The Innocence and Sincerity of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, November 28, 1998

The stress experienced by families raising children with congenital disabilities is beyond ordinary. Parents of children with Down syndrome, who have both physical anomalies and developmental delays (intellectual disabilities), often face such harsh realities that some even consider double suicide with their child at least once.

Whether it’s a congenital condition or an acquired one—such as a previously healthy person suffering a stroke and becoming partially paralyzed—once a disability arises, the difficulties of everyday life suddenly become far more severe.

In the 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a boy with an intellectual disability. His older brother, the lead role, is played by Johnny Depp, whom DiCaprio still admires like an older brother. DiCaprio’s character loves heights and repeatedly causes chaos by climbing the town’s water tower, eventually being detained by the police.

The mother, who has become “as big as a whale” from binge eating since her husband's suicide, leaves the house for the first time in seven years and storms into the police station yelling, “Give me back my son!” The family takes DiCaprio’s character home, exposed to the town’s curious and judgmental stares.

The older brother, along with their sisters, continues to support their mother and brother with an expression that’s always somewhere between joy and sorrow.

Under current standards, an IQ below 80 is considered a disorder, and below 60, an intellectual disability. The scale is divided every 20 points into mild, moderate, and severe categories.

The “incidents” caused by DiCaprio’s character, who appears to have a moderate intellectual disability, are limited to climbing the water tower. This is fundamentally different from white-collar crimes like bribery and tax evasion, which challenge even seasoned investigators. Compared to his warmth and friendliness, people with higher IQs often seem selfish and cold.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape teaches us many things: the meaning of life for people with disabilities, the bonds of family, the presence of a mother, the love between siblings, and the importance of community support.

More than cleverness, there is virtue in innocence. More than manipulation, sincerity. This film gently guides the ever-shifting human heart toward kindness.