Autism on Film - The Problem with Please Stand By (2017) - Review & Critique
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- This film had an awful lot of problems. Sadly it is not particularly unusual for films about autistic characters to be so problematic.
Synopsis From IMDB:
A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her 500-page manuscript to a "Star Trek" writing competition at Paramount Pictures.
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I can definitely see your points after having watched this movie, but I found it resonated with me pretty deeply especially Wendy. My main special interests for over 20 years have been fandom, writing, and fanfiction. I'm not 100% like her but she just resonated so deeply with me with her passion and knowledge on everything in her fandom. I feel like the writing for her was pretty spot on to how I feel and interact with people and the world at large.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! I would agree that Fanning’s performance is on point. If only the narrative wasn’t compliance oriented.
I totally agree. It's really disgusting and disturbing how many of these writers are portraying all the NTs as just SO burdened and put upon and "victimized" by the disabilities and disorders and differences of others. It's beyond cruel. Not too mention the stories are often very thin and the characters incredibly cliche.
BTW, NOBODY should feel obligated to make excuses for these kind of productions or those involved who could've, but chose NOT to, do much, much better. And yeah, I'm on the spectrum.
Wow, this was hyper-targeted. A win for the algorithm I guess. Glad to be here.
Welcome!
As a level 2 autistic, I agree with your review. But, until now, it's one of the best movies on neurodiversity.
when sister and scotty go to the hospital they all loose their temper, and act out. this is the perspective of some on the perspective. they neurotypical people behave in nonsense and abrupt and abrasive ways too. and also, this has been my experience. its being gaslighted. talked down to, or made to feel like I have to prove I can act normal, whilst everyone also acts immature and don't bother to read deeper into others' creativity and internal world. well I personally was really frustrated by her sister. I think that's part of the aim of the film though, too. Wendy probably feel frustrated also and sees that it is unfair. but she doesn't say it. its an isolating feeling we can relate to.
I had to turn it off halfway through. I couldn’t believe how bad it was.
This sort of shows how poorly neurodivergence is portrayed in media. I hadn't heard of the movie until now, but some of the top reviews of it were praising it for even representing autism at all. Really interesting video, thanks for your perspective
It’s true! I’ve done a lot of research on these films and I’ve yet to find one that isn’t portraying autism as a bundle of stereotypes. Glad you liked the video!
Justice for Wendy and Pete 😪 i love them and everyone else was annoying and mean
I'm autistic, but this movie meant something to me. I liked it but everyone has different opinions.
I swear to god every single person in this movie is a villain lmao
Great stuff! Loving these short reviews.
Glad you're enjoying it :)
Fantastic Film
This video is why they don’t have more movies. I’m adhd and heavily offended by your statements. This movie was extremely accurate. People use heavy blankets on our son and it calms him. So would you rather the child gash their head open or us count and hold arms? It’s not as easy as you say it. It shows both sides of the story. Not everything is rainbows and butterflies.
Hi Rachel, sorry to hear you were offended by the video. I’m autistic and have certainly experienced meltdowns the way Wendy does many times in my life. Further - I put a lot of work into these videos and they are informed by disability studies discourses. The comments made here are a direct out growth of quite a bit of other academic critical commentary on disabilities representation in film. I would also encourage you to remember that this is a critique of a fictional film, not of real people. I’m not a clinician and certainly would not take it upon myself to critique such from a clinical perspective. However, as an academic and cultural theorist - I believe representational critique is integral to understanding how such portrayals influence public perception. I don’t believe the film is an accurate portrayal of autism - but you, of course, are free to think that it is. But wouldn’t you prefer representation created by autistic people? Such as this video - made by an autistic person. Thanks for watching.
@@lexiescineobscura I would prefer someone watch the movie from both characters perspectives. And I wish people would stop almost romanticizing being neurodivergent. It’s very difficult to understand and cope with. Love only gets you a part of the way. I know my son better than my college major for sure. I went to school for early childhood development. But they also make sure the parents are mentally prepared and understand that they may raise a child that needs help for ever not everyone becomes an Elon or Einstein. It’s very emotional as well. We shouldn’t judge someone that clearly couldn’t handle or understand someone different and give that person resources. That’s literally the best thing she could have done. She gave her sister the help she needed to survive.
Those type of videos are always super weird. Just because it doesn't resonate with YOU, doesn't meant it's the same for others. This movie is recommended and loved by many autistic people and they feel represented.
I am sorry you did not enjoy the video. As a scholar, theorist, and autistic person myself, I stand by the robust critique of narratives such as these. This film in particular, and those like it, are not created in consultation with autistic people. It's unfortunate that autists don't have access to mainstream content created by those like them. But of course, anyone is free to enjoy any portrayal of anything they like, just as I am free to critique it. In any case - the critical lens applied here, in this video, originates in Disability Studies discourse. In particular, I am referencing the theories of David T Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder from their excellent book "Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse" which argues a narrative theory that positions disability as a device of characterization. For instance: Wendy is autistic. Autism is characterized as a disability. Wendy's autism (as outlined in the video) is the thing that drives the story. The film uses Wendy's disability as a "narrative prosthesis" to demonstrate the emotional growth of the other characters, but not Wendy. Wendy's growth is rooted in complying with what others want of her. Shocking but true: one can both enjoy films, and be heavily critical of them. Whose to say I don't like the film?
P.S. Subbed