Retards Rock The Screen

In numerous Hollywood movies, there are a small number of movies that focus on the story of mentally retarded characters. Some of them even get worldly renowned such as Rain Man and Forrest Gump. These movies are categorized under the name of "Retard Movies" by the author of this thesis with definition as "Movies in which mentally retarded characters are the core of narration and characterization".With 30 years of development, this special type of movies has developed distinctive features and noticeable cultural dimension. However, it has not received enough attention in the field of film critics or academic study.This thesis will attempt to get a panorama of Retard Movies starting from the most important aspects such as definition, history, characteristics, social background, values and limitations. The conclusion in each part is based on sample analysis of movie scripts with proper reference of film critics.This thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter one serves as a general introduction about Retard Movies and Hollywood movies in general, as well as the purpose of the research in this thesis. Chapter two gives the definition of Retard Movies and traces down the history of Retard Movies with emphasis on its rise, development and full flourish. Chapter three discusses the characteristics of Retard Movies from the aspects of conformity with general Hollywood features, their distinctive style and characterization. Chapter four explores the social background of Retard Movies where America's rampant social problems and spiritual crisis in the past 30 years are emphasized. Chapter five discusses the positive socio-cultural values of Retard Movies based on the sample analysis of three retard movies. Chapter six states three general limitations that lie in Retard Movies and Chapter seven gives a conclusion to the whole thesis.