Why Did Martin Scorsese Choose To Include Hurtful Stereotypes of People With Disabilities In His Beautiful New Fantasy Film Hugo?

There's no doubt that Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest American filmmakers of this, or any generation.  Which makes his inclusion of hurtful, stereotypical images of someone with a physical disability in his new film Hugo so puzzling.  Within minutes of the start, viewers see the film's hero and namesake (an adorable young Parisian orphan) being chased through a crowded railroad station by a comically uniformed police officer.

Wearing a heavy, awkward, foot-to-hip metal brace on one leg, for the next two minutes the officer and his bulky, malfunctioning brace become an unending source of "humor."

The officer's peculiar gait, his inability to maneuver around waiting passengers, a near miss involving an over-sized cake and his eventual collision with a jazz combo are all played for laughs.  But the "fun" isn't over!  Next his leg brace gets caught on the door handle of a departing passenger carriage, and he is briefly dragged along the train platform on his back.

Played by actor Sacha Baron Cohen in a style reminiscent of his famous Borat character, the police officer is the cruel villain of this particular morality tale. Later we learn he is a veteran, disabled during World War I.    

I understand this is a film about the history of film, and Mr. Scorsese wants to employ the motifs and themes of an earlier era.  Still, nearly a century later, is it still permissible to employ such crude and insensitive caricatures?  At a time when thousands of disabled American veterans are struggling to adapt to life using prosthetic limbs, leg braces and canes, is a traumatized war vet really funny?

Why is this such a big deal?  After all, Hugo is just a sweet fantasy.  Why spoil the party with a few ethical quibbles?  Because people with disabilities are usually invisible in the popular media.  Given this lack of representation, any character with a disability comes to represent all people with disabilities to audiences.

Sambo-like characters and Mammies aren't acceptable on-screen anymore.  Why is a bumbling, mobility-impaired war vet OK?   I'm sure Mr. Scorsese didn't set out to insult or offend anybody, and is a good person at heart.  The problem is there apparently wasn't anybody on the production staff, at the studio or with the distributor to raise these issues.  No wheelchair user or disabled veteran, no one who uses a leg brace or a prosthetic limb... and that might be the biggest problem of all.