Autism in Film and TV SUCKS.
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2021
- Autism in TV and Film SUCKS. In this personal video essay, Cameron tells us all about his personal relationship with the way Autism is portrayed in the media. He looks at examples like Sia's Music, Rain Man and, The Big Bang Theory. Then, highlights some ways we can combat the misinterpretations and the changes that already seem to be happening in shows like Netflix's Atypical and short films from Pixar like Loop.
This is a video essay that I did for my university that is worth a 72/100 if anyone was wondering.
Words and podcasts --- www.ohhifilms.com
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #VideoEssay 
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>have autism
>force myself to learn social cues to be acceptable by society
>people say im faking my autism since i know social cues
>people are dumbasses
>my mom told me how my preschool teachers thought i was autistic because i spent my time there feeling the texture of the carpet
I've had people say things like "but you seem totally normal!" I take it to mean I'm doing a good job of blending in, if nothing else. But I also had someone confidently tell me I mustn't really be autistic because I write character too well in my novels. I said no, I write character well BECAUSE I'm autistic. You don't learn how to blend in without studying how other people think and behave, after all.
@@katietaylor8314 Honestly I felt the same interacting with autistic classmates before, it didnt feel like there was anything special about them. Just goes to show autism is not a disease, it is just part of a person's identity.
It pisses me off so much I'm literally writing a musical about it.
Someone told me to get retested lmfao like something had changed
The ‘genius savant’ archetype is especially bad because it creates this environment of conditional approval for autistic people, where they *can* struggle with social environments, but only if that difficulty happens to couple with a genius level knowledge on a particular subject (or, really, anything vaguely science-y).
The sad truth is that people are less likely to want or even tolerate you if you come off as more useless to them than not
It might be because people like to imagine that someone who isn’t talking to them ‘normally’ it’s because they’re preoccupied with something even more important. They don’t want to accept that people are just, like, socially uncomfortable.
I have struggled with this my whole life. I never felt like I could truly be myself because the only way I could truly be accepted in any capacity was by outpacing everyone in my studies, and STILL I became isolated from that, because I was “too intimidating” in my “intellect” or SOMETHING.
I wrote a few short stories and one of my characters is autistic. Her neurotypical friends have special talents, she doesn't. One's great in math, one playing piano. She's smart like them but she doesn't have a particular talent. She's not a savant. She's just smart.
All these movie autistics having marketable skills as special interests and then there's me who knows far too much about video games and video game design but doesn't want to be a game dev because it's a shit industry to work in.
I find that sometimes, autistic portayals often aren't even about the autistic person, but the neurotypical person instead. Often the autistic character is used as a tool for the allistic character to grow or "learn" something new, rather than a character on their own.
For me, if the main character is neurotypical it’s fine. It’s part of character development, no different than writing a story of someone who’s struggling to conceive whose sister gets pregnant or their parent has dementia. It’s a tool. Positive and negative things can’t help but influence change in those around and highlighting the effects is important.
@@smitanelson7629
I don’t mind if the neurotypical person is the main character, but what I think sucks is that autistic people themselves are almost always used as props, not characters. They are always seen as one-note and never allowed any development.
@@gregjayonnaise8314 but in real life, it takes forever for me to adjust to a new routine or for my son to learn a new skill. Obviously not all autistics are the same. If a movie only has a 2 week timeline, my son would still be learning ways to adjust to a small change in schedule. A show is easier to portray cause it spans weeks and years if there multiple seasons. Max in Parenthood has good development from what I remember.
same thing happens with deaf portrayals or attempted representation. They always make the story about the hearing person and about how sorry we should feel for the deaf person
@@peeppaa1997
The Magic Negro trope, over and over and over again. I'd even say (with autistic people) Rain Man set a bad precedent. And I'm sure the same is true of media with deaf people in it (though none are coming to mind atm)
It is worth mentioning that Maddie Ziegler was only 14 years old when the movie was filmed and that she was scared of people thinking she was making fun of autistic people. But, on the flip side, you would think that if she knows what she is doing is wrong from the get-go, that she would try her best to get out of it. But the relationship between Sia and Maddie is certainly a strange one, and I am just inferencing here when I say that Maddie's choice to be in the movie may not have been entirely her choice. All I'm saying is, Maddie should not be subjected to the same scrutiny as Sia, as there is the possibility that she wanted to leave the project but was not able to. Also, great video!
Also, thinking about it from her perspective: You're a 14yo girl being given the lead role in a movie by a huge star (who also happens to be a friend of yours)...what are you gonna say, "no"?
Maddie Ziegler was supposedly the last minute replacement for an autistic actress who could not handle the stress. But considering how obsessed Sia is with the girl, I do not believe that.
Are you sure she was 14? She’s 19 now, pretty sure it doesn’t take 5 years even with panini restrictions
@@ninjabrown8560 It was filmed in mid-2017: So, she'd be at the tail-end on 14, but it's really not a stretch.
@@schwarzerritter5724 I'm 99% sure that Sia was straight-up lying for sympathy points, not that it worked.
In an interview she had in 2015, Sia confessed that she made a movie "for" Maddie. And since no autistic actress spoke up about ever being casted in this garbage fire, it's pretty much confirmed to be a lie.
Sia's film sucks, but don't blame Maddie. Blame Sia herself
Maddie should not have taken the role...
@@roter13 There was definitely pressure and a power dynamic in the casting, I doubt there was much of a visible choice
@@roter13 Sia should not have made the movie...
Omg I hate Sia and now won’t listen to her music. so that’s good she can lose me. Bye 👋🏻
It’s Sia’s fault yes. Good to know the film sucks and we didn’t miss anything. We never saw when it came out in theatres so we never saw it
There’s a spectrum for a reason and it’s really weird how any type of physical or mental disability is always put in to a single box. One of my coworkers is on the spectrum and once it got around everyone started treating her different which we both agreed is super fucked up. She seems “normal” which I guess confuses people, but she was diagnosed fairly recently and was conditioned to be “normal”. There’s a woman that works at the McDonald’s near me that’s also on the spectrum but has more noticeable traits like inability to hold eye contact. I’ve seen her get berated and treated like shit for small mistakes. I’ll always hold up the line on purpose to talk about hello kitty with her since we have a shared love. It’s upsetting how anyone that’s not “normal” by societies standards are treated as subhuman or different for really anything from ignorance to jealousy to their own personal conflicts.
Yup! I for one am autistic, but until I tell people, they (Almost) Always can’t tell. Heck, I have less of the usually defined “symptoms” of autism than a lot of neurotypicals that I know! I can pick up on sarcasm, nuance, metaphors, and lots more things that are hard for most autistics to pick up on I 100% agree that being treated differently because of a barely noticeable problem is super annoying. One of my least favorite things about it is the priveleges, oh the priveleges... I have a lot of “priveleges” over neurotypicals just cuz of my autism (Eg: Being able to skip in line, being able to leave a social activity early, etc.) And I hate it. I don’t need them, I shouldn’t get them! Also it sucks being in a special needs class at school. I don’t have special needs, and all the other kids have problems with basic grammar. When I’m in the special needs class, I usually feel like the only sober person in a room full of drunks. Well, this is very long(Jeez, 213 words!), and I don’t really have much else to say (Even though it feels like I’m about to build up to something with that ending but I’m not sure what) Soooo... Bye!
