Chzrm3 all I can guess is that Sheldon is an "accurate portrayal" of an egotistical, botderline-sociopath geek/nerd stereotype who's been coddled his whole life and has entitlement issues.
I think it's impossible to say which character is a more 'accurate' portrayal of ASD. It is a huge spectrum and differs from case to case. As someone who works with a lot of children with autism, I've come across some who do, in fact, behave quite similarly to Sheldon Cooper. My problem with his character, is that he clearly is written as a caricature in a way that wouldn't be tolerated if it were, say a token black guy who loved chicken, or a token Irishman who was always drunk. Yes, these stereotypes are sometimes true, and yes, there may be a handful members of that community who may fit those descriptions perfectly, but to suggest that these archetypes apply to or define the entire community is both lazy and damaging.
Jeff also admitted to having answered randomly, meaning that most likely they’re both the only proper sane ones in the group, which Jeff mentions in an episode previous to the one with the tests (I don’t remember which episode exactly) when everyone is apologizing and crying and admitting their faults Jeff asks abed why they’re the only normal ones and abed shushes him while eating popcorn, always thought that connection/continuity detail/Easter egg/idk was pretty cool
Abed’s existence made me so happy. Especially the whole “relating to people through tv” thing, heck, I wonder how happy it would make Abed to know that so many people on the spectrum have learned to understand and accept themselves better because he was on a TV show!
I am a journalist who is autistic and writing a book about autism in popular culture and I always HATED Sheldon (I see him as autism blackface). For book research I saw clips of community and was like "DUDE! THAT'S ME!!!" Thanks, Dan for creating a great character.
I actually saw Sheldon as a very good representation of autism. He has autism but it isn't an excuse to be awful to people. He needs to grow and face consequences for hia deeds. While Abed is very funny in the show, he never gets the same treatment. Somehow, Abed gets off without any consequenses for his sometimes abhorrent behavior.
@@kelvinblack9354 Abed had to deal with consequences too, although he hasn't been really mean to anyone. He's adorable, everyone loves him, not like Sheldon who is constantly hated by everyone but still perceived like an annoying child
@@emmagorington4559 And I think you're hitting it right on the head. Abed is never put into a position where he needs to change. His autism is seen as a fun quirk he has. That's very dangerous representation. He would never be able to function in normal society without some form of change, which he should be able to do because he recognises his faults enough to identify them. With the right tools and coaching it would be fine. But the shows seems to treat therapy like some evil, awful thing while Abed should really get it. The reason Sheldon is seen as awful? He faces consequences for his actions. If he wants to partake in normal society he needs to stop doing certain things. Which is a way more valuable lesson for anybody with autism then "just be yourself everytime and all the time" But Sheldon gets hated because he needs to change and some people on the spectrum just don't want to hear that. They want the world to bend around them like they are the second coming of Jesus.
What I like is, dan puts passion behind his characters. Sheldon, like many here point out, is a stereotype. Abed is an actual person. He didn't just make abed to make him, he crafted the character and learned something about himself. Dan's real good at his work and I hope he keeps up the diversity of what he does. I personally keep reflecting on this and see similarities. Aversion to eye contact, conflict, interests that never lose their grip and internal dialogue along with over thinking every goddamn interaction. I think I'm on that spectrum too, at least to a minor extent.
We have to be happy to get to the end! We have to save Christmas to save our friends! We have to save Christmas to save our friends!! WE HAVE TO SAVE CHRISTMAS TO SAVE OUR FRIENDS!!!
One of my favorite scenes in the entire series and it always brings me to tears. Watching this clip actually made me want to watch that scene right now.
as an autistic person who grew up in an unstable household, that episode makes me sob every time i watch it. every time i think i’ll be okay and won’t be affected, it still gets me each time.
I was just diagnosed with aspergers this year, at an age of 29. I can't tell you enough how much I love this clip. These small humiliations and horrible feelings of alienation I've had for most of my life suddenly have some soft of.. if not answer, then an explanation. It's so much more than just being socially awkward and nerdy. Dan bringing up the point of it being a "so-called disorder/affliction" just gives me such a profound feeling of validation it moves me to tears. Thank you so much for this clip.
Efreeti I know how you feel, like being embarrassed because you can't understand stuff "normal" people do. Just not being able to wrap your head around certain things, or having problems articulating your thoughts so you just kind of shut down and ignore those types of scenarios. I'm 24 and was diagnosed at around 16, and have made some strides. Good luck and I hope the best for you. Don't let it run you, or affect how you deal with things. Don't get caught up in "what do normal people do" and just focus your goals such as getting better socially, understanding peoples feelings, and all that and work on them without comparing yourself to everyone else. Which can be hard.
Thank you for this comment. This video is almost 3 years old now, it has a bunch of views and at some point I decided to not comment on it. I want people to feel free to say wathever they want, I always keep an eye on the discussions and let them unfold. It is kinda self moderating, people are sharing views, sometimes they are angry but it's very civilized and positive overall. It makes me happy and it makes me think that people can always be friendly when you approach things the right way, as Dan does in the video. I cut together this clip and a second one a while ago, it was maybe 8 pm, I made transcripts and translated them and made subtitles and then I got to bed pretty freaking late. I already knew the whole interview and I kept thinking about some parts of it because it was a rough moment in my life and I was really feeling that what Dan says in the video is important. I didn't do much really, I'm just glad that the content was there, it's all Dan Harmon. He puts it so well, I just really wanted to share it and make it more visible. There are many very touching comments in this video and I just felt like replying to this one and tell you I'm really really glad you like it and that it makes you and other people feel good. Thank you for your message.
I was looking for Dan Harmon videos and came across this one. Since I have Aspergers the title intrigued me and I had to watch. I was not diagnosed with Aspergers until I was in my 40s. Up until that time I thought there was something REALLY wrong with me. I did not think I just made mistakes but I was a mistake and that I could not do anything right. I was made fun of, laughed at and bullied all growing up. My dad and step mom thought I was rebellious because I "refused" to do things the "right" way. My whole life I have wanted to make movies and be an actor but there was a part of me that thought "why try if I am just going to fail?" At any rate I really appreciate you posting this video.
Community first came out when I was in middle school and I was immediately drawn to Abed as a character. Im autistic and seeing someone that was so much like me was so important. He's a character who's ability to Feel empathy is rarely questioned. Hes constantly included in his friend group and his friends genuinely care about him and do not treat him like a burden. He is seen as talented, capable and intelligent and his abilities are never questioned. While the other characters do have misconceptions about him, they are quickly challenged. Hes got an incredibly committed and loyal friendship that much of the show is centered around. And he his behaviours are never mocked or controlled. Hes able to maintain a variety og healthy and complex relationships and quickly aknowledges if he makes a mistake. Hes extremly self aware. Im mentioning all these qualities because i have never seen another character have them but Ive also never been told an autistic person could have them. He is such a well written and multi layered character. This show was ground breaking for a lot of reasons, but the portrayal of Abed is one I'm probably never going to forget. The amount of compassion that was put towards the writing of his character is something that i appreciate so much. I know having proper representation in tv won't solve the world's problems but it did help me feel less alone as a kid and I love this show to this day because of it.
I love all the episodes that explore Abed’s mind. He is so interesting and his development in the show is truly beautiful. Episodes like the Hot Lava , dreamatorium, chicken fingers, Abed’s uncontrollable Christmas episodes (etc) get me so emotional watching him and learning about his mind. One of the best written characters I’ve seen
Yes he did. My personal take on this matter is this: it was usefull to make clear what's happening with Abed being "weird" at the beginning of the series also for the part of the audience that is not familiar with this condition. Aside from that moment, Abed is always seen by others and by himself as someone who's a little strange and has particular gimmicks and needs just like everybody else, without using labels. That's the general vibe of the show. Thanks for watching by the way.
***** I really like the contrast that in Community they make clear Abed has Asperger's at the very first episode, whereas the Big Bang Theory creators constantly deny that Sheldon has Asperger's when asked.
I'd like to point to some studies done with people with schizophrenia who live in very small but supportive groups like african tribes in which the impulses are often very positive with socially altruistic results. Who could have known that tribes in which bad behavior is treated with a village wide intervention telling the offender about all the good things that the offender has done and how much they all love him and are sad that he had to steal or whatever. It's all very interesting. I don't feel like looking for it unless someone shows interest.
@@Bigwaterboi that does sound interesting. I have a brother with schizophrenia and an interest in the condition. If you could point me in the right direction I would be most grateful
My god I love Dan Harmon. I have ADHD and, while different from Aspergers, I experience the world similarly. The fear of being found different and more specifically SCOLDED for being different can be paralyzing. I love it when people celebrate being weird with me and as a social creature, I seek out those people who do. I have a tough time staying focused on things which don't immensely interest me, so when I zone out, start tapping on things, making noises for my own entertainment, etc. people think it's weird. I hate annoying people like that, but sometimes the sheer boredom is deafening and I unconsciously begin to preoccupy myself. THAT is why I get distracted, because I get bored to an incredible degree. I don't mean to turn people off with fidgeting, but in my natural state I inevitably do. Thank god there is a medication to curb my attention span. I love what I do (software developer) but without the medication I would be far less effective at work.
