Randall Boggs - Species discrimination?

[randallsnape7]

I personally think that as a child and a teenager, Randall would have faced a lot of species discrimination from others for being a purple lizard-like monster. Maybe he and his parent or guardian have been called lizards or reptiles, and for some reason, the vast majority of monsters simply wouldn't trust them. Now, let's look at the single most special thing of all about Randall as a person: Turning invisible is a VERY unusual talent that no other monster possesses. Think of Dumbo's giant ears! Don't you think Randall's VERY OWN natural, unique ability and birthright would be used against him throughout his life? This alone would cause anyone a great deal of insecurity and humiliation. Randall's turning invisible could also be the equivalent of Rudolph's shiny red nose, which his father Donner kept covering up with dirt so he'd look normal. Think of that song from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, "We're A Couple of Misfits". I can't help but think that Randall would have had a similar childhood as Dumbo or Rudolph.

Other high school monster teens could have done COUNTLESS things to frame Randall and get him in school detention or even suspension, when in actuality, Randall didn't do anything wrong. I think a LOT of monsters would have hated Randall just for being different. What do you think?

[pitbulllady]

I've actually put forth that exact scenario many times. Seeing MU has made me retract that just a LITTLE, but I'm not totally convinced that there is no discrimination against scaly, reptilian monsters. In MI, it seemed pretty evident that there was, since Randall is the ONLY monster in the entire movie who is scaly and who has a special ability, unless you count the background character at the beginning who sneezes fire and destroys his own newspaper. In MU, we see a LOT of monsters who have some unique ability, like fire-breathing, glowing eyes, etc., but Randall is still the only one who can turn invisible. And while there are many others in MU who have a vaguely reptilian appearance(like Prof. Knight, for instance), none are truly scaly like Randall. He still stands out, even among a populace that seems really diverse.

While Randall's ability is natural, the way it manifests, at least when we first see him in MU, is NOT. That is a learned response, a conditioned response, to "disappear" when he's startled or frightened and to sometimes spontaneously blend in with an object without realizing it. You do have to wonder WHY Randall learned to do that, and I cannot imagine anything positive resulting in him developing that habit. HE is clearly embarrassed and ashamed of it and had never remotely considered that ability to be scary. He specifically states that he "will be a joke" if he does that in class. Randall thinks that, and himself, is a joke because he's been TOLD that it is, over and over. He's been told that it's not scary, that it's not normal, but he has probably developed that habit as a means of avoiding trouble and anyone who might hurt him, too.

pitbulllady