@@ruthbaram4276 I was in special needs classes in HS because of autism spectrum stuff and I'm pretty sure that a lot of my anxiety, self-worth issues and need to overcorrect/overexplain myself stems from being in those classes when I really didn't need it. So...thanks for giving me even more mental hangups than I started out with, Special Ed: You did you job *so* well.
That's interesting- I've always been above average comfortable in solitude and had to develop a stronger capacity to hold eye contact [I still tend to divert away, but at this point it feels more like not wanting to be though staring, plus I blink a lot]. But I doubt I ever qualified as on the spectrum- socializing isn't actually much problem for me, I just don't seek it out much, understanding social cues not really a problem, except in niche areas. Never much affected me. So I assume I'm not on the spectrum, which is why the eye contact thing caught my eye... maybe I don't have the inability- I just think I'm supposed to hold it longer than I do.
Speaking from experience being in the 'normal ed' classes can be just as unhelpful and traumatic on or off the spectrum. The list of variables that can change this is long. Class size, curriculum, teacher and the other students as well as their behaviour being top of the list.
I've always noticed people treat me and other people with similar conditions differently without knowing there is a diagnosis. If there is just one thing noticeably strange or nontypical then the average casual bigot is already going to treat me differently, and it gets worse after they hear of a diagnosis. I don't think the problem is a lack of understanding about autism or other conditions specifically, but rather an over arching stigma regarding diversity in general. People in life are going to encounter others that are weird, different or alien to them and they won't have all the answers to the questions that will raise on the spot. The people that respond to that simple and unavoidable truth with bigotry just need to stop being little bitches about that and get over it.
@@WhatIsSanity omfg this just happened to me yesterday ugh I hate people
I'm surprised you didn't bring up (or haven't seen) "Everthing's Gonna be Okay", a very funny and touching series where one of the main characters was on the spectrum, portrayed by an autistic actress who I believe also had input in the writers' room. I know it's only one show, but I think when advocating for change, it's important to acknowledge incremental change when it does happen.
In season 2 I think, the main character (brother) also figures out he has autism (which the actor figured out very late in life), so we actually get to see two very different, yet equally valid and realistic, depictions of autism. Incredibly rare in media
@@EmmaThw He got diagnosed because of feedback from people after season 1!
Yes! This is a good show
That show sucks so bad, the side characters are all one sided, like really her brother is a stereotypical "gay guy" in 2021 like he has no other traits than making his quips
@@danielmiyahara9089 to each their own I guess. But the creator played the main character, so even if it's "stereotypical", it's more authentic than I think you're giving it credit for.
As someone who has worked with autistic kids, I wholeheartedly agree. I mean, representation is important but although fictional work is meant to be entertaining, they could start portraying several issues more realistically. That also goes for a lot of mental health issues like depression, anxiety or eating disorders which are often times heavily romanticized.
Off topic but Sia's and Maddie Ziegler's "friendship" is completely weird and creepy almost! If you look up their history and projects together, it's so inappropriate! Honestly, if Sia were a man that whole situation would count as classic grooming!
What makes their relationship so inappropriate?
@@naynay.5678 when maddie was a young child they would cuddle and have sleepovers all the time. SIA also said she wouldn't want to do any project without maddie. Just an example
@@bianciiieeegaming I mean sounds like she's like an aunt to her. children and adults can be friends, not everyone is a pedo you know.
@@naynay.5678 she might not be a pedophile, but it goes deeper than being some kind of "aunt", this woman is completely obsessed with that girl. it's unnerving
@@compout2 I suppose that's true. Idk some people are weird aren't they
As someone with autism, i hate when my school decides to show movies with autism, as i feel it alianates me in front of everyone
To me it’s always been a form of bullying TBH
Neurotypicals be like "well I can't relate to THAT, so it must be so unfortunate to live in a state that makes it almost impossible to find others to relate to. The most compassionate thing to do would be to up the pity to 9000 and tell them we don't want them to be sad they're so unfortunately different because we will try our hardest to accept their deep, heavy, really unfortunate psychological and biological flaws, and hope they find other beings like them to relate to". Like, no bitch, a lot of the time you can't even tell someone is autistic if they learned how to act in a way that is meant to make you view them in a specific manner. It's not that hard to understand, you just feel like it'd be easier for you to not make the effort to expand your worldview because it's more appealing to seem like the good, accepting samaritan of someone you assume has a disability.
It’s how people see them. Non human
@@Toxihex I’ve been asked “ how does it feel to be autistic? Do you see the world differently?”
@@nerdgeekcosplay909 ah yes, my favorite trope, how autistic people view the entirety of the planet in a completely different way than the rest of the human lot that see it the exact same way.
They really treated Sheldon more like an annoying child/pet than an adult.
well as someone with Autism I like Sheldon.
@@Madallen2002 You have every right to that, hell I think there are good elements to the character.
@@nicholasrodinos4701 thank you. I even like Forrest Gump and Rain man. Thank you so much for not attacking me. Especially as I have autism too.
This
im not a massive fan of his character but i will say hes the reason i actually got diagnosed sadly so i owe him something
I am a SPED teacher and autism therapist. When I saw the scene where her "caretaker" is on the floor "smothering her with his love..." I was so angry, I could not breathe.
Yeah way to make a meltdown from over stimulation worse.
I personally don’t mind that by WOMEN (I’m a girl) but usually autistic people HATTEEEE touch like that
When I had meltdowns when I was younger, being squished or being sat on me helped.
But this... is awful
I feel that it all comes from people not truly commiting or not caring for the people or cultures they show. I can relate. My country, Kasakhstan, has been shown many times in american television as some sort of desert-like undevelopeted nation with no education with all of the people living in shacks. One french "documentary" said that we stop schools to care for crops. If you told one of my teachers that we need to stop school for CROPS, you'd get bashed hard. It all comes from a lack of respect and laziness.
And the best fix is to hear real life experiences from people who know. Just looked up some pictures of Kazakhstan's cities :D
School stops when it's time to tend the crops? So does ours! Except now we use that time for other stuff bc 1. you don't need 6 million ppl farming anymore, we have technology 2. at some time we agreed that child labor is bad
like,,,, these people are racist AND stupid
Or when they portray Eastern Europe like some third world country that's ravaged by war, like in Avengers : Age of Ultron. Slavs are always just the people with specific accents in track suits that have lived in a village their entire lives. Nobody mentions the 500 years of slavery (duh, s-l-a-v-s) or the fact the nations have been so traumatized by it that war is the last thing on their mind. Or when they think of us and Russia interchangeably.
As a bonus I'd like to add that the latest killer in Dead by Daylight is a Brazilian lady whose power is to control crows... and in her backstory, it is said she would love to feed the crows in her hometown, in BRAZIL, as she's looking out the window. There are no crows in Brazil.
@@Toxihex what the? No crow places exist?!
