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Autism In Film- I need your help!

NAS64907

Hello 

My name is James Hodgkinson and I have ASD. I absolutely love films and really want to make a career as a film maker/editor. However, I had started to watch films on Autism and people who have autism and I found it very hard to relate to the characters that were being portrayed on screen. This has inspired me to do more research on the matter, which is why I'm coming on to this forum to ask for your guys opinion. I am in my third year at university and I am writing my dissertation on the portrayal of autism in film. 

Do you believe that there has been a "true" representation of autism? 

Do you believe that Hollywood gets autism wrong? 

What has been your favourite portrayal of autism? 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to hearing back from you guys. 

Thank you

James 

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  • Hi James,

    I know this is contentious but I absolutely love Big Bang Theory. I find the character of Sheldon Cooper infinitely more relatable than those in, say, the sitcom Friends, which was popular during my teens and twenties (and prior to my ASD diagnosis). I wish BBT had been on TV when I was growing up as it would have been more acceptable to be myself rather than constantly masking and trying to emulate friendships that just weren't natural or meaningful to me.

    I'm trying to think of a few films which portray autism... I guess Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman is a classic, The Accountant with Ben Affleck, and Mercury Rising with Bruce Willis. I'm not sure there are 'right' or 'wrong' portrayals of autism because, as often quoted on here, if you've met one person with autism then you've met one person with autism i.e. we all experience different challenges. The danger with Hollywood portrayals is that they fail to get this across so the general public justifiably assume that all people with autism are like Rain Man. As such, I'm not sure what would constitute a definition of a "true" representation.

    I think the Ben Affleck film does a better job of showing how many autistic people hide in plain sight because it is, ultimately, an invisible disability, but I found the scenes of him self-harming (I couldn't even tell if these were supposed to be meltdowns or stimming) really disturbing and I wouldn't want my family or colleagues to think that's what autism is like for me.

    I'd love to see a film one day where all the actors are autistic and all the characters are autistic but only one of the characters represents what most people think autism is, and then there's some kind of ongoing reveal. I know a lot of films and TV dramas these days interleave different characters' storylines and this could be a good technique for showing the different experiences and journeys of autism behind closed doors and out in daily life. Perhaps one adult character is already diagnosed, another is but hasn't disclosed it to anyone (not even their partner/family), a male child is on the diagnostic track, a female child isn't, etc.

    Sorry for the ramble. I think it's an interesting question you're exploring and wish you luck with it.

    Nessie

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  • Hi James,

    I know this is contentious but I absolutely love Big Bang Theory. I find the character of Sheldon Cooper infinitely more relatable than those in, say, the sitcom Friends, which was popular during my teens and twenties (and prior to my ASD diagnosis). I wish BBT had been on TV when I was growing up as it would have been more acceptable to be myself rather than constantly masking and trying to emulate friendships that just weren't natural or meaningful to me.

    I'm trying to think of a few films which portray autism... I guess Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman is a classic, The Accountant with Ben Affleck, and Mercury Rising with Bruce Willis. I'm not sure there are 'right' or 'wrong' portrayals of autism because, as often quoted on here, if you've met one person with autism then you've met one person with autism i.e. we all experience different challenges. The danger with Hollywood portrayals is that they fail to get this across so the general public justifiably assume that all people with autism are like Rain Man. As such, I'm not sure what would constitute a definition of a "true" representation.

    I think the Ben Affleck film does a better job of showing how many autistic people hide in plain sight because it is, ultimately, an invisible disability, but I found the scenes of him self-harming (I couldn't even tell if these were supposed to be meltdowns or stimming) really disturbing and I wouldn't want my family or colleagues to think that's what autism is like for me.

    I'd love to see a film one day where all the actors are autistic and all the characters are autistic but only one of the characters represents what most people think autism is, and then there's some kind of ongoing reveal. I know a lot of films and TV dramas these days interleave different characters' storylines and this could be a good technique for showing the different experiences and journeys of autism behind closed doors and out in daily life. Perhaps one adult character is already diagnosed, another is but hasn't disclosed it to anyone (not even their partner/family), a male child is on the diagnostic track, a female child isn't, etc.

    Sorry for the ramble. I think it's an interesting question you're exploring and wish you luck with it.

    Nessie

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