When I learned that modern psychology now posits that ASD and ADHD are on the same spectrum, that really clicked for me. I stopped thinking about my ADHD as something to solve or beat, and started to think about it as something that made me different. Definitely improved my perspective
@@professorquinsonsnibit's not. They someone can have both, in fact alot of people with one have the other. They both represent Neurodivergence. Neurodevelopmentally differ that Neurotypical (allistic Individuals). The Autism spectrum is the Autism spectrum. Look up the circle of traits and how they are displayed in drawings. That is the spectrum. ADHD may have some of those traits, but it is not on the actual Autism spectrum.
My dream is to have Dan Harmon create a rom-com with the leading lady being a woman on the spectrum. Female Aspies are so rare! He could do us justice!
Elementary, the American Sherlock Holmes retelling, had a character that was described as neuro-atypical and I am no scientist or aspie, but felt the character was well written.
I'm famale autistic, and yes, I even have heard people say "it is something only boys have" like...not really xD we mask it better but it's not like it vanishes just like that, I believe we (autistics) are about 50/50, the thing is when they study autism spectrum they don't take this in count. It's like looking for freckles in 5 guys with clean face versus 5 girls _with makeup_ all over: impossible accurate results. Because of that results, and saying there are more males in the spectrum, everything portraits it with male point if view and male characters. And I'm not talking from a "feminist" point of view, more like a logical thing to point out, something I've noticed.
@@aspergerart4635 I totally agree, a bigger female representation would be great! And while the representation of autistic men is better, I still find that autism in general is drawn kind of gimmicky in most films and TV shows. Mostly autistic people are shown either as cute maskotts with a heart of gold or as anti-social crime solving savants (there are some excetions). But then again, in my experience even medical professionals often don't seem to get how autism works. There's a good youtube video about the representation of autism. I won't post a link because in my experience youtube tends to mute comments containing any links, but you can find it by searching "The Dangerous Failure Of MUSIC (2021)". Despite its title, it's more than just another rant about Sia's "Music" movie. I just subscribed to your channel btw, looking forward to browse your videos soon! :)
It's seriously fascinating to hear Dan talk about, like, anything. He seems especially passionate about everything social and psychological, which I guess makes sense considering this is what Community is all about. I wish I could see him talk with and bounce off someone on his level, that would be truly satisfying.
The part about fear of alienation hit hard. It reminds me of the episode where Annie and abed go in the dreamatorium and abed imagines himself in a locker as a metaphor for being afraid of being cast out. He feels like that’s where he belongs because he’s always eventually alienated when the people around him finally get sick of him. I relate to that so heavily. Thank you Dan for writing a character that I can confidently say accurately represents the autistic community without being a lame stereotype.
Reminds of when I realised that I probably have ADHD after having worked close to a decade with kids and teens with autism and ADHD. The "My god why is it that I seem to be the only one who understand what these kids think, feel and want?!! Am I a NDD whisperer? Do I have superpowers? Is that why I fail at schoolwork and when I try to listen to people för longer than 5 seconds...wait a minute...fakk!" :D And in the case of Mr. Harmon, the lack of eye-contact and the amount of time he spends trying to explain simple things give it away. Awesome Dan!
I was very attached to Abed when I started this series before I knew I had autism because we both have the same special interest (tv and film) and post awareness brought me even closer. As much hate as the sixth season got I also appreciated Paget Brewster's role because I felt she was female representation which is so much harder to find.
I find a big comfort in his character. Curious, how old were you when you were diagnosed? I’m assuming you’re a girl too, that’s normally pretty hard to get diagnosed.
__ ok thanks. Because I have a “friend”, we’re not that close but he’s really nice and he’s like 2 years younger than me, with Aspergers. There’s nothing wrong with him and if anything he’s actually in a way smarter because he really likes educating himself on new topics. You can kind of tell because he is a bit socially awkward but it’s charming in a weird way
You know. I've been diagnosed as someone in the "autism spectrum" a year ago. I don't find Dan Harmon's words here offensive. I don't think the video isn't negative as well. He's talking straight to the point and with care. He seems to be aware of the topic and it's great. I agree with many things he said, specially how someone that is diagnosed at adult age can feel lost because we already adapted (some better than others) to society's standards. The feeling of isolation and being apart is real. People telling you things like "WTF?" Is real also. The eccentricity is a big part of it as well. But contrary on what I was told when the doctor gave me the diagnosis, I don't believe it's a gift or a good thing. It's incapacitating if you do not have the means to cope with it, and specially if you do not have someone besides your family to "show you the way" things are outside of your house. We do not need people taking care of us, but you know that protective mother, the overly caring girlfriend, the job that sometimes need to understand a specific situation? Unfortunately, these are kind of essential. Regarding the many difficulties, bullying, I think, is the worse. But the feeling that you're unwanted, the silence every time you talk and the segregation - it's what keep us from having a normal life. I do not have watched Community yet, but I guess it's good that someone that writes for TV has the sensibility to portray the problem in a humanistic way. Another thing essential when you've got Asperger is being real. We live in a world we're people lie for diversion, and aspies are very literal. So my advice to aspies out there and people in general is: laugh, be responsible, do not hide behind a diagnosis, take care of yourself; but, specially, be nobody's fool, because there a lot of people that want you to be their idiot and they don't deserve you to meet their expectation. You can be bad at your worse. But at your best, you're amazing...
Yep, I've been treated as the group idiot in my childhood. The person everyone sees as rock bottom and hates when you accomplish something. I'm nobody's fool. And you're right. No matter how much self love you've learned to have through surrounding yourself with support, it's still a disability at the end of the day. I'm not hiding behind a diagnosis if I acknowledge that my life is and will always be more challenging than NTs.
Abed made me learn a lot about myself. It started making so much sense as to why I always related to Monk. Yeah, it was obvious as a kid.. not so much now. I learn to interact "better-ish
Monk was one of my first aspie role models! He isn't drawn as actual asperger at all, but his weird mix of hypersensitivity, OCD, giftedness, naivety, self-occupation and depression feels close. It's a blessing and a curse ... :D
How did you get diagnosed? I just self-diagnosed and now I need to hear from a medical professional because part of me believes that I am and part of me believes I am not
@@RecardoGuillermo heyo! not op but thought i might be able to help anyway. aspergers is generally no longer diagnosed, as as of the dsm5 it and relating diagnoses have been replaced with the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In my own research and in my personal experience being diagnosed with ASD as an adult, a psychiatrist or psychologist are the most common go-to people for ASD assessment and diagnosis. Get a referral from a GP (or therapist if applicable), saying that you suspect ASD and are looking for a professional to confirm, and diagnose if proven necessary.
Yeah, I took four ASD tests yesterday, and my results all came up within the "threshold". It's the first time I've taken any tests for it. I've always had my suspicions and even been accused of it. I'm 32 now. Idk if it's worth getting an official diagnosis or not. Also, Community is a gem of a show!
It is really hard to take this interviewer seriously with his odd hat. Also Dan Harmon’s a really insightful guy, I could hear him talking about this for hours.
I don't have Asperger's as far as I know, but I do have AD(H)D and that has caused me a lot of social awkwardness and shame when I was younger. So for me personally Abed was still a great role-model for how to be comfortable in my own skin even when I didn't get all the social cues and customs and I am very thankful for that
It's taken well over 20 years for me to come to the conclusion (with help of specialists of course) that I have Asperger's, It drives me up the wall to think about the difference It would have made if I found out while still in school. I love the Abed character because he makes it easier for others the understand that the weird behavior he shows often is a reaction to things happening around him. For the longest time I automatically adjusted my speech-patterns and behaviors to my environment to gain some semblance of control over my life, never fully realizing that that meant never really being myself. I'm a grown man now so I can deal with the reactions I get when I say or do "weird" things now (and actually often revel in the weirdness because it can be fun, and if I get to talk long enough about it suddenly it isn't so weird), but I really hope that kids with similar personal issues get better guidance in school nowadays so they don't feel the constant pressure to adjust themselves to others that more-often than not don't do the same for you.
