Lots of people are noisily unhappy about The Da Vinci Code - Roman Catholics, film critics, etc. - but so far the world's albinos have kept their counsel. This despite one of the book and film's most ridiculous characters (which is really saying something) being a naked homicidal albino monk with self-flagellatory tendencies.
According to campaigners, The Da Vinci code will be the 68th film since 1960 to feature an evil albino. It is an incredible statistic - when you consider how few albinos actually make it to the silver screen, the proportion of them shown as intent on murder and destruction must be remarkably high. How did this happen?
Courtesy of the Telegraph's brilliantly headlined Stop making us out as mystical freaks and unconscionable assassins, albinos complain comes a plea from Michael McGowan, an albino who heads the US's National Organisation for Albinism and Hypopigmentation, for a better deal.
The problem is that there has been no balance. There are no realistic, sympathetic or heroic characters with albinism that you can find in movies or popular culture.
After all, it is probably only fair. If you go to the campaigners' website it has photographs of normal albinos doing normal things, like laughing and playing on swings. Albinos are people too.
