Facial scars are common in movie villains, including in Bond films. In "Golden Eye" there was a mutilated Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean), in "Coordinates of Skyfall" - Raul Silva (Javier Bardem) with a deformed jaw, in "Casino Royale" - Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) with a disfigured eye. In the new Bond series, this company was joined by the villainous freaks Safin (Rami Malek) and Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).
After the premiere, activists of support organizations for people with disabilities made statements about the practice, reports Insider.
Actress and human rights activist Jen Campbell tweeted: “Every time a new James Bond movie is shot, producers are asked to reconsider their perception of ugliness. Every time they say they don't care. The new movie released this week is no exception. This time - two villains with disfigured faces. We were lucky (...) And after all, the technique "ugliness and disability = villainy" is not limited to Bondiana. There are also horror films, comics, children's books... It's everywhere".
The film's producer, Michael G. Wilson, has in the past defended the use of the trick: “Sometimes it is the factor that determines why they became what they became,” and also reminded of the tradition that many of the brightest movie villains are marked with scars. For example, Darth Vader in Star Wars, Joker in The Dark Knight, Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. etc.
However, for example, the British Film Institute (BFI) announced in 2018 that it would stop funding films that would use this metaphor. This decision was influenced by the “I'm Not Your Villain” campaign run by the handicapped organization “Changing Faces”.