I was diagnosed with Aspergers when I was 5. I've been getting therapy and been put in rubber rooms until I was closer to normal since then, but I still come off as cold, callous and absent from my physical space sometimes. The funny thing about that is that it's almost always just me internally fighting with myself about how to seem like less of a freak, and the answer is usually just "mind your own business, keep interactions brief and only talk to people i know or people they know. But even then I'm still filled with trepidation about how I should act or what I should say. I was also diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (a serious terminal illness that comes with chronic pain, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and I can really confirm what Harmon said about how Aspergers is different than a real condition that ruins your life. Aspergers causes (in me) a lot of anxiety, self-doubt, over-empathetic responses to other people's problems and while getting your jaw popped back into place at the E.R., borderline-obsession a with something that I'm interested in, fear of rejection, and a seething hatred for eye-contact, pickles, canned vegetables and olives. I've also got depression and existential dread that makes it so that I sleep 10 hours a week of I'm lucky, but that might be a different problem. But it also makes me think in a way that the people closest to me seem fascinated by as they always ask me to describe my thought-process for any idea for a certain shot I want to capture and just put in whatever impressionist experimental short-film I want to make that day. But since I was literally crippled by EDS, I see how different Aspergers is when compared to something legitimately debilitating. I was always embarrassed or trying not to get embarrassed by staying away from any human interaction. I've even noticed that my pet monitor lizard seems to think in a way that I can understand better than most people. But that didn't make me want to die to escape agony, just quiet and awkward. But when you sneeze and notice that you've just dislocated 3 ribs, or wake up with both shoulders dislocated and are forced to make your friend (who is grossed-out and appalled by my condition, sometimes she'll see how crooked my clavicle is and react to it like a disturbing moment in a John Carpenter film) put one back in so that you can put the other shoulder, elbow, kneecap, wrist and 3 fingers back (when I sleep i sleep restlessly, so I often wake up with dislocated joints). That's a disability. That's what really gets in the way in life. I cant worry that I'll fuck-up social interactions if I hurt too much to leave the house. This probably seems like a self-indulgent sob-story, but I really don't need any "you're so brave" bullshit. I'm not brave, I'm just living with what I have. I wrote this to hopefully get people to see Aspergers as less of a disability (at least on my side of the spectrum), and see the physically retarding condition as more of a disability. I'm not saying us Aspies won't occasionally need some special treatment when we don't understand something, and I've needed people to explain that I need to look potential employers or interviewers and that I'm not supposed to turn a light and fluffy conversation into a serious talk about why Trump is a monster or why humans as a species should start slowly and painlessly stop reproducing until we're extinct or close to it. I still don't see why I need to conform to those ideas, but you don't need to talk to us like human interaction is an entirely foreign concept to us. It's not, it's just overwhelmingly complex and full of body language that's too subtle; and sometimes we need someone to act as a social skills compass; not an insultingly slow annunciation in an explanation of why you're not supposed to say love isn't real at a wedding (but to be fair, why shouldn't we say that at a wedding? People can get married and live happily together even if the initial infatuation wears off, I don't see why people hate the fact that the pheromones that make-up love usually wear-off after 4 years).
joey sands im so sorry you are going through all this... About disabilities i get what you mean, i got diagnosed with Ashtma recently, i could feel the pity from some friends and family but honestly in the "disease roulette" i got one of the milder ones... People always think why me? And i think its the opposite, why not me? Statistics are filled with human beings, "others you". It seems for people being 100% healthy (body/mind) its the norm while in reality everyone has something to some extent. The same goes for my son, he is on the lighter side of the spectrum and im thankful that it isn't worst, he is not average right now but that doesn't mean he isnt going to be functional (goes to 4 therapies a week and works like a champ), and so far as a 5 year old he is really happy and makes me happy too.
Jesse Curle I do think it's a good show, but I don't know if I'd say that I love Rick. I love what he is, his mind, comedic timing, and overall mad-supergenius persona; but he's also designed to make you feel disgusted for liking him. The sadism that he likes to exhibit really forces the viewer to confront the fact that they're falling for a man so numb to suffering that nothing has any consequences to him, especially the death of sentient life forms. He really is a great character in the sense that he personifies the dichotomy between cold and uncaring callous cruelty that many geniuses too annoyed by conversations with people whom possess normal intelligence exhibit (like Stanley Kubrick), and the things that that genius makes the idea behind them attractive to common people. I love him on a narrative and artistic level, but he's often too cruel for me to really love as a character. But remember this isn't a criticism of the show, it's that way by design and is extremely effective as a comedy and an absurdist existential nightmare. Solid 9/10.
I haven't been diagnosed, partly because of my sort of fear of doctors. But I still always really related to Abed. I can empathize with the mind jumping around to different variables and references all the time while trying to still stay grounded in reality. I'll always make tons of weird inside jokes that I don't think people always get and then I'll realize I've said something weird way too late, or sometimes not at all. Anyways, a really great character and I loved a lot of Dan's writing on the show. It was truly streets ahead.
I just came back to this video after not seeing it for a while. Thank you so much for posting and extra thanks for adding your motivation for doing so. I'm so glad it's been viewed by so many people and made a difference for them. It certainly did for me. Much love!
Aspergers is widely diagnosed as a general social awkwardness or inability to respond to social cues, but if you want to be a powerful person it helps to not be so suggestible, and one may choose to not respond to social cues because the vast majority of social cues are just people trying to manipulate you.
i was never diagnosed with anything on the spectrum, instead i was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (which is another social disorder) but honestly, the level to which i relate to abed suprises me i feel like i should see a psychiatrist again because i've been through the same journey of somehow not being able to understand the social cues and somehow feeling like socialising happened so easily to everyone else and everyone else just acted and reacted while i analysed and chose what i assumed was the appropriate response and then slowly learning how to act and behave in order to get the best response out of people just knowing that others (the other commenters) have gone through the same thing its just so relieving anyway thank you dan for creating a character like abed who i can relate to on such a fucking spiritual level
If you’re watching this video but you haven’t watched the show a lot, know this - Abed’s condition is addressed many times in many different ways. Although it’s not said by name (besides Jeff thinking Abed has Aspergers right at the beginning of the show), it’s a HUGE plot point for not only Abed, but his friends. It shows not only how difficult it is for him to live with it and the problems it caused with his own family, but it also shows how it makes him uniquely him and is his greatest strength. As someone with a brother on the spectrum, I can say that Abed touched me emotionally later in my life when I really understood what his character was going through. Dan Harmon is not perfect, especially at this time when political correctness wasn’t as prevalent as it should have been, but this show made great strides in many ways, especially with this character.
You can tell that Harmon identifies with Abed just from the writing. Abed is the character that is usually shown to be right, wise, etc. He gets the last word. He was the one character to show up as sane when they all took the psych tests. The character of Abed is Harmon's way of glorifying himself through his story. Writers do this all the time.
Just judging by Harmon's stammering, constant tics, and his tendency to live in his head, I'd say he himself probably has Asperger's, which is how he "accidentally" makes characters on the spectrum. I know many of the characters I write come off as neurodivergent, even when I don't mean for them to, because I honestly dont know what it's like to live without ADHD.
@@JuliPope-blubic Well, no doubt it is easiest for us to write about that which we know first hand. Perhaps the greats are those who can tell a story, painting honest depictions of characters with worldviews and mindsets radically different from their own.
In the latest DSM they dropped Asperger's. It's actually just ASD or autism spectrum disorder now. I think they did this because two labels for the same condition is just kind of redundant, and ASD is a neat umbrella term for everyone on the spectrum.
I have long struggled with the fear of acceptance and being weird. I have A LOT of social anxiety and there was a time when my parents thought I might have Asperger's, but the therapist said I was normal. Watching this video, I think about a coworker of mine. Although I can't be sure, I have suspected he has Asperger's, and though there are many times when working with him has been frustrating, this video reminds me that I am probably very similar to him, and if I'm right out him, he has a lot of frustration, too, and in any case I need to be more understanding.
I have Aspergers. I was diagnosed the week after my 40th birthday. Most people don't realise that the real problem with Aspergers is the anxiety. While I respect his regard for Aspergers, I hate the term Aspie. Feels really patronising.
For those who don't know, "Asperger" is Autism. Autism is not one thing but an spectrum, and Autism 1 was called Aspergers but now it is just Autism like all of the other "parts" of the spectrum, it is not a different thing, it only has a different name.
Not always though. To me it seems he avoids eye-contact when talking about his personal issues (like here). But in HarmonQuest, where he just plays D&D with his friends he makes a lot more eye-contact
Lol I’ve know I’ve had Aspergers since I was 6 and when I learned what it was called I thought it was funny. I’m glad is throwing respect towards the community.
Dan is truly a man that's seen a lot of struggle in his life, through the ups and downs and various shows i'm glad he's in a good place in his life today. with his success on Rick and Morty and finally being apart from his crazy wife he's seeming more liberated to take on more ventures. i hope everything worked out for him!
You can call it a disorder. These definitions exist for a reason. No need to pretend it's not a disorder just because you don't want to hurt peoples feelings. I have Aspergers, and the classification of disorder never bothered me. I always thought it would be a fun challenge to try and overcome the difficulties that come pre-packaged with my condition while keeping the advantages. If you're worried about other people treating you differently because of your disorder, then simply don't tell them until after they've gotten to know you. In my experience people are usually surprised when I tell them. I guess it just goes to show how far I've come. I would never have made the effort to improve myself if everyone told me that I was fine just the way I was.