@@rryase it would've literally taken them two seconds to Google that. Crows do not travel west when winter approaches and there's no practice of using them for farming purposes, neither are they any close to popular pets, so there's no logic in them being everywhere, which I hadn't thought about either and is not common knowledge, but when you're writing about a culture, place or time you know very little about, you Google EVERYTHING. You have no idea how thankful writers are for Google and you better believe they abuse the shit out of it for every little detail if they actually care to create something realistic (except scifi cause alternate science is the point, and even there they try to get as close as possible to real science). I can't imagine giving a shit and doing it for inclusivity, yet not taking two seconds out of your day to check things. It's very badly written by someone who obviously doesn't read too many books, because it's described as if it's supposed to be in a movie - only visual descriptions with zero word play, descriptive conveying of the emotions of characters or anything that would be lost in a video format, ya know, nothing that would justify doing it this way rather than just making a video. Multimillion company by the way. This very unqualified guy gets paid hella coin for this by the way. Everyone with the IQ of a grub on heroin can be a writer by the way.
Most writers see the "fixates on subjects" part of autism and go "you mean I can have a character that knows everything about everything as long as we pretend they fixate on it *and* have 'haha funny no social skills' scenes with them?!"
In High School our class watched an episode of Arthur to learn about autism, one character had autism and I don't remember what happened but the character freaks out and starts rocking in the corner.
Even though I had never done that or anything similar to that in my life, everyone either bullied me trying to intentionally get that reaction from me or acted like they were walking on eggshells around me to avoid getting that reaction, either way I hated it and honestly showing everyone that episode just made things worse for me as a student with autism.
That's what happens when you get Autism Speaks as a character source. If I recall, the autistic boy was a rabbit named Carl, who had a phobia of ventriloquist's dummies and was the only character Arthur's age on the show who had his mom escorting him wherever he went. Not really the best representation they could've done, but it was a different time.
Yeah, with someone as "high functioning" as Carl was portrayed, he realistically wouldn't have overloaded that easily when he was showing no signs of discomfort at all beforehand. Meltdowns never come out of nowhere like that. It was a weird portrayal that doesn't ring true.
My whole life I was told I wasn't autistic because I didn't portray it the way my toddler and small child step brother and step sister.
I watched Loop while I was high, alone in my apartment (which I had recently moved into on my own for the very first time) and I just broke down crying because it felt so real and just hit home for me.
Yeah, I've had the same moment with inside-out. I started crying at the end because I knew that had I done that when I was her age, my parents would've shown me nothing but anger and resentment because they've always been taking me for granted, feeling like providing for me well materially makes them entitled to respect and me not being safe on my own accord would be seen as entirely disrespectful to them. I've only been diagnosed as autistic recently and I didn't even tell them. My hairdresser knows, my friends know, but my parents don't, because my dad would take not having noticed, having needed to notice and not having done anything about it only as an insult to his parenting (since everything was my fault and he was always perfect, ya know), and my mom would just feel remorseful as she started feeling all the way after I hit my 20's with nothing else to really do with that information.
loop is so good. as someone who also has autism, it felt really relatable. i may not portray autism the way people think it might be portrayed; you'd really never know it just by looking at me, but i also do have sensory overloads sometimes.
Ah autism, where the bar is set very low yet at the same time, impossibly high.
As someone who suffers from autism myself, I want to write a show about a group of people who happen to have autism and they decide to go on a trip around the world in a tour bus.
That's it.
They learn to get along with each other and they try new things and explore the world they live in.
Why not?
I hope you're able to make that dream a reality. It sounds like a really nice slice of life premise.
Can I be in this movie?
I want to work on a similar idea too, I hope you make your dreams come true! I totally watch it.
can they talk about their interests the whole way? better yet make it reality tv. but if its a show make their tires blow or leave them lost or they let in hitchikers ooh this is such a good idea haha.
can i get casted please
There is an animated movie released in 2009 called Mary and Max, where a little girl and a 50-something year old man become pen pals
Later on in the film, Max realises that he has been diagnosed with Asperger’s and he goes into detail of the traits
He also expresses that he doesn’t feel ‘disabled’ and that changing who he is was like “changing the colour of one’s eyes”
I’d you haven’t seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s a perfect representation of autism, along with those episodes from Sesame Street and Arthur~
i love that flick
I was going to recommend this movie too, but you where first. It's one of my favourites. I also have autism btw although not as extreme as Max. I do agree with Max I do not feel disabled nor do I need to be cured. I just think a little different and that's okay.
Adding the little tidbit to anyone who takes this reccomdation, strap in; it's masterful in its portrayals of the character differences it takes on and deserves more recognition, but it's a hard pill to swallow in all fairness. Some of the moments could be considered too much (similar to Bojack Horseman) but it's absolutely worth the short time investment. Hope that helps.
That movie was depressing
That sounds super creepy.
As an autistic person, I get really offended when people portray ALL autistic people as dumb and helpless. Sure, some are, but most are smart and can support themselves, like me.
I have to agree with you. It just really puts you down when nearly everyone thinks you're something that needs to be euthanized.
i feel so bad for maddie, she seems like she's being pressured or groomed in a way by sia to do things like this despite feeling uncomfortable about it.
right? their relationship is weird asf
Yep. But I wonder how it will go on now Ziegler is 18
yeah really
It wasn’t entirety Ziegler’s fault, she originally didn’t want to do the role in the first place out of fear that people will think she is making fun of autistic people, but Sia egged her on.
She was a literal child so you can’t even say it was her fault at all
As an autistic person, just watching the dance sequences send me into borderline meltdown mode. So much is happening. Too much movement, to many colors
I'm actually glad I have ADHD coupled with Asperger's, because I've never felt overstimulated. It's peculiar how common it is for these two to go together and how they have way less downsides when both occur in the same person than they do separately.
Really good interpretation and critique of how Autism is depicted, it's pretty fucked. Excellent show!
Couldn't agree more
I think it’s quite a difficult topic to portray, but it absolutely needs to be presented in the correct way, and sadly, it very often isn’t
@@Hunter20095 i disagree. I happen to love movies like Rainman and Forrest Gump which me and my friend who are both on the spectrum are huge fans of
@@Madallen2002 I enjoyed it as well but autism is too stereotypical in film in my opinion
You will absolutely love the way autism is represented in Mary And Max.
It's based on the writer's personal experience with his pen pal, who fully supported and approved the script.
It's an Australian stop-motion film that does not have the audience it deserves.
Easily in my top 10 favourite films of all time.
Don’t worry, loving DVDs and Blu Rays does not make you weird. I absolutely love DVDs too!!!
"I like technology that reminds me of watching Aladdin on VHS only prettier and with other really good movies that were well written."
Definitely not.
Ever watched the stop-motion movie called "Mary and Max"? It's an overall positively received representation of autism/Asperger's and far different from the portrayals in this video
It's absolutely fantastic!
When it comes to autistic representation, it hits very close to home for me, while also being massively entertaining and terribly sad.
I was coming here to mention this film too. I liked the personality and relatability Phillip Seymour Hoffman brought to Max.
yes! this is one of my favourite movies. such a fine dark yet absolutely lovable story.
