Have you noticed how many movie villains are exceptionally high-IQ, sociopathic, disabled people? It’s a trope, but evil, genius, disabled people do exist, and I, Jasper Beardley, am one of them. Allow me to separate movie myth from reality.
A big Hollywood motif is that evil personalities are born out of disablement. A common plot arc goes like this: Character has an abled, idyllic life until a traumatic incident occurs, leaving them impaired, robbed of partnership and terminally embittered. In reality, disabled or not, I get pleasure from doing harm to others. Always have. Evil is as natural as the color of my hair or the sound of my voice. Furthermore, evil, disabled geniuses are not haunted by lost loves. The world is full of easy marks for romantic manipulation; sociopaths do just fine.
Another good one is that people like me are dedicated to inventing biotechnologies to transform our bodies. Who do you think I am, Jeff Bezos? I don’t believe I will become full again when I restore my pre-disability status. My fulfillment is more of a power and control thing. It isn’t so simple to satisfy.
And how about films that portray disabled psychopaths as executives of multinational corporations? It’s totally fantastical. No matter how brilliant we are, actual business remains an abled man’s game, honey. While it would be nice if I could be evil, genius and disabled while sitting on my billions, in the real world my benefits get cut off if I have more than $2,000 in savings.
Other strange portrayals: Cannibalism? Pass. I prefer a balanced Mediterranean diet. Disabilities that unlock wicked, paranormal powers? If only! And why would I put all my anguish into defeating Batman and James Bond? Those are my favorite movies!
There is, however, one trope that actually offends me, and that is the one where we fraternize with men like Elon Musk. The evil genius community has three times denied his application to the club — keep his name and ours separate.