I used to think I was Jeff, too. Now I am quite comfortably Abed. Trying to be Jeff, I was always guessing. As Abed, I have confidence out the wazoo! (And I don't have to be Don Draper if I don't want to.)
This was so touching and it's so true about representation and role models too. I feel like as time progresses we'll sort that out, but as it stands popular tv/film is a joke at this point.
The thing about Dan Harmon thats crazy is that his self identification with Jeff sounds so pretentious when he says it but if you really listen to his points the man can TRULY talk his way around anything
When we started this show my wife insisted Jeff was just like me. She actually started it first and wouldn't leave me alone till I saw this guy and how much he's like me. I start the show and immediately lock onto Abed. Jeff was cool, but he wasn't me. Abed though, I understood him from the first moment he spoke. I just got swept up in Abed's journey, and have no shame confessing he made me cry more than once over the series. Abed is my favorite fictional character, full stop.
THIS is why I love Dan Harmon so much. I've never heard someone talk so openly about stuff like this. I see a lot of myself in Dan, so listening to Harmontown is somewhat therapeutic and cathartic.
Of course everyone is different, but if you diverge from other people past a certain threshold you're considered to be less normal. The autistic spectrum basically measures how much you diverge from others in some specific ways. I think it's a good thing that these labels exists, but it would be impractical to have so many of them that they don't mean anything anymore, that's why they are divided in "normal", "aspergers", "autistic", etc. And there is no need to accuse other people of pretending to be normal.
Thank you for uploading this, and including your in depth description below, I found both extremely insightful! Community means a whole lot to me and this may be one of the biggest reasons why. Just gotta hope the movie won't be shit. 🤞
Notice how he lets him finish talking, no matter what kind of setup he requires, or digressions he goes through. That's how you can tell you are not watching Larry King.
I think the point about this is that Abed is a role model because he accepts who he is and doesn't allow other people to change him, he doesn't pretend to be normal and doesn't adjust his behavior because people might call him weird. He likes people and wants to be around them, but isn't willing to lie to himself or to others about who he is. Fuck being normal and fuck changing your lifestyle because someone tells you to, be who are you. If we were all the same then nothing would ever change and we'd all still be slinging rocks at people on different hills then us.
I'm a huge fan of community but always thought Dan Harmon was kind of a dick and just stumbled across the Abed character almost by accident. Little did I know he was literally creating the show for people like me from the second season onwards.
I've been alone for so long that I honestly find it hard to be with other people and prefer solitude. Especially if it's people who's been so lucky in life that they don't even understand the meaning of the word problem. I get wanting your situation to be better no matter what. But when people start to gossip or complains about things that is either minor or not important at all, I feel drained afterwards being around them. I used to be different, but life smacked me hard in the face, and I keep getting up but I also get knocked back down every single day. And when you get sick like that you will either be the type of person who wants to be taken care of, or you want to be left the hell alone. People seeing you when your in pain is both embarrassing and exhausting cause they don't know what to do about it, they think their helping by asking how your doing, or if there is anything they can do. But after hearing it so often it's hard to come up with something new to say.
I think Abed is a fair portrayal of someone with Aspergers. Although there is a lot that the media ect still get wrong about it, things like not understanding humor or sarcasm or having no emotions. If anything the people who I've met that have Aspergers tend to be more caring and empathetic and have a better sense of humor than most people. Although they were all definitely still weird :p
I'm 20. I've had problem with interacting socially all my life. I've been alienated, bullied for being weird and having to hide some of my stranger habits I can't explain. This year I was diagnosed with Autism and watching something like this is amazing
I like Kevin Pollack trying to figure out the Venn Diagram of where ASD and normal human experience overlap, and Dan's answer to it. This is a good point to make. I see where the "shaman" idea fits in -- Abed straddles the two words of the fearless individualist and society and pulls society into scary places. Neat.
4:44 is that a real think because i have autism( aspergers to be exact) and i love pickles and other brine based snacks like olives and capers. though to be fare i just really love salt so....
Lol I thought the same thing. I'm also autistic and I like pickles, good crunch. (There are certain ones I don't like the taste of as much but like, restaurant pickles I enjoy.) What I can't stand is cooked peppers or cooked tomatoes. I like both raw, but when you cook them, they bring out this nasty taste I don't know how to describe.
Abed was a great portrayal while Sheldon is a terrible portrayal.
What is Sheldon an accurate portrayal of? Nobody acts like that.
Chzrm3 all I can guess is that Sheldon is an "accurate portrayal" of an egotistical, botderline-sociopath geek/nerd stereotype who's been coddled his whole life and has entitlement issues.
I think it's impossible to say which character is a more 'accurate' portrayal of ASD. It is a huge spectrum and differs from case to case. As someone who works with a lot of children with autism, I've come across some who do, in fact, behave quite similarly to Sheldon Cooper. My problem with his character, is that he clearly is written as a caricature in a way that wouldn't be tolerated if it were, say a token black guy who loved chicken, or a token Irishman who was always drunk. Yes, these stereotypes are sometimes true, and yes, there may be a handful members of that community who may fit those descriptions perfectly, but to suggest that these archetypes apply to or define the entire community is both lazy and damaging.
eghed8 EXACTLY! Thank you! I feel the same but can't always articulate it.
My main problem with Sheldon is that he's such an asshole
I like how when they take Brittas tests it turns out that abed is the most sane out of all of them
That just confirms his craziness.
@@Bell_Matt why?? Britta maybe Britta, but she didn't create those tests, they are probably accurate tests
To paraphrase Hannah Gatsby "Having autism is like being the only sober person in a room full of drunks.
@@danatrick4868 I can relate to this so hard, jesus christ.
Jeff also admitted to having answered randomly, meaning that most likely they’re both the only proper sane ones in the group, which Jeff mentions in an episode previous to the one with the tests (I don’t remember which episode exactly) when everyone is apologizing and crying and admitting their faults Jeff asks abed why they’re the only normal ones and abed shushes him while eating popcorn, always thought that connection/continuity detail/Easter egg/idk was pretty cool
Abed’s existence made me so happy. Especially the whole “relating to people through tv” thing, heck, I wonder how happy it would make Abed to know that so many people on the spectrum have learned to understand and accept themselves better because he was on a TV show!
That comment made Abed feel real
I am a journalist who is autistic and writing a book about autism in popular culture and I always HATED Sheldon (I see him as autism blackface). For book research I saw clips of community and was like "DUDE! THAT'S ME!!!" Thanks, Dan for creating a great character.
I am also autistic and I got to say, "autism blackface" is the best way of describing Sheldon
I actually saw Sheldon as a very good representation of autism.
He has autism but it isn't an excuse to be awful to people. He needs to grow and face consequences for hia deeds.
While Abed is very funny in the show, he never gets the same treatment. Somehow, Abed gets off without any consequenses for his sometimes abhorrent behavior.
@@kelvinblack9354 Abed had to deal with consequences too, although he hasn't been really mean to anyone. He's adorable, everyone loves him, not like Sheldon who is constantly hated by everyone but still perceived like an annoying child
@@emmagorington4559 And I think you're hitting it right on the head.
Abed is never put into a position where he needs to change. His autism is seen as a fun quirk he has. That's very dangerous representation. He would never be able to function in normal society without some form of change, which he should be able to do because he recognises his faults enough to identify them. With the right tools and coaching it would be fine.
But the shows seems to treat therapy like some evil, awful thing while Abed should really get it.
The reason Sheldon is seen as awful? He faces consequences for his actions. If he wants to partake in normal society he needs to stop doing certain things. Which is a way more valuable lesson for anybody with autism then "just be yourself everytime and all the time"
But Sheldon gets hated because he needs to change and some people on the spectrum just don't want to hear that. They want the world to bend around them like they are the second coming of Jesus.
Except blackface is funny
-"The character of Abed was being well responded to by the...kind of...call it the...spectrum community"
-"Sure. The audience"
Lol
@imnevermakingavideo Love it when that happens
i was about to say this lol lowkey burn
i think he said "the autists"
imnevermakingavideo just did the same lmfao
imnevermakingavideo same 😳
What I like is, dan puts passion behind his characters. Sheldon, like many here point out, is a stereotype. Abed is an actual person. He didn't just make abed to make him, he crafted the character and learned something about himself. Dan's real good at his work and I hope he keeps up the diversity of what he does.
I personally keep reflecting on this and see similarities. Aversion to eye contact, conflict, interests that never lose their grip and internal dialogue along with over thinking every goddamn interaction. I think I'm on that spectrum too, at least to a minor extent.
Sheldon is a caricature
"The last person to figure out a social norm."
That hits too close sometimes.
What about both
"A-B-E-D
Connoisseur of Christmas
On the spectrum?