@@matthewginman8397 "The doctor said one day we may find a cure for aspergers, I do not like when he says that, I don't feel disabled, I don't think I need a cure, I like being an aspie"
It isn't an exact quote, but that line alone already makes me feel I desperetally need to watch this movie one day.
Rain Man is cliché, but it was the 80's, It was a miracle to make a movie with some medical disorder that was not hysteria, schizophrenia or mayor depression (and in a light that was not insulting, less so)
also the character is based on kim peek who was an actual savant and hoffmans portrayal of him didn't seem too exergerated
Honestly, I'm autistic, and I absolutely LOVE Rain Man. That's me, though. I'm not trying to devalue anyone else's opinion.
I'm an 26 year old autistic woman. Normally I don't tell people that I'm autistic, not because I'm ashamed of it, but because it just doesn't matter. So we have a normal conversation. But sometimes my mother showes up and tells this person, out of nowhere, without anything leading up to this subject, that I "suffer" (HER words, NOT mine) from autism. And as soon as this person hears that I'm autistic, they suddenly talk to me like I'm a little child or compleatly stupid. And they continue, even if I continou talking normaly.
I hate this so much!!
The problem is that the media portrays us in only 2 ways: Either we are extremly intelligent geniuses,that also have zero emphatie or we are to stupid to funktion on our own.
EDIT: Sorry for my bad english.
Tell me about it. People usually wouldn't notice that I'm autistic and if my traits show, people usually think I'm just socially awkward. But when my diagnosis was discussed at my workplace, my superior always called autism a disease and no matter how many times I corrected her, she'd just say "disability and disease are the same!" Well, she's extremely ignorant so I just tried to suppress the urge to call her out on this error in her logic. But I need my job, so I gave up.
I absolutely agree with the stereotypes in media. It's getting really annoying that autists are always portrayed in only 2 ways. But the media have always been extremely ableistic towards us so I don't even bother to watch their movies about autism because I know it's gonna be mediocre at best and offensive at worst.
As someone with Asperger's I don't think it's a bad thing to have actors who are unaffected by it so long as the proper research and consultation is followed
Is it just me or does Asperger's look misspelled I'm also dyslexic so I can't really make much of the difference
@@I_t_m-nn4un you spelled it well, buddy
I agree
I would highly recommend the Korean film 'innocent witness' the best, most compassionate film I have seen about an autistic person yet.
Nice picture! I play clarinet as well! 🎶🎶
is it subbed>
The film "The Idiots"(1998) is the most offensive film I've ever seen dealing with neurodivergence, but I think it inadvertently has a lot to say about the casting process with films like "MUSIC". It is literally about a bunch of neurotypical people pretending to be autistic or on the spectrum on the weekends as a hobby to fuck with people. It's interesting but morally one of the worst films to watch as it is shot on camcorders so it looks like home movies, so you know when they are on a guided tour, at the swimming pool, at the park, that the troop of actors was just pretending to stim and tick and make weird noises with all the extras being real people that thought they were just walk past people and their carers on a day out
I never watched that film before, but good thing I didn't.
I mean, it was made by Lars von Trier... make of that what you will.
@@CrookiNari seconding this, finding the neurodivergence aspects of The Idiots disgusting is like finding the sexuality aspects of Nymphomaniac or the depression aspects of Melancholia disgusting. Those films aren't for the people they tackle, they deliberately tackle the precise subject matter in horrifically confronting ways, to call out ethical unbehaviour
I hate that I actually do fall into some of these stereotypes. Robotic, super into science and math, etc. Makes me feel bad when I see a caricature that is so close yet so far from who I am. People have called me emotionless, a robot, they say they're scared of me, they think im a genius who's supposed to know everything. Feels bad.
Sia’s Music is as offensive as Song of the South, but some how neither Sia or Music got blacklisted.
I am in the spectrum myself and I have had a lot of problems with my autism myself
she's an awful individual,not to mention creepy af,anybody else would be accused of grooming maddie
@@markwhelan8233 Don’t forget she is shallow and manipulative a**hole that only cares about herself. I absolutely agree that her relationship with Maddie is very creepy. And like you said, Sia is most probably a child groomer. She’d be a very good Subway Spokeperson though
It sounds like she and the movie got a *ton* of backlash, and I'm sure the reputation will only grow as time goes on.
I always had a bad feeling from Sia
The film received massive backlash…
I will never disagree with the idea of having autistic actors and writers in the process of making these films. That said, someone can consult professionals all they like and still do a horrible job (13 Reasons Why had psychologists on board, but the writers never listened to them, just tried to use them as armor when there was backlash). To me it just comes down to research. These people don’t bother with research! You can learn a LOT about various disorders- at the very least, enough to avoid stereotypes- if you just go look for info. Read the DSM (which, while written by often neurotypical doctors who may not have any disorders, will at least describe symptoms more accurately than a Hollywood movie). Listen to podcasts by mental health advocates (who often have whatever disorder they focus on). Just… frickin read and look things up from a variety of sources to make sure the info you’re getting is correct. You may not do perfectly (which might even be impossible for someone who lacks a disorder), but you’ll do better than Music, Rain Man and the other examples here. I mean seriously it takes like two seconds to find RUclipsrs with autism who clearly display things like not being an emotionless robot. These people just don’t care, they watch other films for inspiration or look up like one super out-of-date study and go “Yep this is good I understand it.” They don’t bother to verify any assumptions they have. They just give themselves a nice pat on the back for being progressive.
I just think it’s really not as complicated or difficult to avoid stereotypes as some people think, as long as you actually care about the way your story will impact the general public’s perception of a disorder, and the group it portrays.
Another great short film by Disney is 'Float', about a dad raising his autistic child. It is based on the writer's own experience with his child which I think is what makes it so authentic. I'm not sure how relatable this might be to those with autism, but I'm sure it would hit home for a lot of those who have autistic family members (maybe those on a higher spectrum).
The dad kinda looks like Dae-Su from Oldboy
That's terrible.
1. Disney is a corporation therefore they don't care about disabled people so any representation they have is for marketing purposes only.
2. I watched it. Nothing about it said "autism" to me. It was just a child floating. Why not have an actual autistic person?
@@OzCroc 1. Just look up Bobby Rubio.
2. How did you miss the entire point of the film there? Not everything has to be literal. If that was the case then the millions of books and film people have resonated with would be meaningless. I and many others managed to figure it out before needing to find out the background of the film. The child could float because he was special. That’s just how he is and that’s how he was born. And yet the way people perceived him was “omg oh no he’s different”. The dad found dealing with that difficult and as a result tried to hide him and literally, drag his son down to the ground (rather than embrace his son’ differences, he chose to try and change the child and essentially dim his light). Plenty of other people can appreciate this short film for what it is. It touched me and I cried twice watching it. Mate if you didn’t want magic then fine, but that’s a you problem.
@@OzCroc
Well, you're right about Disney being a corporate shill, but I believe the artists behind the short film didn't treat it as a quick buck. So I don't care how the company views their films on certain real life topics as long as they're in the hands of people who know what they're doing. While I have not seen Float, I'm pretty sure the autism traits of the kid aren't as explicit as lot of characteristics are. Autism affects people in different ways that maybe a bit harder to recognize at first. Again I haven't seen the short film and I could be wrong, but I thought it be interesting to share my thoughts on your reply.
