Is it me or is SIA movie 'Music' depiction of Autism HIGHLY offensive?!

[Mum2prince]

Ive just seen the trailer in YouTube, ive yet to research more about what in earth possesed this woman to cast maddie ziegler a NT person to play the role of a young autistic girl.

I am gobsmacked at all the stereotypes the have used to depict autism and i honestly felt horrible watching it. As someone who was concerned my ds may have asd, this is exactly the type of representation i did not like. Regardless of how much info about asd is out there and the awareness raises, there is still a large group of people who do not fully understand Autism and this movie makes things worse imo.

The icing on the cake is the movie trailer is a sensory overload for me, let alone someone neurodiverse who may want to watch it. Bright colours, flashing lights and breaking out into song regularly. Yikes.

AIBU?

*EDIT - Just watched and interview Sia did and she used offensive words like "low functioning" and even claimed she had an original Autistic girl cast for the role but she couldn't handle it. What?!

I think if anyone looked into Sia, they would see that she is very much a humanitarian. Not sure if it has been mentioned, but she adopted 2 older boys who were due to leave the care system (16-18) who would have been god knows where. She doesn't broadcast this in interviews. She is genuinely a good hearted soul.

Maybe she 'got it wrong' with the movie in some peoples eyes, but I'm sure she had good intentions and she does not seem to be some kind of virtue signaler

Watch this commentary that includes segments from the movie that have restraining scenes. Trigger warning

Multiple comments from people in the spectrum who have ptsd from being treated in similar ways. Very upsetting to read.

Since when did "low functioning" become non-U?

And what appropriately descriptive (rather than euphemistic) term has replaced it?

Since when did "low functioning" become non-U?
GDD LD global development disorder or/and learning disorder they are separate from the autism diagnoses.
My DS has high cognitive functioning no learning disability but social emotional attachment issues.

You’re cancelling something you haven’t seen? are you the self-appointed messiah of autistic people?

@SinkGirl

Haven’t seen it, probably won’t.

But I do find it interesting that there’s such condemnation generally about representation of non-verbal autistic people. I think there’s a lot of autistic people who would rather pretend that non-verbal autistic people (like my children, or the children they go to school with - boys and girls) didn’t exist. Their existence is quite inconvenient to some it seems.

I don’t agree in the slightest that there’s no representation of those who are not so profoundly impacted by their autism. I see and read content from them all the time. Who’s speaking for those who can’t speak (or right or otherwise communicate) for themselves?

I've never seen anyone claim that non-verbal autistic people don't exist, although I've seen plenty make claims similar to yours about autistic people, demonising us.

OP, why are you writing as if you've just thought this up yourself, when this has been all over the internet for weeks, and now the (broadsheet) papers too, who all mention the controversy, and seem to agree that even without the controversy it's a pretty poor movie.

I think Sia had good intentions, perhaps it's a little insensitive, but like most people who are outraged on the internet, I haven't seen it.

Same here. In fact it’s organisations like Autism Speaks who would prefer that autistic people of all kinds didn’t exist. They spent a lot of time, effort and money trying to find a pre-natal test for autism presumably so the unborn babies can then be aborted.

@FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue what do you mean thought this up myself? I wrote my opinion on a topic the Internet for weeks you say, im not sure but I've just come across the trailer for the movie today and wrote the thread straight after.

You say sia has good intentions, but its her replies to people who are offended by the film that has taken me a back. And I dont want to watch the movie but have seen enough clips to sum up the plot.

@OhGodNotThisAgain no ive just always been taught to stand up for what u believe in. And i dont think its right for people to send a message like forceful restraining after a meltdown or using stereotypies and stims in choreography! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, some people on this thread seem like horrible individuals but in putting up with it because each to their own. Same rules should apply to me.

@Emeraldshamrock

Since when did "low functioning" become non-U? GDD LD global development disorder or/and learning disorder they are separate from the autism diagnoses. My DS has high cognitive functioning no learning disability but social emotional attachment issues.

Could you explain a bit further?

A quick Google suggests that "low functioning autism" is a current term within the medical community. I also found criticism of it, but it was from support groups, not medical journals etc

I think you can dislike a film and think it's poor or even inaccurate without having to default to it being offensive.

Also - I think there are actually quite a few depictions in films of people with autism who are fairly high-functioning, right down to feel-good mainstream prime-time dramas.

I see fewer depictions of people who are non-verbal or violent or unable to be left alone and unlikely to ever been independent.

I don't know that there needs to be some kind of a contest about who gets more tv shows but there should be nothing wrong with showing both kinds of circumstances.