None of your business"
Thoughts too fast to comprehend
Just wanna do right by my friend
thoughts too fast to comprehend, just wanna do right by my friends
@@iverkjellkken6569 if years were seasons, this december would be the december of our december
@@isakkallsmyr9854 more blueprints than howard hughes but if there are blueprints how do we choose?
We have to be happy to get to the end!
We have to save Christmas to save our friends!
We have to save Christmas to save our friends!!
WE HAVE TO SAVE CHRISTMAS TO SAVE OUR FRIENDS!!!
That "six candles" film Abed made was so emotional
One of my favorite scenes in the entire series and it always brings me to tears. Watching this clip actually made me want to watch that scene right now.
@@MelchVagquest same man people with autism are unique in their own way
I never expected to cry so early in the series when I saw it for the first time, and I still do ever time I rewatch it
@@jbasti227 same
as an autistic person who grew up in an unstable household, that episode makes me sob every time i watch it. every time i think i’ll be okay and won’t be affected, it still gets me each time.
I was just diagnosed with aspergers this year, at an age of 29. I can't tell you enough how much I love this clip. These small humiliations and horrible feelings of alienation I've had for most of my life suddenly have some soft of.. if not answer, then an explanation. It's so much more than just being socially awkward and nerdy. Dan bringing up the point of it being a "so-called disorder/affliction" just gives me such a profound feeling of validation it moves me to tears. Thank you so much for this clip.
Efreeti I know how you feel, like being embarrassed because you can't understand stuff "normal" people do. Just not being able to wrap your head around certain things, or having problems articulating your thoughts so you just kind of shut down and ignore those types of scenarios. I'm 24 and was diagnosed at around 16, and have made some strides.
Good luck and I hope the best for you. Don't let it run you, or affect how you deal with things. Don't get caught up in "what do normal people do" and just focus your goals such as getting better socially, understanding peoples feelings, and all that and work on them without comparing yourself to everyone else. Which can be hard.
Thank you for this comment.
This video is almost 3 years old now, it has a bunch of views and at some point I decided to not comment on it. I want people to feel free to say wathever they want, I always keep an eye on the discussions and let them unfold.
It is kinda self moderating, people are sharing views, sometimes they are angry but it's very civilized and positive overall. It makes me happy and it makes me think that people can always be friendly when you approach things the right way, as Dan does in the video.
I cut together this clip and a second one a while ago, it was maybe 8 pm, I made transcripts and translated them and made subtitles and then I got to bed pretty freaking late.
I already knew the whole interview and I kept thinking about some parts of it because it was a rough moment in my life and I was really feeling that what Dan says in the video is important.
I didn't do much really, I'm just glad that the content was there, it's all Dan Harmon. He puts it so well, I just really wanted to share it and make it more visible.
There are many very touching comments in this video and I just felt like replying to this one and tell you I'm really really glad you like it and that it makes you and other people feel good. Thank you for your message.
:)
Efreeti most normal people live in a delusional reality of irrational certainty.
I was looking for Dan Harmon videos and came across this one. Since I have Aspergers the title intrigued me and I had to watch. I was not diagnosed with Aspergers until I was in my 40s. Up until that time I thought there was something REALLY wrong with me. I did not think I just made mistakes but I was a mistake and that I could not do anything right. I was made fun of, laughed at and bullied all growing up. My dad and step mom thought I was rebellious because I "refused" to do things the "right" way. My whole life I have wanted to make movies and be an actor but there was a part of me that thought "why try if I am just going to fail?" At any rate I really appreciate you posting this video.
Community first came out when I was in middle school and I was immediately drawn to Abed as a character. Im autistic and seeing someone that was so much like me was so important. He's a character who's ability to Feel empathy is rarely questioned. Hes constantly included in his friend group and his friends genuinely care about him and do not treat him like a burden. He is seen as talented, capable and intelligent and his abilities are never questioned. While the other characters do have misconceptions about him, they are quickly challenged. Hes got an incredibly committed and loyal friendship that much of the show is centered around. And he his behaviours are never mocked or controlled. Hes able to maintain a variety og healthy and complex relationships and quickly aknowledges if he makes a mistake. Hes extremly self aware. Im mentioning all these qualities because i have never seen another character have them but Ive also never been told an autistic person could have them. He is such a well written and multi layered character. This show was ground breaking for a lot of reasons, but the portrayal of Abed is one I'm probably never going to forget. The amount of compassion that was put towards the writing of his character is something that i appreciate so much. I know having proper representation in tv won't solve the world's problems but it did help me feel less alone as a kid and I love this show to this day because of it.
+Jousty Birdington I bet I could find a really sick barb if you wrote a heartfelt paragraph for me.
urban cohort lol internet white knights. Go back to worshipping Sheldon and Rick Sanchez.
you probably just don't have the iq to understand rick and morty
urban cohort Whatever makes you feel better about watching cartoons, man.
This was very moving. Thank you for sharing your story.
I love all the episodes that explore Abed’s mind. He is so interesting and his development in the show is truly beautiful. Episodes like the Hot Lava , dreamatorium, chicken fingers, Abed’s uncontrollable Christmas episodes (etc) get me so emotional watching him and learning about his mind. One of the best written characters I’ve seen
the Christmas episode almost made me cry because they were using the way abed thinks to address a problem
Dan: I didn’t want to diagnose him on camera.
Jeff in the Pilot: Oh yeah? Well you have Aspergers.
I thought that might just be an insult when I watched the first episode, but in subsequent episodes, it became clear that...
Didn't Jeff accuse Abed of having Aspergers in the series opener?
Yes he did. My personal take on this matter is this: it was usefull to make clear what's happening with Abed being "weird" at the beginning of the series also for the part of the audience that is not familiar with this condition. Aside from that moment, Abed is always seen by others and by himself as someone who's a little strange and has particular gimmicks and needs just like everybody else, without using labels. That's the general vibe of the show. Thanks for watching by the way.
***** I really like the contrast that in Community they make clear Abed has Asperger's at the very first episode, whereas the Big Bang Theory creators constantly deny that Sheldon has Asperger's when asked.
Mario Alfredo Montoya That's the difference between community and tbbt: realism
slipknotfatman, also, I think Community _likes_ smart people, whereas Big Bang treats them as a joke.
KelniusTV AMEN
"There is no disorder that makes people want to be alone"
Schizoid personality disorder has left the chat.
This joke has received no where near its deserved recognition
I imagine the relative obscurity of that particular personality disorder probably has something to do with how long people live after the diagnose.
I was thinking the same thing. Lmao
I'd like to point to some studies done with people with schizophrenia who live in very small but supportive groups like african tribes in which the impulses are often very positive with socially altruistic results. Who could have known that tribes in which bad behavior is treated with a village wide intervention telling the offender about all the good things that the offender has done and how much they all love him and are sad that he had to steal or whatever. It's all very interesting. I don't feel like looking for it unless someone shows interest.
@@Bigwaterboi that does sound interesting. I have a brother with schizophrenia and an interest in the condition. If you could point me in the right direction I would be most grateful
My god I love Dan Harmon. I have ADHD and, while different from Aspergers, I experience the world similarly. The fear of being found different and more specifically SCOLDED for being different can be paralyzing. I love it when people celebrate being weird with me and as a social creature, I seek out those people who do.
I have a tough time staying focused on things which don't immensely interest me, so when I zone out, start tapping on things, making noises for my own entertainment, etc. people think it's weird. I hate annoying people like that, but sometimes the sheer boredom is deafening and I unconsciously begin to preoccupy myself. THAT is why I get distracted, because I get bored to an incredible degree. I don't mean to turn people off with fidgeting, but in my natural state I inevitably do.
Thank god there is a medication to curb my attention span. I love what I do (software developer) but without the medication I would be far less effective at work.
When I learned that modern psychology now posits that ASD and ADHD are on the same spectrum, that really clicked for me. I stopped thinking about my ADHD as something to solve or beat, and started to think about it as something that made me different. Definitely improved my perspective
@@michaelbateman2563 wait ADHD is on the ASD spectrum? where’d you see that? i’m interested in learning more
@@professorquinsonsnibit's not. They someone can have both, in fact alot of people with one have the other. They both represent Neurodivergence. Neurodevelopmentally differ that Neurotypical (allistic Individuals).
The Autism spectrum is the Autism spectrum. Look up the circle of traits and how they are displayed in drawings. That is the spectrum.
ADHD may have some of those traits, but it is not on the actual Autism spectrum.
'I've got self-esteem coming out of my butt.'= best tv line ever.
References to pickle products and eating poo...this guys mind was on rick and morty years ago
This guy needs to do a TED talk.
BNL07604 he kind of does weekly on the Harmontown podcast
Round carpets aren't all they're cracked up to be.
It's called Rick and Morty
My dream is to have Dan Harmon create a rom-com with the leading lady being a woman on the spectrum. Female Aspies are so rare! He could do us justice!