@@darth_autismo No I mean littlerally the kid doesn't have autism. He floats. He's just a kid who floats and we are supposed to assume he has autism based on that because he's "different".
I’m not autistic, I’m adhd tho (not comparing the two or anything just wanted to share my experiences)
Ive had people marvel at the fact that i dont randomly stop a conversation when i see a dog or something
Ive had people who were surprised that, yes i can sit still and keep quite
Ive had people who are in genuine awe that i can read, yeah, read. Idk where that came from
NT’s think that us ND’s are these creatures, completely different from them when realistically speaking were all human
ADHD is extremely common tho. A lot of people considered normal have it.
@@dreamsprayanimation yeah ik yet some people are like what?? What’s wrong w you
(Just came back to this comment and i have no idea why i lashed out like that sorryyyy)
I personally don't see it just as some inability to focus, but the ability to constantly bounce from one thing to another. Ask a neurotypical person to simulate the ADHD mind noise and they won't even know what you're talking about. It's just a different set of skills and way of functioning that has some weak sides and strong sides, just like any other. Can you imagine needing constant stimulation that your brain can't provide on its own? Being unwilling to sit alone with your thoughts because if you did that, you wouldn't even know what to do with yourself, or even worse, have to reflect on traumas and flaws your mind is not entirely equipped with the tools to fix? That's the neurotypical reality.
@@Toxihex i mean…. I can coz I’m adhd- again not trying to compare the two, they’re completely different and how that affect people varies from person to person
@@dreamsprayanimation ADHD is just as rare as autism. You may be thinking of ADD.
As someone on the spectrum, I'll tell you my favorite portrayal of a person with Autism. Grace from the webcomic El Goonish Shive. It was never stated that she was on the spectrum in the story, but I just kind really resonate with her and as I read her story I can't help but think "Oh I see what you're doing with this character."
1. She's portrayed as intelligent and has excellent memorization skills, but she's not a genius, she's just good at memorizing the things she's interested in studying.
2. She struggles with social interactions, but the focus isn't put on how funny it is that she doesn't understand what's appropriate. The focus is that she wants to be a really good friend and doesn't quite understand the best way to go about doing that. She's aware of how others see her and that can sometimes frustrate her because she doesn't want to have a reputation for not getting jokes or sarcasm, or have people not understand when she is making a joke or using sarcasm too.
3. (It's a science fantasy series and she uses her powers to transform to stim so that part's not realistic). But it portrays happy stimming really positively. I don't see enough media portray excited stemming well. For me personally ,I always feel self conscious when I'm caught happy stimming. When Grace does I think, "Good for her, she's having a good time."
the best interpretation of autism on a tv show is on a FUCKING SESAME STREET! that says a lot...
Sesame street kicks ass!
It's funny, because I'm autistic myself, and am writing a novel where the protagonist is an autistic young woman, and I use my own experience to shape hers. But I'm also afraid, because I don't want her to be seen as an archetype. She has these "obvious traits", like having great knowledge about a particular topic (mainly explorers, wanting to be one herself) or lacking social skills (while being empathetic). I mean, that's the thing : clichés are based on exagerated real things, and it can be hard to distinguish the two sometimes.
I get your worries! I'm also autistic and love writing stories as well. With how you described your story lead I honestly don't see any problems. I do really appreciate you not wanting your lead to be seen as a stereotype. I think it's important to do some research on what the autistic community considers to be a stertype for autistic people and try hard to avoid writing her as that, using people's answers as a guide. I posted a question on a forum about improving autistic rep in movies a while ago simply because I was curious, the responses that came in were all extremely helpful. They all came down to the same point when writing an autistic character which is proper research and understanding of the disorder. Get to know your character and let her be her own autstic self. Good luck writing your novel!
@@KHALI_SEAWEED thanks! Yeah I think one of the key difference between my character and characters seen in movies is that, while lacking social skills, and struggling to understand others, she does not lack empathy, and she wants to make friends, so she's never depicted as mean (at most she's a bit ignorant, but she also want to learn more from others). Personally, this is the cliché I feel is the worst offender about autistic people : that they're insensitive, mean, narcissistic, lacking empathy. While this cliché is rooted in some truths (the struggle to understand people's emotions, thoughts and non-verbal language) it is a very neurotypical point of view, because we tend to not show empathy the same way. Autistic people I know are among the most sensitive people out there, we can even be oversensitive. And we're always trying to do better, to learn from our mistakes. And then you see characters like Sheldon Cooper who's just a piece of shit, this is so tiresome.
@@drnanard9605 Exactly! While we may have trouble expressing ourselves it doesn't mean that were emotionless! I feel like thats a thing filmwriters get wrong a lot of the time
I have autism too and planning to make a magical girl show with the protagonist who have autism like me and anxiety (I also have that too).
I recommend reading Asper Girl, which is a manga.
Whether or not it is good representation of autism, I don't know as this also deals with depression, self harm, abuse, and other mental illnesses.
But in my opinion, I thought the topics there were explored and treated very well.
I just wanna know why autism is the one damn thing it's ok to outright insult people with. In today's day and age political correctness insists on not offending anyone of any race religion or disability while autism is the one thing you can actively use as an insult without people calling you out for it
As someone with Aspergers, one thing I've gotten sick of is being talked down to and told that I'm unable to underatand my own thought process
Nice stuff! Should do more of these video essays, really flowed well.
Thanks mate. It something I really want to do more of
It's a bit of an older show, but I'm watching Bones right now, and something like half of the main cast (including the titular character) is coded Autistic or ADHD or otherwise neurodivergent, but they never resort to reductive stereotypes (at least not in the long run). The whole premise of the show means that they're very intelligent people, but their expertise never reads as savant to me. The characters progress and learn and grow, but it isn't about getting rid of their ND traits, just figuring out how to deal with them, and it feels very real.
I notice that whenever people talk about Rain Man, they put Raymond specifically into the autistic bubble. However, when watching the film, the doctor clearly states that Raymond is an “autistic savant.” Those two terms are mutually exclusive and just happen to co-exist here. I’m not a savant, but I am autistic, and as an autistic person, I can honestly say that I identify with Raymond. And watching the movie shows that both Charlie and Raymond are fully developed characters who learn and grow over the course of the movie.
After learning more about Bill Prady and his Autism (the co-creator of TBBT) on Mayim Bialik's RUclips channel, Sheldon's character does explain a lot. Amy too, with her being the female version of Sheldon. I actually didn't get officially diagnosed until almost a year after high school at the beginning of 2014.
Yeah, that sounds like the kind of thing that would be much easier in a movie, with tighter creative control and a single (or a small handfull) of writers writing for the character: There's only so much you can do when you have as many writers as BBT probably had and go "Alright, neurotypical writers with little personal experience with the topic, write me 12 seasons of a character whose entire personality is loosely based on my psychological disorder...but don't slip into offensive caricature"
Dustin Hoffman spent months with the real rain man learning all his traits, so they were reflected properly on screen. Also the rain man is savant which is different.
