In the real world, eye patches are commonly used to treat amblyopia, or “lazy eye”, a neurodevelopmental visual condition projected to affect 175.2 million people globally by 2030. In amblyopia, the brain favours one eye over the other, leading to reduced vision in the weaker eye.
Treatment often involves covering the stronger eye with a patch, encouraging the brain to rely on the weaker eye and improve its function. This therapy is most effective during early childhood and can take months of daily commitment.
Yet, despite how common visual conditions are, positive representation of patch-wearing is rare in popular media.
Animated films have long shaped childhood imaginations, but historically, characters with eye patches or other visual markers often fall into negative stereotypes.
Think Mr Potato Head’s alter ego One-Eyed Bart in Toy Story, or Madagascar’s Dr. Blowhole: characters where an eye patch signals villainy. Glasses, meanwhile, are more often seen on older characters like Carl Fredrickson from Up or Roz from Monsters Inc.
Read the full story on The Conversation website written by Rebecca Willis Doctoral Researcher in Clinical Neurosciences, Betina Ip Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Megan Groombridge, Research Assistant for Paediatric Neuroimaging.
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