The 1985 film, Goonies is an underdog story of a group of teenagers who band together to keep their homes from being bulldozed and turned into a golf course by wealthy land developers. During the film, the audience meets Sloth, a large, disfigured man, and part of the villainous Fratelli family. With his asymmetrical eyes, odd-shaped head, and incredible brute strength, Sloth is unique enough, but added to that is the monstrous treatment he receives from his mother and brothers—they chain him to a wall in a damp basement—and an apparent mental disorder.
In an introduction worthy of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, he rattles his chains and howls from his small, dark cell, frightening any person who wanders past. During the film, he becomes a hero as he helps save the main characters from his own family through his friendship with the character, Chunk. Chunk even adopts Sloth at the end of the movie. Sloth’s story has a very happy ending, as does the film.
I have always loved the movie Goonies since I was a little girl, and the character of Sloth provides some of the most memorable moments. For many years, Sloth terrified me. His introduction always made me jump, and I could not understand how someone could look like he did. It was not until I was older that I realized that someone under heavy make-up was playing Sloth.
The friendship that develops between Sloth and Chunk is one of the best parts of the film; Chunk is almost utterly unlikable to me, and so his attachment to Sloth, and vice versa, is his one redeeming quality. Between the two of them, the underdog theme gets a completely new angle. Not only are those two characters part of the lower class in the film, they are even the lowest in their close groups. Both are made to feel and seem like outsiders only useful for the entertainment of others. Chunk has his “truffle shuffle,” an embarrassing dance his friends make his perform, and Sloth’s brothers enjoy playing cruel jokes on him and using his mental disability for their amusement.
From a technical standpoint, if Sloth had really existed, he would likely have been a part of some sort of freak show. His physical and mental disabilities would have made him a prime target for slick, traveling showmen. Add in the unkind family he is shown to have in the film, and it is clear that he would have been easily sold off for profit. People like Sloth have often been hidden away by family members or otherwise kept out of the way, and Sloth would have been no exception.
His connection with Chunk forms from this stigma placed on the overweight boy and the monstrous relative. The bond that forms between the two shows just how close two people can be even with extremely different shortcomings or stigmas. Sloth is the catalyst that helps Chunk realize his full potential and save his friends, thus proving that even the people from whom the least is expected can reach their potential in the end. Whether these characters are simple caricature or complex representations of the underdog must be decided by each person who views the film. In the mean time, I am sure Sloth will live on as one of the most memorable parts of the movie, and a significant piece of pop culture history.
In an introduction worthy of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, he rattles his chains and howls from his small, dark cell, frightening any person who wanders past. During the film, he becomes a hero as he helps save the main characters from his own family through his friendship with the character, Chunk. Chunk even adopts Sloth at the end of the movie. Sloth’s story has a very happy ending, as does the film.
I have always loved the movie Goonies since I was a little girl, and the character of Sloth provides some of the most memorable moments. For many years, Sloth terrified me. His introduction always made me jump, and I could not understand how someone could look like he did. It was not until I was older that I realized that someone under heavy make-up was playing Sloth.
The friendship that develops between Sloth and Chunk is one of the best parts of the film; Chunk is almost utterly unlikable to me, and so his attachment to Sloth, and vice versa, is his one redeeming quality. Between the two of them, the underdog theme gets a completely new angle. Not only are those two characters part of the lower class in the film, they are even the lowest in their close groups. Both are made to feel and seem like outsiders only useful for the entertainment of others. Chunk has his “truffle shuffle,” an embarrassing dance his friends make his perform, and Sloth’s brothers enjoy playing cruel jokes on him and using his mental disability for their amusement.
From a technical standpoint, if Sloth had really existed, he would likely have been a part of some sort of freak show. His physical and mental disabilities would have made him a prime target for slick, traveling showmen. Add in the unkind family he is shown to have in the film, and it is clear that he would have been easily sold off for profit. People like Sloth have often been hidden away by family members or otherwise kept out of the way, and Sloth would have been no exception.
His connection with Chunk forms from this stigma placed on the overweight boy and the monstrous relative. The bond that forms between the two shows just how close two people can be even with extremely different shortcomings or stigmas. Sloth is the catalyst that helps Chunk realize his full potential and save his friends, thus proving that even the people from whom the least is expected can reach their potential in the end. Whether these characters are simple caricature or complex representations of the underdog must be decided by each person who views the film. In the mean time, I am sure Sloth will live on as one of the most memorable parts of the movie, and a significant piece of pop culture history.
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