Sounds awesome! Also sounds very difficult to pull off. Would love to watch that movie though.
Elementary, the American Sherlock Holmes retelling, had a character that was described as neuro-atypical and I am no scientist or aspie, but felt the character was well written.
I'm famale autistic, and yes, I even have heard people say "it is something only boys have" like...not really xD we mask it better but it's not like it vanishes just like that, I believe we (autistics) are about 50/50, the thing is when they study autism spectrum they don't take this in count. It's like looking for freckles in 5 guys with clean face versus 5 girls _with makeup_ all over: impossible accurate results.
Because of that results, and saying there are more males in the spectrum, everything portraits it with male point if view and male characters. And I'm not talking from a "feminist" point of view, more like a logical thing to point out, something I've noticed.
@@aspergerart4635 I totally agree, a bigger female representation would be great! And while the representation of autistic men is better, I still find that autism in general is drawn kind of gimmicky in most films and TV shows. Mostly autistic people are shown either as cute maskotts with a heart of gold or as anti-social crime solving savants (there are some excetions). But then again, in my experience even medical professionals often don't seem to get how autism works.
There's a good youtube video about the representation of autism. I won't post a link because in my experience youtube tends to mute comments containing any links, but you can find it by searching "The Dangerous Failure Of MUSIC (2021)". Despite its title, it's more than just another rant about Sia's "Music" movie.
I just subscribed to your channel btw, looking forward to browse your videos soon! :)
Everything's Gonna Be Okay features a female autistic protagonist and is hilarious and authentic.
It's seriously fascinating to hear Dan talk about, like, anything. He seems especially passionate about everything social and psychological, which I guess makes sense considering this is what Community is all about. I wish I could see him talk with and bounce off someone on his level, that would be truly satisfying.
The part about fear of alienation hit hard. It reminds me of the episode where Annie and abed go in the dreamatorium and abed imagines himself in a locker as a metaphor for being afraid of being cast out. He feels like that’s where he belongs because he’s always eventually alienated when the people around him finally get sick of him. I relate to that so heavily. Thank you Dan for writing a character that I can confidently say accurately represents the autistic community without being a lame stereotype.
"It's the new autism" This interviewer sure knows a lot about Aspergers...
Aspergers IS autism, so I don't get the joke.
Silas Dam That is the joke.
***** I still don't get it... I guess it's just the lack of sarcasm thing.
Silas Dam You sure know a lot about reacting to a video before you give it a shot
Alex Adamczyk Never said the video was bad, I don't have the first three seasons on DVD for nothing.
3 years ago and he mentions both pickles and people who eat poop. I see the seeds were planted very early on.
Waaay up in his butthole
Reminds of when I realised that I probably have ADHD after having worked close to a decade with kids and teens with autism and ADHD. The "My god why is it that I seem to be the only one who understand what these kids think, feel and want?!! Am I a NDD whisperer? Do I have superpowers? Is that why I fail at schoolwork and when I try to listen to people för longer than 5 seconds...wait a minute...fakk!"
:D
And in the case of Mr. Harmon, the lack of eye-contact and the amount of time he spends trying to explain simple things give it away. Awesome Dan!
I was very attached to Abed when I started this series before I knew I had autism because we both have the same special interest (tv and film) and post awareness brought me even closer. As much hate as the sixth season got I also appreciated Paget Brewster's role because I felt she was female representation which is so much harder to find.
I find a big comfort in his character. Curious, how old were you when you were diagnosed? I’m assuming you’re a girl too, that’s normally pretty hard to get diagnosed.
@@RomanZolanski123 23
Aspergers is the new autism
Real bruh moment
__ isn’t it a form of autism?
__ ok thanks. Because I have a “friend”, we’re not that close but he’s really nice and he’s like 2 years younger than me, with Aspergers. There’s nothing wrong with him and if anything he’s actually in a way smarter because he really likes educating himself on new topics. You can kind of tell because he is a bit socially awkward but it’s charming in a weird way
You know. I've been diagnosed as someone in the "autism spectrum" a year ago. I don't find Dan Harmon's words here offensive. I don't think the video isn't negative as well. He's talking straight to the point and with care. He seems to be aware of the topic and it's great. I agree with many things he said, specially how someone that is diagnosed at adult age can feel lost because we already adapted (some better than others) to society's standards. The feeling of isolation and being apart is real. People telling you things like "WTF?" Is real also. The eccentricity is a big part of it as well. But contrary on what I was told when the doctor gave me the diagnosis, I don't believe it's a gift or a good thing. It's incapacitating if you do not have the means to cope with it, and specially if you do not have someone besides your family to "show you the way" things are outside of your house. We do not need people taking care of us, but you know that protective mother, the overly caring girlfriend, the job that sometimes need to understand a specific situation? Unfortunately, these are kind of essential. Regarding the many difficulties, bullying, I think, is the worse. But the feeling that you're unwanted, the silence every time you talk and the segregation - it's what keep us from having a normal life. I do not have watched Community yet, but I guess it's good that someone that writes for TV has the sensibility to portray the problem in a humanistic way. Another thing essential when you've got Asperger is being real. We live in a world we're people lie for diversion, and aspies are very literal. So my advice to aspies out there and people in general is: laugh, be responsible, do not hide behind a diagnosis, take care of yourself; but, specially, be nobody's fool, because there a lot of people that want you to be their idiot and they don't deserve you to meet their expectation. You can be bad at your worse. But at your best, you're amazing...
Yep, I've been treated as the group idiot in my childhood. The person everyone sees as rock bottom and hates when you accomplish something.
I'm nobody's fool.
And you're right. No matter how much self love you've learned to have through surrounding yourself with support, it's still a disability at the end of the day. I'm not hiding behind a diagnosis if I acknowledge that my life is and will always be more challenging than NTs.
I always feel smarter after hearing Dan Harmon talk about nearly everything
JDMime I mean he always teaches me something new or makes me think about things in new ways: that should be obvious
Freakin' DAN HARMON dude, what a guy.
at 8:30 when he started listing fucked up things, it was like that stand up bit by John Mulaney about Ice-T.
"Abed was well received with the uh.. spectrum community" "Sure, the audience"
Sick burn
Agiardt I feel like it’s not a burn tho, that’s the whole point! Being being on the spectrum isn’t something to be ashamed of!
This is why I love the internet. I had no idea I wasn't the last person to figure out how to use a urinal until this video.
'weird indian kid' did you forget that you wrote him as half arabic and polish?
@@TheZenBullet palestinian/polish
@@LemmyKBrinkwood Palestinians are Arabs
But he is half Indian really
@@MortySmith01 also half polish really
Abed is a magical elf-like man who makes us all more magical
"People like to eat shit." Seems the inspiration for Pickle Rick has been there for quite some time.
Abed made me learn a lot about myself. It started making so much sense as to why I always related to Monk. Yeah, it was obvious as a kid.. not so much now. I learn to interact "better-ish
Monk was one of my first aspie role models! He isn't drawn as actual asperger at all, but his weird mix of hypersensitivity, OCD, giftedness, naivety, self-occupation and depression feels close. It's a blessing and a curse ... :D
This video led to my self-Diagnoses and now official diagnosis of Asperger's... It was 3 am.. what a night
How did you get diagnosed? I just self-diagnosed and now I need to hear from a medical professional because part of me believes that I am and part of me believes I am not
@@RecardoGuillermo heyo! not op but thought i might be able to help anyway. aspergers is generally no longer diagnosed, as as of the dsm5 it and relating diagnoses have been replaced with the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In my own research and in my personal experience being diagnosed with ASD as an adult, a psychiatrist or psychologist are the most common go-to people for ASD assessment and diagnosis. Get a referral from a GP (or therapist if applicable), saying that you suspect ASD and are looking for a professional to confirm, and diagnose if proven necessary.
Yeah, I took four ASD tests yesterday, and my results all came up within the "threshold". It's the first time I've taken any tests for it. I've always had my suspicions and even been accused of it. I'm 32 now. Idk if it's worth getting an official diagnosis or not. Also, Community is a gem of a show!
It is really hard to take this interviewer seriously with his odd hat. Also Dan Harmon’s a really insightful guy, I could hear him talking about this for hours.
I love Dan Harmon, in the gayest and least appropriate way possible, stay weird and wonderful
Yeah, Id like to rip his feet off, and force-feed them to his oldest living relative too.
@@insanitycubed8832 touche pussycat
I don't have Asperger's as far as I know, but I do have AD(H)D and that has caused me a lot of social awkwardness and shame when I was younger. So for me personally Abed was still a great role-model for how to be comfortable in my own skin even when I didn't get all the social cues and customs and I am very thankful for that
It's taken well over 20 years for me to come to the conclusion (with help of specialists of course) that I have Asperger's, It drives me up the wall to think about the difference It would have made if I found out while still in school.