I believe this to be one of the few films to have an extremely accurate reflection of this disability.
Yes, you can't portray all autistics. He portrayed one.
One of the only portrayals of Autism I've liked and related to recently was Abed in Community, some of the episodes focused on him genuinely had me crying because I recognised the situations from my own life and seeing it put to film (or TV in this case) in such a heartfelt way was brilliant. My whole family is autistic, all in slightly different ways, and apart from Abed and a few minor characters in other recent shows and movies we haven't seen good representation at all.
The problem is that these people DON'T WANT the represented demographics to be the ones fixing these issues! They want to be the ones receiving all the credit for these accomplishments!
I made a shortfilm about autism, since i’m autistic myself and have a strong dislike for the representation in film. I hope you like it! ruclips.net/video/dr4bX8qmed0/видео.html
Sadly, I’m autistic and my dad decides to entirely base his view about autistic ppl and acts like he knows everything from atypical.
omg same here. The worst thing is he'll compliment me and say stuff about how smart and unique I am because of my autism but he constantly talks down to my mom (who he *thinks* is autistic) And he'll always say that I've got "the good autism" whilst my mom has "the evil/stupid autism". Damn that was a ramble sorry lol
My mom as well. She acts always compares me to the kid from atypical
As an autistic individual myself, thank you for making this video. Your words are true, and I felt compelled to share some of my own.
A few years ago, I created my own cartoon characters, and I'm in the process of developing ideas for an animated series based on them. One of the main characters is a 9-year-old boy on the autism spectrum who is largely inspired by my own struggles of finding myself while also dealing with my autism.
I did this because, as a young boy, I was discouraged that I couldn't entirely relate to the films and TV shows I watched when I was a kid. I couldn't always go "hey, that character has autism, like me!" And if a character did have autism, it wasn’t a very good or relatable portrayal at all.
I still feel that we autistic people aren't represented very often in mainstream media (not just kids-based) and not very respectfully either. My hope with my characters is that other autistic people can see my characters and be able to relate to and appreciate them. I also hope that I can use them to make good content that's appealing to kids AND adults.
Again, these are just my words. This is just what I’m trying to do. We’re trying to build a kinder, more welcoming, more empathetic society, and I look forward to becoming part of the change. ❤️
Tu puedes...
Abed nadir was truly the only character I’ve ever resonated with.
Me too. Growing up and through most of my adult life, I did not know I was on the autistic spectrum. But when I started watching Community after it ended and I found myself more relaxed to Abed, I started to realize this.
as an aspiring actress who also has aspergers this video is so true.... we watched frankenstein starring benedict cumberbatch as the monster in my theatre class and it turned out he based his performance on autistic people and it really rubbed me the wrong way given how his performance was so... animalistic. neurotypical people seem to have this one stereotypical image of autistic people and i wish they could realise that we're all different
Find it hilarious that the most accurate representation of autism put in film (from what I’ve seen) is from punch drunk love and the word autism is literally never used in that movie
My son is four years old and was diagnosed with levels 2/3autism (3 is the highest) he didn’t talk until he turned three and has all of the typical social challenges associated with autism. But gosh is he smart. He can’t tell you how his day was or answer unrehearsed questions, but the boy can count. He has count3d up to 340 (so far) and can identify any number up to 10,000. For reference when he starts school they will make sure all the kids can count to 10 and know the alphabet. I try not to watch shows that portray autism, as they don’t sit right with me. In fact that the bits I’ve seen of Sia’s music make me feel sick. My son is so much more then anything I’ve seen presented, he is affectionate, adventurous, smart and funny. He is NOT a robot.
Sounds like the kiddo I babysit who I also used to teach in preschool. same thing. Great number skills. super smart
And like your son, can’t answer questions if he doesn’t have it rehearsed for how to
Same thing affectionate, loves animals and the outdoors and his trains and super funny 😄
@@hannahscott6604 the kid sounds adorable, though I might be biased lol
I generally have a slightly mixed feeling about portrayals like those in Rain Man or Music, mainly because I feel a bit hesitant to call them bad simply because I can't for certain say that there are not some portion of autistic people out there that do happen to resemble them.
But at the same time they are hard to stomach even with that in mind, because it tend to feel like they are characters that are not even really allowed to be fully fledged characters in the first place, but rather plot devices for a neurotypical main character to react to or follow around.
Most of the time though I'm more inclined to blame the writing and the lack of research and consultancy about autism than I'm to blame the use of neurotypical actors in the roles, even if actually using autistic actors would be good when suitable.
Sia saying, "It felt more compassionate to use Maddie" is so upsetting. what the fuck is compassionate about ignoring autistic people and having a non-autistic actress put on a caricature of what autism is???
Someone brought up that at the beginning of awards season, Sia was making comments about how autistic people couldn't handle being on a film set and then at the end of awards season, Anthony Hopkins- who's autistic- won his SECOND Best Actor Oscar. While this is kinda vindicating, it also shows how even MORE effed up and inhumane Sia's statements were in retrospect.
@@theflickchick9850 Pixar got a non-verbal autistic woman to _voice act._ we're (autistic people) are capable of acting and capable of giving feedback where parts of her script are harmful. she just didn't want us to tell her so she wouldn't have to feel bad about herself.
@@LezbeOswald Oh, absolutely. "Loop" was so good and I was so glad they actually bothered to cast an autistic girl. Sia either didn't want to feel guilty or just genuinely doesn't see autistic people as humans (I believe she even compared them to "wigs" in an interview, but I'd have to get back to you on that one).
As a fellow human being with verbal ASD, I am so glad you pointed this stuff out.
The thing always the most infuriating to me is with these famous portrayals, even if they find something close to nuance (don't hold your breath), so often they just wind up being no more than a narrative prop to the neurotypical lead for their arc.
With no agency or development of their own.
Great video mate, definitely interested in seeing more video essays from you!
Hopefully going to get round to doing more :)
I'm so glad I found something to hadel this subject since I myself have autism and sometimes i do have problems of what's being shown on screen
Considering the title, I was geniunely surprised that Atypical was cited as a POSITIVE example.
this was a great video! thanks for sharing your perspective
I think what also changes it is how the other characters interact with the autistic character. Like in BBT I always identified with Sheldon without knowing why it wasn't good until it was pointed out that he and his autistic traits are almost always the butt of a joke and never celebrated or seen as good. Whereas in the show Criminal Minds, both with the character Dr Spencer Reid and in the episode Coda, it's just neutral, there being both good parts and bad parts. While sometimes other characters joke about Reid's social skills they ultimately love him for who he is and show that so much
There’s this tv show called The Chosen. It’s about Jesus and his disciples. Matthew shows a lot of qualities of Aspergers Syndrome which I can really relate to, since I also have Aspies
I work as a BT studying to become a BCBA so I really enjoyed your video. Cheers mate
This was amazing As a person with autism I am always trying to find content creators that talk about these subjects, or transfirmers reviews, both Sufice
Love this video! I used it in my presentation to my medical school classmates.
