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cwjnich95
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09 Sep 2014, 8:08 am

Hello - so I am going to be writing a lecture on the way autism and mental disorders are portrayed in movies, and it would be a great help if anyone could give their opinion of how autism or various mental disorders are shown on the screen.

Material I'm focusing on are:
-Snow Cake
-Lars and the Real Girl
-Rain Man
-A Documentary on Kim Peek ('The Real Rain Man')
-Silver Linings Playbook

It's a mixture of Independent and Hollywood films; I think Independent films more often portray these things more accurately than Hollywood - what do you think?
Feel free to give your opinion on accuracy, sensitivity, stigma (etc - anything!) of the conditions shown in these, or any other movie depicting any forms of mental health condition you've seen.

Thanks!

C.W.J



Charloz
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09 Sep 2014, 10:04 am

Films are not accurate at all, and very problematic in a number of ways...

1) They show autistic people to be too smart, too intelligent which holds us up to too high a standard... and to make up for this they make the character have some very bizarre or antisocial tendencies

2) They make the character so direct to the point that the character is perceived as rude as hell and very unlikable, hard to relate to for most view. This does nothing to help viewers view autistic people in a more positive light.

3) The characters are often 'quirky' or 'cute', and their autism used as some sort of gimmick rather then treated in a serious way. It becomes a running gag and a source of amusement rather then an actual element of their personality.

4) Some of the characters are portrayed as extremely focused on rules or routine much more then most AS people are, to the point of absurdity. They are also often sociopaths or lacking in empathy or concern for others. It's never portrayed subtly, almost always over the top.

So to sum things up: no, films and TV-series are rarely if ever successful in accurately portraying an autistic character. I have yet to see a film in which one was decently portrayed, let alone made into a serious love interest, hero or seen in a very positive light to the point of being an inspiration. It's always a gimmick, it's always overdone and it's never, ever just one of the character's many sides... it always is the biggest part of the character, consuming their entire personality.

I'd like to see a movie in which an autistic character TRULY defies stereotypes. One who's in a happy, functional relationship. One who is relatively social, or good at sports. One who is truly heroic, brave, courageous. Maybe a romantic comedy with an autistic leading character, or an action hero, why not? There's a million different autistic people in the world if not more and there's so much more you can have us do in a movie or series. Why limit yourself to only showing the same old tired stereotypes and cliches they always show?



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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09 Sep 2014, 12:07 pm

And please don't forget the TV series The Big Bang Theory, which for many people is their primary understanding of Aspergers-Autism Spectrum. The show depicts the quirky, off-beat characters as really good at math and science.

Now, according to a speech by Temple Grandin, this is merely one of three preferred intellectual styles common to persons on the Spectrum, with some overlap of course:

1) abstract thinking,

2) story / narrative style, and verbal skills, and

3) visual thinking.

Again, there can be overlap where people span two of these. Or people can have a most commonly used approach, and a second most commonly used approach.

Temple also talks about sensory issues. This is under-appreciated including by DSM, because most of that seems to be autism from the outside looking in, so of course they're going to emphasize social issues and give comparative short shift to sensory issues.

To me, the Aspergers-Autism Spectrum is sensory issues and patchiness. And the patchiness can be in appreciation of others, in social skills, in intellectual abilities, and probably in other areas as well.

=================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEAhMEgGOQ

See 1:25 into this where Temple says ?One of the biggest most neglected areas is the sensory problems . . . ?

See also 20 minutes in where Temple talks about preferred intellectual styles.



cwjnich95
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09 Sep 2014, 2:14 pm

Charloz, I agree with what you said about stereotypes being replayed over and over. From the films I've seeb depicting autism, the AS or ASD is the focus point, especially with Rain Man - Raymond Babbit shows his quirks and need for routine, but how much of his personality is being shown here? And do films, in order to portray autism (or mental health disorders) have to follow at least some stereotypes in order for it to be a film about AS/ASD?
I mean, I suppose there are characteristics described in the DSM that define autism in a medical sense, maybe must be present in order for it to be diagnosed? So do films have to play to some stereotypes to be successful, do you think?

Also, Aardvark, did you watch the movie Temple Grandin? What did you think of its accuracy, sensitivity etc?



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11 Sep 2014, 7:28 pm

the problem is when film producers want to represent the autism spectrum but they usualy only have one character to do it with,they try to pack in the whole spectrum using all the known stereotypes which simply doesnt work in the eyes of those who know or experience autism.

the best film have ever seen on one part of autism was 'the black balloon' and woud recommend watching it even if feel woud not relate- its based on severe classic autism which is what am diagnosed with and experience everything the teenage boy does; am just more communicative but overall more lower functioning than he is.
its very descriptive of severe autism right down to the sensory input that the boy craves by smearing and banging his stick continuously to the resentful jealous attitudes expressed by the siblings.
it got it right,but am wondering if the reason it did so was because it kept the character very limited to a generalised portrayal of severe autism rather than focusing on the extreme end of it which is where all the stereotypes lie.

however,have seen representations of severe autism in the uk tv program; casualty quite a few times and thought they were far to acute and stereotypical-they obiously focused only on the extreme end of severe,because thats what the stereotypes are all based on.

am personaly more of a fan of documentaries when it comes to autism portrayal, a good doc featuring the whole spectrum [undiagnoseable and successful in life to the profound],one which doesnt use the doc to give the parents pity but uses it to show how autism is for different people.


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12 Sep 2014, 3:36 am

I've never had a problem with autism in the media,but people here would just say I lack the abstract thinking to recognize stereotypes.

I loved rain man,when I was 14 the social worker pulled me out school at 10 in the morning to drive to Worcester,mass to see the matinee for rain man.


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mr_bigmouth_502
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12 Sep 2014, 4:40 am

Media portrayals of ASD are getting better, but they still need a lot of work. One way that they could improve, is by portraying more characters with sensory sensitivities, and elaborating on the issues they face. Another, is by showing more characters who actually attempt to "fit in" at school/work and try to make friends despite their issues. The idea of portraying individuals with ASDs as being robotic and completely uninterested in other people is simply unrealistic.



riley
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12 Sep 2014, 6:50 am

"The Cube" had two very good examples of ASD both HF and severe. It is an AWESOME movie.

The best depiction I've seen of someone on the medium part of the spectrum was on Fringe. It's a great show and to explain the character I'd have to use spoilers as she is a few seasons in. The actress that plays her has an AS sister herself so she put her all into it. There is a main character called Walter who is a scientist, highly complex and intelligent with occasional signs that people with AS could identify with. He doesn't have AS but has psychiatric challenges which we get to see him tackle.
I don't think there are autistic characters on Silver Lining's Playbook. They are most definitely not "NT".. obviously they have issues with PTSD and OCD and pretty dysfunctional which was refreshing to see.

I honestly do not see any accurate representations of "NT" people either. Most are very two dimensional and not fleshed out enough for anyone to identify with past what kind of shoes they are wearing.