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The Big Little Person

The Big Little Person

1919

Passed

Director

Robert Z. Leonard

Runtime

60 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

After Arathea Manning loses her hearing during an epidemic of scarlet fever among the children she teaches, her fiancé Arthur Endicott, who is involved with another woman, complains of always having to shout to make himself heard. An inventor, Gerald Staples, gives Arathea an auriphone, a device to restore her hearing, but one of her problem pupils, in a fit of rage, breaks it. Gerald asks Arathea, whom he calls "The Big Little Person -- small in size, but big in ideas," to be the secretary of his new company marketing the invention. He falls in love with her and plays the piano for her even though she hears only rumblings.

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

3.8/10

Limited

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The film lacks LGBTQ+ characters or narratives that critique heteronormativity. The central romance follows a traditional heterosexual path between Arathea and Gerald.

Gender Representation

Fair

Arathea moves from a passive victim of illness to an active professional role. While she displays agency through her intellect, the resolution relies on traditional courtship.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Minimal

The narrative centers on a homogeneous social structure. There is no evidence of non-Anglo-Saxon characters or racial blending within the story.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Limited

The story adheres to early 20th-century moral frameworks. It focuses on individual merit and technological progress rather than critiquing Western institutions or religion.

Disability Representation

Good

The film centers on Arathea's lived experience with hearing loss. It portrays her with intellectual capacity and agency rather than treating her impairment as a mockery.

Strengths

  • Provides meaningful representation of sensory disability through Arathea's lived experience.
  • Depicts female agency by transitioning the protagonist from a victim to a professional.
  • Avoids treating physical impairment as a source of mockery or simple inspiration porn.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks racial and ethnic diversity within the cast and social structure.
  • Provides no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisnormative characters.
  • Relies on traditional courtship dynamics for the romantic resolution.

AI Analysis

The film offers a nuanced look at sensory disability and female professional agency. Arathea is defined by her 'big ideas' and her transition into a corporate role, which provides a refreshing departure from the era's typical fragile female tropes. However, the film is limited by the social norms of 1919. It lacks racial diversity and LGBTQ+ representation, remaining firmly within a homogeneous, heteronormative framework. The narrative focuses on individual resilience and romantic fulfillment rather than challenging systemic social hierarchies. Ultimately, while the depiction of disability avoids harmful stereotypes, the film's overall diversity is constrained by its traditional romantic and cultural perspectives.

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