I'd love to see depictions of our everyday struggles become more commonplace! I get the classic 'oh don't worry I wouldn't have known you were autistic if you'd never said anything!' comment, as if it's supposed to be a compliment. I don't 'look' like the form of autism depicted on the television screen. I'm articulate, empathetic, playfully sarcastic, I like to crack jokes and I keep up with pop culture. I've been trained to mask and smile and keep eye contact.
I also go into sensory overload very easily. I can't read something on a screen or page if someone is talking nearby. Bright lights give me headaches and I suffer from nasty insomnia which has high comorbidity with autism spectrum disorder. Social anxieties, albeit quiet and less visible due to masking, are a big problem for me.
I can't order clothing online because if I can't feel the fabric first or check the tags and seams, there's a good chance I'm going to wind up returning items anyway because something about it makes it so I can't stand wearing it because it physically hurts. Same with physical touch- early on I had to direct my boyfriend how to touch me without accidentally hurting me because my nerves misread him rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb as a burning sensation no matter how gentle he is.
That's the reality of living with Autism that these shows and movies just don't really represent.
i can relate. i am autistic, but most people never would be able to guess because i act 'normal'. but i also do have sensory overloads quite easily. i hate loud noise (especially if they're sudden), i don't always like being randomly touched, or when people get all up in my face. i also have insomnia and can't go to sleep unless i take melatonin pills.
I’m an autistic composer. I have one goal. Win a tony or an Oscar for this grate community
Me too! I’m not even kidding
He's not just playing a trope in Rainman. It's based on the life of a real person called Kim Peek.
Yes, though it's still not a completely accurate portrayal of Kim Peek, and Kim Peek didn't have autism, but a different disorder.
@@robokill387 ah. I didn't know that. Thanks. Do you know what the disorder was?
I loved this video. I have autism as well, and I agreed with every point you made. I really hope we will get more diverse representation in the near future.
I can see why in movies people want to see a superheroish person that has flaws simular to thier flaws so they can relate, so filmmakers choose to show unrealistic genius with poor social skills. But it does not mean they have to be disrespectfull and lazy. Real firefighters also always trash movie firefighters etc. Untill we, all of us, develop a culture where before making a movie with any type of people you will do the research and respect people you talk about, before that we'd get a bunch more "movies" like sia's.
I agree with your premise and yes, absolutely, autism is portrayed terribly in most cinematic instances. However, I kinda disagree with the "we need more autistic actors and writers" as a solution to this specific problem. Note I am not saying we don't need them at all or saying representation is bad or whatever, just saying I don't think it is the solution to this specific problem. I think what we actually need in order to solve this problem is better education about autism for the general public, not in a "woke" sense, more in an "informed" sense. Then, if anybody wants to make a movie about autism, there should be resources readily available for them to educate themselves on the topic in an easy way (remember, most people hate reading academic literature, me included, and I am literally studying Information science and librarianship along with Czech-English translation), so that they do not make these idiotic misrepresentations. If we just tell everyone who isn't autistic they can't make movies about autism, nobody ever learns anything about it and we don't move on as a society. If we educate non-autistic people about what autism is and how it functions, however, we get to our desired goal, and more autistic people will probably become movie-makers, as people in general will be more understanding towards them, making their experience living as a human far more enjoyable.
Oh God. I saw that "None of you have even seen it" response, and it was already bad enough. It's a weak argument at best (it assumes things she doesn't know, but also, even if she's right, her argument will be destroyed the moment they actually watch it and still think it's garbage; heck, they might think it's even worse than they thought), and a way to just silence any criticism, even extremely valid ones from the people most concerned by the topic at worst.
And then I saw "Maybe you're just a bad actor" and I wanted to puke. It's a "people who don't like it are just haters, just ignore them or mock them" attitude which I already hate even when it doesn't involve social issues, and becomes absolutely disgusting and nausea-inducing when it does.
I agree with most of what you said but not about Rain Man. The argument that it is an exaggerated stereotype does not make sense when you consider that is was based on a real person (Kim Peak), who loved the portrayal.
I think this is one of those scenarios where a movie that might've been fair for it's day is made a lot worse by the works that came after it. The issue isn't so much "This type of person doesn't exist", but "this is the only type of this character that is ever shown when movies deal with this topic": What may have been nuanced and specific to a real person when released in the 80's now just reads as "another tone-deaf Hollywood autistic".
@@812558 You’re right that it’s a problem that almost every autistic character is a white-male-savant etc, I just don’t think that it is a problem in that specific film (especially as at the time the film was made the trope didn’t really exist yet).
Rain Man should be examined as the start of proper neurodivergency representation, but not as an example of such.
Thanks for this. As the autistic mum of 3 autistic children, life is challenging enough without false perspectives encouraged by film.
This was a great video I enjoyed your thoughts
I find it a bit ironic that media have characters not portrayed as autistic, but seem to be autistic and are more fleshed out and unique in their own ways (recently im thinking of Lucifer from TV show, Entrapta from She Ra, maybe Vanus Galerion from Elder Scrolls). Since it is a spectrum. We arent robots with no personality or no feelings.
i think Entrapta was confirmed to be autistic tho
@@allurajane4979 i dont think by the actual characters though. We only see it or im guessing the creators said she was autistic?
Peridot from Steven universe
Autism Portrayal has always been hit and miss.
But one I found to be EXTREMELY GOOD, was Rise of the TMNT'S Donatello.
And having High Functioning Autism myself, i was so happy to see how well it was done.
I have asd and adhd and I don't expect people to understand what it's like or how it affects me and things I do, it's complicated I get it, but when people think they know what they are talking about it's frustrating, I don't get upset at them anymore and I've learnt how to better myself, but it is seriously annoying when people assume it's just being awkward or having anger issues, because it's so complicated and affects people differently which is why it's on a spectrum, everyone with it suffers differently but equally as much as others
edit: for those out there with asd or adhd (or anything like these 2) learn that you don't need to explain yourself to others and learn to have fun and joke around about it sometimes, if you dwell on the negatives it won't solve anything
Congratulations on getting your video noticed and sent out by the RUclips algorithm. Sometimes as an autistic I find that the best autistic representation comes from characters who aren't ever described as autistic. And in a way that's both good and bad. It'd be great to have more "normal" seeming autistic characters who are still recognized and appreciated for their differences, rather than it just being character quirks.
One problem with the Rain Man movie was that the man who inspired it, Kim Peek, didn't even have autism. He had a disability called FG Syndrome, which is caused by a recessive gene in the X chromosome.
Gay people too. Many many times I have seen a production what shows a male gay like super soft, super girlish and sensetive. This is inaccurate because it looks like 100% of them behave this way.
God, as an autistic, I really hate shows like The Good Doctor or Atypical that only portray a one-sided narrative of it, mainly focused on "the good" but actually ignores our struggles. They rely on things like "oh he doesn't understand, how cute" when really it's fucking so stressful, having a meltdown is poorly shown in shows like these too, and they always focus on shit like getting support from loved ones when sadly there are a lot of us who don't have that, nor the savant side and so we feel alienated more. Not to mention none of these focus on how high the suicide rate for autistics are and just how truly bad our struggles can be
I was placed back and forth between special Ed and gifted programs when I was in school until eventually they just gave up on me. Then I just flat out denied my own diagnosis out of shame for many years up until recently having just graduated college with a comp physics degree and realizing how screwed I am bc I missed out on every social opportunity I could have had in college and I can't network. Plus I have a serious problem with being irrationally stressed. Now I'm seven months since graduation and I can't find a job.