I love the Abed character because he makes it easier for others the understand that the weird behavior he shows often is a reaction to things happening around him. For the longest time I automatically adjusted my speech-patterns and behaviors to my environment to gain some semblance of control over my life, never fully realizing that that meant never really being myself. I'm a grown man now so I can deal with the reactions I get when I say or do "weird" things now (and actually often revel in the weirdness because it can be fun, and if I get to talk long enough about it suddenly it isn't so weird), but I really hope that kids with similar personal issues get better guidance in school nowadays so they don't feel the constant pressure to adjust themselves to others that more-often than not don't do the same for you.
I was diagnosed with Aspergers when I was 5. I've been getting therapy and been put in rubber rooms until I was closer to normal since then, but I still come off as cold, callous and absent from my physical space sometimes. The funny thing about that is that it's almost always just me internally fighting with myself about how to seem like less of a freak, and the answer is usually just "mind your own business, keep interactions brief and only talk to people i know or people they know. But even then I'm still filled with trepidation about how I should act or what I should say. I was also diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (a serious terminal illness that comes with chronic pain, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and I can really confirm what Harmon said about how Aspergers is different than a real condition that ruins your life. Aspergers causes (in me) a lot of anxiety, self-doubt, over-empathetic responses to other people's problems and while getting your jaw popped back into place at the E.R., borderline-obsession a with something that I'm interested in, fear of rejection, and a seething hatred for eye-contact, pickles, canned vegetables and olives. I've also got depression and existential dread that makes it so that I sleep 10 hours a week of I'm lucky, but that might be a different problem. But it also makes me think in a way that the people closest to me seem fascinated by as they always ask me to describe my thought-process for any idea for a certain shot I want to capture and just put in whatever impressionist experimental short-film I want to make that day. But since I was literally crippled by EDS, I see how different Aspergers is when compared to something legitimately debilitating. I was always embarrassed or trying not to get embarrassed by staying away from any human interaction. I've even noticed that my pet monitor lizard seems to think in a way that I can understand better than most people. But that didn't make me want to die to escape agony, just quiet and awkward. But when you sneeze and notice that you've just dislocated 3 ribs, or wake up with both shoulders dislocated and are forced to make your friend (who is grossed-out and appalled by my condition, sometimes she'll see how crooked my clavicle is and react to it like a disturbing moment in a John Carpenter film) put one back in so that you can put the other shoulder, elbow, kneecap, wrist and 3 fingers back (when I sleep i sleep restlessly, so I often wake up with dislocated joints). That's a disability. That's what really gets in the way in life. I cant worry that I'll fuck-up social interactions if I hurt too much to leave the house.
This probably seems like a self-indulgent sob-story, but I really don't need any "you're so brave" bullshit. I'm not brave, I'm just living with what I have. I wrote this to hopefully get people to see Aspergers as less of a disability (at least on my side of the spectrum), and see the physically retarding condition as more of a disability. I'm not saying us Aspies won't occasionally need some special treatment when we don't understand something, and I've needed people to explain that I need to look potential employers or interviewers and that I'm not supposed to turn a light and fluffy conversation into a serious talk about why Trump is a monster or why humans as a species should start slowly and painlessly stop reproducing until we're extinct or close to it. I still don't see why I need to conform to those ideas, but you don't need to talk to us like human interaction is an entirely foreign concept to us. It's not, it's just overwhelmingly complex and full of body language that's too subtle; and sometimes we need someone to act as a social skills compass; not an insultingly slow annunciation in an explanation of why you're not supposed to say love isn't real at a wedding (but to be fair, why shouldn't we say that at a wedding? People can get married and live happily together even if the initial infatuation wears off, I don't see why people hate the fact that the pheromones that make-up love usually wear-off after 4 years).
joey sands im so sorry you are going through all this... About disabilities i get what you mean, i got diagnosed with Ashtma recently, i could feel the pity from some friends and family but honestly in the "disease roulette" i got one of the milder ones... People always think why me? And i think its the opposite, why not me? Statistics are filled with human beings, "others you". It seems for people being 100% healthy (body/mind) its the norm while in reality everyone has something to some extent. The same goes for my son, he is on the lighter side of the spectrum and im thankful that it isn't worst, he is not average right now but that doesn't mean he isnt going to be functional (goes to 4 therapies a week and works like a champ), and so far as a 5 year old he is really happy and makes me happy too.
Jesse Curle I do think it's a good show, but I don't know if I'd say that I love Rick. I love what he is, his mind, comedic timing, and overall mad-supergenius persona; but he's also designed to make you feel disgusted for liking him. The sadism that he likes to exhibit really forces the viewer to confront the fact that they're falling for a man so numb to suffering that nothing has any consequences to him, especially the death of sentient life forms. He really is a great character in the sense that he personifies the dichotomy between cold and uncaring callous cruelty that many geniuses too annoyed by conversations with people whom possess normal intelligence exhibit (like Stanley Kubrick), and the things that that genius makes the idea behind them attractive to common people. I love him on a narrative and artistic level, but he's often too cruel for me to really love as a character. But remember this isn't a criticism of the show, it's that way by design and is extremely effective as a comedy and an absurdist existential nightmare. Solid 9/10.
Holy shit dude! You have some bad genes sorry for that.
I haven't been diagnosed, partly because of my sort of fear of doctors. But I still always really related to Abed. I can empathize with the mind jumping around to different variables and references all the time while trying to still stay grounded in reality. I'll always make tons of weird inside jokes that I don't think people always get and then I'll realize I've said something weird way too late, or sometimes not at all. Anyways, a really great character and I loved a lot of Dan's writing on the show. It was truly streets ahead.
I just came back to this video after not seeing it for a while. Thank you so much for posting and extra thanks for adding your motivation for doing so. I'm so glad it's been viewed by so many people and made a difference for them. It certainly did for me. Much love!
Aspergers is widely diagnosed as a general social awkwardness or inability to respond to social cues, but if you want to be a powerful person it helps to not be so suggestible, and one may choose to not respond to social cues because the vast majority of social cues are just people trying to manipulate you.
i was never diagnosed with anything on the spectrum, instead i was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (which is another social disorder) but honestly, the level to which i relate to abed suprises me
i feel like i should see a psychiatrist again because i've been through the same journey of somehow not being able to understand the social cues and somehow feeling like socialising happened so easily to everyone else and everyone else just acted and reacted while i analysed and chose what i assumed was the appropriate response and then slowly learning how to act and behave in order to get the best response out of people
just knowing that others (the other commenters) have gone through the same thing its just so relieving
anyway thank you dan for creating a character like abed who i can relate to on such a fucking spiritual level
Abed is the best character ever written in a TV show, period
watching this has brought me new meaning and vigor in my life. Thank you, Harmon :p
This is why I continue to watch community to this day. Gives me the sense I can belong somewhere
If you’re watching this video but you haven’t watched the show a lot, know this - Abed’s condition is addressed many times in many different ways. Although it’s not said by name (besides Jeff thinking Abed has Aspergers right at the beginning of the show), it’s a HUGE plot point for not only Abed, but his friends. It shows not only how difficult it is for him to live with it and the problems it caused with his own family, but it also shows how it makes him uniquely him and is his greatest strength. As someone with a brother on the spectrum, I can say that Abed touched me emotionally later in my life when I really understood what his character was going through. Dan Harmon is not perfect, especially at this time when political correctness wasn’t as prevalent as it should have been, but this show made great strides in many ways, especially with this character.
Most kinnies: kinning characters who's creators never know them
Dan Harmon: *kins his own character*
this makes me so happy. it warms my heart so much.
Abed is hands down one of the best and well written characters of the last decade.
"on the spectrum community."
"...the audience" lmfao
You can tell that Harmon identifies with Abed just from the writing. Abed is the character that is usually shown to be right, wise, etc. He gets the last word. He was the one character to show up as sane when they all took the psych tests. The character of Abed is Harmon's way of glorifying himself through his story. Writers do this all the time.
Yep, watching it Abed is clearly the central “main” character, even if it doesn’t seem that way.
He [Abed] is also the 'meta voice,' which parallels Harmon himself. Harmon is nothing if not meta.'
Just judging by Harmon's stammering, constant tics, and his tendency to live in his head, I'd say he himself probably has Asperger's, which is how he "accidentally" makes characters on the spectrum. I know many of the characters I write come off as neurodivergent, even when I don't mean for them to, because I honestly dont know what it's like to live without ADHD.
@@JuliPope-blubic
Well, no doubt it is easiest for us to write about that which we know first hand. Perhaps the greats are those who can tell a story, painting honest depictions of characters with worldviews and mindsets radically different from their own.
In the latest DSM they dropped Asperger's. It's actually just ASD or autism spectrum disorder now. I think they did this because two labels for the same condition is just kind of redundant, and ASD is a neat umbrella term for everyone on the spectrum.
An umbrella term isn't what we want. If anything, that undermines the individual issues we face.