@TomPinch ASD can be diagnosed with a host of comorbidities which can include oppositional defiance, Global development disorder, language disorder, emotional disorder, learning disorder, sensory processing disorder it is rarely one issue.

I'm autistic and yes it's highly offensive

I’m not a horrible individual

@SmokedDuck

Also - I think there are actually quite a few depictions in films of people with autism who are fairly high-functioning, right down to feel-good mainstream prime-time dramas.

I see fewer depictions of people who are non-verbal or violent or unable to be left alone and unlikely to ever been independent.

I don't know that there needs to be some kind of a contest about who gets more tv shows but there should be nothing wrong with showing both kinds of circumstances.

To me, the most offensive thing isn't even the restraint scenes or the way Maddie acts in a way that feels a little too much like she is imitating the autistic kid on the playground. My main issue with this film is that it is touted as some kind of love letter to autism, yet isn't really about autism at all. The film isn't about Music, it's about her sister. Music is just a plot device used for the main lead to become a better person, it's inspiration porn. In one of Sia's interviews about this film, Sia and the interviewer both refer to low-functioning autistic kids as 'inanimate objects', and that is exactly how the autistic kid is being used in this film. They are a prop.

I'm autistic, I do not care if the person playing an autistic character is on the spectrum. Similarly I don't believe murderers can only be played by people who have killed someone, or that we should cancel How I met your mother because Neil Patrick Harris is playing a straight guy. What I do care about is quality writing, and that is completely absent from this movie. It reminds me of this, even though it's only loosely related.

The other thing that offends me about this film is Sia as a person in the public eye. She made a complete tool of herself on Twitter to be honest, and no amount of good intentions is going to change that she told people to f off and whatever else she said. She is a grown woman throwing a tantrum on social media and it is embarrassing. People keep bringing up the autistic actor thing and I know that there are those who care about that, but it's a red herring imo and takes away from the actual issues.

I do have issues with the depiction itself, but that has been mentioned already by plenty of posters.

Sia's petulant response to criticism about the film has been disgusting. When challenged about casting Maddie by someone who said they find it difficult as an actor that they and other actors are very rarely cast in the role of autistic characters, she said "maybe you're just a bad actor."

Whether you agree with the person who challenged her or not, it was a dick move from Sia who has come across like an absolute arsehole over this.

She's also rewritten history as she has said in interviews originally that she wrote the part for Maddie and since criticism said she cast an autistic actor in the role but they were uncomfortable on set and couldn't continue.

In one of Sia's interviews about this film, Sia and the interviewer both refer to low-functioning autistic kids as 'inanimate objects', and that is exactly how the autistic kid is being used in this film. They are a prop.

God that interview was painful wasn't it?

The interviewer compared Maddie's character to Sia's wigs.

Sia didn't challenge this and nodded in agreement before explaining why.

I mean... FFS.

@FrankButchersDickieBow

I think if anyone looked into Sia, they would see that she is very much a humanitarian. Not sure if it has been mentioned, but she adopted 2 older boys who were due to leave the care system (16-18) who would have been god knows where. She doesn't broadcast this in interviews. She is genuinely a good hearted soul.

Maybe she 'got it wrong' with the movie in some peoples eyes, but I'm sure she had good intentions and she does not seem to be some kind of virtue signaler

I've seen plenty of reports about Sia's altruistic acts, like the adoptions and paying for random strangers shopping at the supermarket - she doesn't hide these things from the media which I find rather distasteful.

Comefromaway "The autistic community is very hurt by this film. It’s set their cause back many years."

I'm autistic, but I haven't seen the film, so I won't comment on it until I have.

I am however quite intrigued by how this one film has "set [autistic people's] cause back many years." How has it done this?

ive worked in the field for 5+years-a lot of what i saw i can relate to...its called acting for a reason,lighten up! most films are either too loud/flashy..it seems to be the go-i even routinely take earplugs as i cant handle the up&down/booming..

I'm being a bit unreasonable in voting, but heard the review on Radio 4, and from what I heard there, she really didn't do anything to help people understand what being autistic is about.

The guy also said 'I like Sia's songs, but I don't know if I want to listen to fourteen of them all in one go' 😆

Many people in those autistic groups don't like to admit that there are loads of autistic people who are low functioning which is also highly offensive to those of us who love and care for our low functioning son's and daughters

Yes.

There are also those that are autistic who insist parents who are NT can’t possibly understand their children (or advocate for them) because you have to be autistic to really understand it.

My son is almost 30 and is at the very severe end of the spectrum and because of how hostile some of the people I’ve come across online have been to parents I gave up listening to many of those on the spectrum years ago.