Down Syndrome and its Struggles (The Peanut Butter Falcon Movie Analysis)

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder from a defective twenty-first chromosome that causes delays in both social and intellectual development. The movie, “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” takes the viewer through the viewpoint of Zack, a boy with down syndrome who wants to become a professional wrestler, and how he is treated because of it. It gives a great perspective on how society treats people with down syndrome, not as a human, but lesser than one. The framework of Zack’s dream to become a professional wrestler advances the themes of the film, discrimination, friendship and family, and acceptance, by displaying them throughout the movie and using them to teach a lesson on down syndrome and break long-lasting stereotypes.

Discrimination is a big part of what people with down syndrome tend to experience every day and is completely unacceptable to deal with. Throughout the movie of “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” the slur known as the “r slur” is used to diminish Zack’s being and put him down, making his goals of becoming a professional wrestler feel unobtainable. Ordinarily, used to have the person receiving the insult to feel nonintellectual or slower, this insult is extremely offensive. This is seen when the kid forcing Zack to jump intimidates him by using this word and force him to jump or when one of the medical staff, when telling Zack to turn off his wrestling videos and go to bed, calls him the “r slur.” It only inflicts pain, has the person feel inferior, and groups all people with down syndrome together. Along with the use of slurs, exclusion is also a part of discrimination against people with down syndrome and tries to make them feel lesser and not a real human. Exclusion is also a big part of the story with no one believing that Zack cannot become a professional wrestler and putting him down for it. Tyler is the only person in Zack’s life that has not excluded him with his dream and tries to help obtain that goal of becoming a professional wrestler. Even Eleanor, his primary caregiver, has doubts on Zack’s capabilities and does not believe in him. This exclusion is seen every day among people with down syndrome whether it be at school or in a workplace. Wrestling helps build the themes of the movie by showing what discrimination can do to a person, specifically a person with down syndrome, and why wrestling is an important plot structure that moves the movie into different stages.

The plot work of wrestling also introduces the theme of friendship and family because without wrestling Zack never leaves and meets Tyler to become friends and embark on a journey. The use of friendship is important with people with down syndrome because they can feel excluded, and friendships are necessary for a human to bond and be included. Tyler is Zack’s first real friend, and the viewer can see a bond between these two grow throughout the movie and become essentially like brothers or family. Tyler is extremely important to Zack and the movie because he is the one who drives Zack to become a wrestler and gets him to actually wrestle at the competition. Zack and Tyler’s growth with Eleanor through the movie is another example of friendship and family and shows why it is important. At the beginning of the movie, considering that she is his primary caregiver, has some empathy for his situation and cares about him, but to an extent. She is not fully is friend or could be called family at this stage in the movie. She also has no idea who Tyler is. Towards the end of the movie, the viewer perceives a makeshift family with Tyler and Elanor being in a presumable relationship and Zack being their somewhat kid. They all grow closer together which is important for Zack because he never really had a family. Family is an important part of one’s life and determines how a child grows up and is molded into an adult. This theme of family is brought upon only with wrestling because without it this makeshift family never becomes one and there is no real acceptance of Zack by anyone.

Acceptance is important both in real life and in the movie and is introduced in “The Peanut Butter Falcon” with the wrestling plot work. Acceptance is a big part of everyday life and is shown in the movie. It is important to accept people for who they are and not judge them from something they cannot change which ties in with discrimination. Tyler accepts Zack for who he is and treats him as if he does not have down syndrome. It does not matter to Tyler that Zack has down syndrome and it should not matter to anyone. One should see how terrible it is to be treated how people with down syndrome are treated every day and apply that to their own life by using the golden rule. Elanor does not fully accept Zack in the beginning with questioning and doubting his abilities to wrestle and live on his own. She is quickly proven wrong when Zack shows how strong he really his by throwing his opponent in the wrestling match at the end of the movie. Most people in the film do not accept Zack as a real person often calling him the “r slur.” Zack shows why everyone should be accepted since he can do all that others can do if not doing them better. Without wrestling, Tyler never learns to accept people for who they are by meeting Zack and creating a bond with him. Acceptance differentiates reasonable from unreasonable people and shows skills of empathy and compassion for people no matter who they are.

The use of wrestling to provide framework creates a way to advance the themes of the movie of discrimination, family/friendship, and acceptance by creating a viewpoint for the viewer to put themselves in Zack’s shoes and see what it is really like to be someone with down syndrome. The use of discrimination shows what it is really like for people with down syndrome and shows why it is unacceptable. Friendship is used to show how and why friendships are so important and why they are even more important to people with down syndrome. Finally, Acceptance teaches the viewer to accept people for who they are and not focus on people’s differences, but what brings us together. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is an inspirational movie about people with down syndrome and teaches the viewer why it is so important to accept and treat them just like any other person by using the plot work of wrestling to create these themes.