I have long struggled with the fear of acceptance and being weird. I have A LOT of social anxiety and there was a time when my parents thought I might have Asperger's, but the therapist said I was normal. Watching this video, I think about a coworker of mine. Although I can't be sure, I have suspected he has Asperger's, and though there are many times when working with him has been frustrating, this video reminds me that I am probably very similar to him, and if I'm right out him, he has a lot of frustration, too, and in any case I need to be more understanding.
10:50 I have never related to something so hard. I have never felt so seen when he articulated that feeling
I have Aspergers. I was diagnosed the week after my 40th birthday. Most people don't realise that the real problem with Aspergers is the anxiety.
While I respect his regard for Aspergers, I hate the term Aspie. Feels really patronising.
People with aspergers often refer to each other as aspies as a term of endearment. It’s not a slur.
@@felonious83 I know that but I just don't like it.
Yeah same if someone calls me an aspie I'd be very annoyed
For those who don't know, "Asperger" is Autism. Autism is not one thing but an spectrum, and Autism 1 was called Aspergers but now it is just Autism like all of the other "parts" of the spectrum, it is not a different thing, it only has a different name.
Fun fact: morty smith also has asperger's syndrome
As someone on the spectrum, I can say pretty confidently that Dan Harmon is as well. Just look at how he never makes eye contact.
Yeah, that was what stuck out to me at the start of this clip too
I noticed that too!
Not always though. To me it seems he avoids eye-contact when talking about his personal issues (like here).
But in HarmonQuest, where he just plays D&D with his friends he makes a lot more eye-contact
Lol I’ve know I’ve had Aspergers since I was 6 and when I learned what it was called I thought it was funny. I’m glad is throwing respect towards the community.
Dan is truly a man that's seen a lot of struggle in his life, through the ups and downs and various shows i'm glad he's in a good place in his life today. with his success on Rick and Morty and finally being apart from his crazy wife he's seeming more liberated to take on more ventures. i hope everything worked out for him!
You can call it a disorder. These definitions exist for a reason. No need to pretend it's not a disorder just because you don't want to hurt peoples feelings. I have Aspergers, and the classification of disorder never bothered me. I always thought it would be a fun challenge to try and overcome the difficulties that come pre-packaged with my condition while keeping the advantages.
If you're worried about other people treating you differently because of your disorder, then simply don't tell them until after they've gotten to know you. In my experience people are usually surprised when I tell them. I guess it just goes to show how far I've come. I would never have made the effort to improve myself if everyone told me that I was fine just the way I was.
I used to think I was Jeff, too. Now I am quite comfortably Abed. Trying to be Jeff, I was always guessing. As Abed, I have confidence out the wazoo! (And I don't have to be Don Draper if I don't want to.)
This was so touching and it's so true about representation and role models too. I feel like as time progresses we'll sort that out, but as it stands popular tv/film is a joke at this point.
The thing about Dan Harmon thats crazy is that his self identification with Jeff sounds so pretentious when he says it but if you really listen to his points the man can TRULY talk his way around anything
This is a man who got me too’d in the height of the me too movement and created what is now the template for apologys
Monarch I mean he gave a great apology. He didn’t defend himself. He acknowledged what he did and why.
I wouldn't say it's pretentious but it says a lot about how we see ourselves and how others see us, he's really not a Jeff
"Are we just...diagnosing being weird? Being exceptional?"
I'm not autistic, but that's refreshing to hear and I think Harmon's right.
When we started this show my wife insisted Jeff was just like me. She actually started it first and wouldn't leave me alone till I saw this guy and how much he's like me.
I start the show and immediately lock onto Abed. Jeff was cool, but he wasn't me. Abed though, I understood him from the first moment he spoke. I just got swept up in Abed's journey, and have no shame confessing he made me cry more than once over the series.
Abed is my favorite fictional character, full stop.
THIS is why I love Dan Harmon so much. I've never heard someone talk so openly about stuff like this. I see a lot of myself in Dan, so listening to Harmontown is somewhat therapeutic and cathartic.
TheMrJay8 he isn’t on the spectrum. He says he is to get away with being a destructive asshole.
I would have never been able to accept myself as someone on the autism spectrum without this show and without Dan Harmon.
at the moment, the only shows who i think portray people on the autism spectrum as people are atypical and and community
They were called eccentric in another day. There are no normals, just some wear masks better than others.
Of course everyone is different, but if you diverge from other people past a certain threshold you're considered to be less normal.
The autistic spectrum basically measures how much you diverge from others in some specific ways. I think it's a good thing that these labels exists, but it would be impractical to have so many of them that they don't mean anything anymore, that's why they are divided in "normal", "aspergers", "autistic", etc.
And there is no need to accuse other people of pretending to be normal.
Shhhh, don't tell the egalitarian leftists
I hate how we put people in boxes because they think a certain way, when we have little to no idea what goes on in our own head.
Yeah, but when I learnt there was a box for my type of weird, it made the world way easier to navigate, both for me and the people that know me
Also by 2014 Asperger's was included in ASD so couldnt be 'the new autism' as it's part of ASD.
Thank you for uploading this, and including your in depth description below, I found both extremely insightful! Community means a whole lot to me and this may be one of the biggest reasons why. Just gotta hope the movie won't be shit. 🤞
8:55 "there is no such thing, no twisting of the mind possible that has ever resulted in any person wanting to be alone" I really like that quote
The end of this made me cry. I feel this.
I dont like the interviewer, but Dan Harmon is such a wise and self reflected man. Watch his talk at google, I am so interested in him since then
Actor guy: Do you have aspergers?
Dan: *talks for seven minutes straight*
Kevin and Dan in the mooooooorning!
Dan and Kevin
In the morning
Some people like being alone. Hermits.
Though argueably they could just like being away from other people and find company with nature.
Notice how he lets him finish talking, no matter what kind of setup he requires, or digressions he goes through. That's how you can tell you are not watching Larry King.
I think the point about this is that Abed is a role model because he accepts who he is and doesn't allow other people to change him, he doesn't pretend to be normal and doesn't adjust his behavior because people might call him weird. He likes people and wants to be around them, but isn't willing to lie to himself or to others about who he is.
Fuck being normal and fuck changing your lifestyle because someone tells you to, be who are you. If we were all the same then nothing would ever change and we'd all still be slinging rocks at people on different hills then us.
this was beautiful, honestly
I'm a huge fan of community but always thought Dan Harmon was kind of a dick and just stumbled across the Abed character almost by accident. Little did I know he was literally creating the show for people like me from the second season onwards.
"There are people who like eating poop" I think Dan may like to eat poop
Just hearing “what are you DOING?” in that tone really hit a nerve
I've been alone for so long that I honestly find it hard to be with other people and prefer solitude. Especially if it's people who's been so lucky in life that they don't even understand the meaning of the word problem. I get wanting your situation to be better no matter what. But when people start to gossip or complains about things that is either minor or not important at all, I feel drained afterwards being around them. I used to be different, but life smacked me hard in the face, and I keep getting up but I also get knocked back down every single day. And when you get sick like that you will either be the type of person who wants to be taken care of, or you want to be left the hell alone. People seeing you when your in pain is both embarrassing and exhausting cause they don't know what to do about it, they think their helping by asking how your doing, or if there is anything they can do. But after hearing it so often it's hard to come up with something new to say.
I think Abed is a fair portrayal of someone with Aspergers. Although there is a lot that the media ect still get wrong about it, things like not understanding humor or sarcasm or having no emotions. If anything the people who I've met that have Aspergers tend to be more caring and empathetic and have a better sense of humor than most people. Although they were all definitely still weird :p
Dan Harmon such a humble legend
I love this man :)
I'm 20. I've had problem with interacting socially all my life. I've been alienated, bullied for being weird and having to hide some of my stranger habits I can't explain. This year I was diagnosed with Autism and watching something like this is amazing
im really high and harmon looks like a cartoon, when he moves it looks animated like an old simpsons episode
Thank you for saying it.. it's not us, it's that people aren't understanding what we are saying
Thank you Dan Harmon for Abed Nadir, he helps me relate the the world around me more haha
I like Kevin Pollack trying to figure out the Venn Diagram of where ASD and normal human experience overlap, and Dan's answer to it. This is a good point to make. I see where the "shaman" idea fits in -- Abed straddles the two words of the fearless individualist and society and pulls society into scary places. Neat.
4:44
is that a real think because i have autism( aspergers to be exact) and i love pickles and other brine based snacks like olives and capers.
though to be fare i just really love salt so....
No, he was purposely trying to use an example that wouldn’t offend anyone.
Lol I thought the same thing. I'm also autistic and I like pickles, good crunch. (There are certain ones I don't like the taste of as much but like, restaurant pickles I enjoy.) What I can't stand is cooked peppers or cooked tomatoes. I like both raw, but when you cook them, they bring out this nasty taste I don't know how to describe.
im frustrated that dan didn't get to finish his point about aspies and solitude