I cannot believe I've been diagnosed for over 20 years and am just realizing now how much no body including myself has really understood what that meant beyond some serious issues as a little kid I had only apparently entirely overcome. Poor portrayal of the spectrum only makes this worse; if these portrayls we're better, maybe I would have had some discussions I should have had before and have been in a better spot rn.
I thought Sheldon Cooper wasn't supposed to be on the spectrum. I'm sure it was stated in the series that he intended to be like Spock from Star Trek, a slightly emotionless but logical character.
To the Moon, a video game by an indie dev, covered this this much better than most other media I’ve seen approach it
My sister made a job on autism because my father and I are autistic, and she discovered some interesting things.
Rainman was based on a man who was WRONGLY diagnosed with autism, and, while the movie was impactfull at their moment, no one made anything else covering the subject for years, that is probably the reason why everyone is on the rainman steriotype.
I also recomend this movie called Mary & Max, one of the protagonists has autism and it's much more realistic than any other character combined. The movie also covers other issues like depression, suicide or alcholism and it's really heartbreaking
I have Aspergers and my special interest is Regular Show. It’s all I ever talk about. Back in middle school, it changed my life and got me to where I am now.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! As an autistic person, I notice this more on RUclips, since I rarely watch movies. The example I can think of is Mark Rober's video about his autistic son which, dare I say, _missed the mark._ (Sorry.) You can watch it if you want, but while he did talk about the "spectrum" of autism, he also overgeneralized sensory overload, an issue that many autistics experience (I experience it with certain sounds, but mostly smells and taste), supported an ableist charity that practices ABA (NEXT for Autism), and implied that autistics can't be "traditionally successful" despite many being very smart and successful in their own subjects (such as Elon Musk, but he wasn't public about his autism when that video was published), a subject he didn't tackle at all. He also allegedly deleted comments from the video criticizing him. About the hyper-fixated interests common in autistic people: I know a lot about certain things, such as computers, old computers, Minecraft, internet stuff, and RUclips, but ask me ANY questions about movies, TV, or food, and I won't be able to answer. Sorry for being a little scattered, this is just how I am sometimes.
I'd love to know what your opinion is on the movie Mary & Max. The representation seems to move away from the "savant" trope, and presents more of the social/behavioral traits that are found in autism (even though it's played by a non-autistic actor).
Great video btw!
As someone who struggles with having autism (and hates having it) I always hated most media representations of it as most autism based media is just a form of bullying those with autism, I mean sia's film is a prime example of bullying those with autism
There was this Broadway production of Spring Awakening where a Deaf character was played by two actors, Deaf actor and hearing actor as their voice, shadowing them. Do you think if Music take this route, an actor in the spectrum play Music in the real life world, but when Music (the character) goes to the "Musical World" a professional dancer will act as her conscience?
Every single autistic character I've seen are always some sort of genius who for some reason, knows everything about anything. Sure, we can have many Special Interests -I'm a victim of it and I'm very hyperfixated atm- but... these "Interests" just make them look like an Einstein reject. And they should probably take into account as to how they developed their special interest.
And I just... wanna ask why they make almost every single autistic character walk so awkwardly? It's like... a cluster of stereotypical traits pushed into one characteristic and then boom. Again, there's a spectrum. And as someone who's at the end of it, I find it painful this is all I see, and I sometimes degrade myself for not meeting the media's expectations. And then I remembered that "Oh yeah, a spectrum exists. Nice" and I'd feel a little better.
I'm not sure if this was insightful, but it was sort of just me ranting. :'))))
Well, when it comes to Asperger's Synonym, 1 of the things they usually do is fall in love with 1 subject and focus on practically nothing but that. Like how Einstein fell in love with physics and became a genius. Of course they don't all become geniuses. It could be anything like learning the piano, or painting, etc.
@@kittycatmeowmeow963 True. But some makes them seem like they know everything about anything. Or maybe I haven't seen enough. ._.;
@@Ghostie-Tempura Yeah, I get what you're saying.
I have autism. When I was a child I always hated visiting my mother's family. Because they branded me as a "freak" and "defective" one of my aunts used to tell me how she wished that could euthanize me because I was nothing but one of God's clowns when I wasn't a burden on my mother
I have ADHD and Autism, and i love them. It makes me play piano and do alot of other stuff more creative and hyper focused when i do fun things, the only thing that is hard is my feelings now in my teenage years but i can really support myself and make myself better so it's going good. : D
It all comes down to folk who deem themselves 'normal' not actually caring to accurately portray the people that are different. They just pat themselves on the back for dealing with such 'difficult' people, giving them any thought or chance at all, because who else even would! Or just use them as tokens feigning care for cash (as if that ever works on anyone else but likeminded people).
It is rooted in devaluing others in one way or another and is disgusting.
How are we supposed to show autism as it manifests so differently for everyone? As a women I am very good at masking and lots of people have no idea I am on the spectrum. Unfortunately film does rely on stereotypes and if there was a character who is like me then she would just be a bit quirky like so many characters who already exist.
Yeah, you cannot really portray a character that is a mix of everything, as it would make it a walking stereotype. You can design characters that fit one are on the spectrum, like a non-verbal character, or a character with higher support needs, or lower support needs.
You can also maybe have more than one autistic character in the same media, and have them be different to give the audience a taste of the variety that comes with the spectrum.
@@costelinha1867 I am just saying it isn't really that easy to do so and the general public aren't aware though they could be if they weren't fed garbage though mass media constantly.
Great video mate
I'm curious, since you referenced it, what's your take on Abed from Community? I think in some instances the show deliberately plays it up to mock how neuro-divergent people are portrayed in media but seeing as for at least a portion of the show it has to boil down to how the character is written, what are your takes?
I have low level Asperger's and I can't tell anyone IRL because people immediately think of the inaccurate portrayal in movies. It sucks because I always have to hide or make excuses for the symptoms.
For example, I get stuck in routines, my excuse is "It's muscle memory" or "I'm a perfectionist"
My voice sounds weird, people are always asking if I'm gay or think I'm bored, my excuse is that it's my accent. I also used to brand myself as a drug user so people would just assume I'm high.
I don't get angry at things other people do, I have to fake being angry all the time. For example, at school I'd fake being angry if someone disrespected me (sat in my chair, threw something at me, tried to fight me, dob me in to teachers, etc) At one point I even got a guidance counselor for my 'anger management issues' which I see as an absolute win.
Anyway, I feel like the majority of other low level Autistic people just hide their autism like I do so people don't judge them differently. It's also a survival thing, like If people find out that I really don't like to hurt people, it makes me a target. If someone tries to rob me I'd just give them my stuff or if I get in a fight the whole time I'm thinking "how do I stop this guy without hurting them." People with Asperger's are disproportionately victims of violent crime, so it ain't something you advertise.