the life of the physicist Stephen Hawking as he struggles after his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis just after beginning a doctoral program. Hawking’s life is presented in a way that certainly highlights his disease, but also goes beyond it, showing how his personality is not hindered by his limited physical capabilities. By accurately telling Hawking’s story, the film …show more content…
The reason that this film is able to create a genuine message is because the disease itself is shown with full accuracy with all of its despondent effects. ALS, which is commonly know in the United Kingdom as motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease in the United States, is a progressive disease that viciously attacks the nerve cells associated with movement and is “invariably fatal” (“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,” 2016). Stephen Hawking received this grim diagnosis when he was only twenty-one years old and studying physics at Cambridge University (Biography.com Editors, 2016). His symptoms began in an unpronounced way. For example, the film shows him struggling to grasp a pen and a piece of chalk, as well as trouble walking that would soon cause him to