Portrayal of autistic people in films/TV

[AutisticHouseMove]

I was diagnosed as autistic in my early 40s.

When I was younger, the only real portrayal of autism I was aware of was Rainman.

I also know there has been criticism of that because it portrayed an autistic man as a 'low functioning' savant.

Over recent years, I've noticed a prevalence of a different type of autistic person. Usually working in some kind of solitary role requiring a high level of intelligence (eg scientist), who is brilliant/the best at their job but completely lacking in empathy or social skills and getting it all wrong when they have to interact with colleagues or friends.

They're rarely identified as 'autistic' but there are hints along the way, comments from other characters about how 'weird' or 'difficult' or 'awkward' they are or how curious it is watching them trying to interact with or behave like 'the humans/earthlings'. Or other characters have to brace themselves against the tone deaf comments. Basically, either endearingly odd, a bit of a dick or both.

I don't know. It just makes me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed even when I realise this character (and they're recognisable because they're all portrayed in the same way) is supposed to represent me. Or is this really how NT people perceive many of us to be?

YABU - the portrayal of people with autism in films and TV shows is pretty much how I experience autistic people in real life

YANBU - you have a point.

Rainman was an accurate portrayal of someone who had spent their whole life institutionalised.

Many of his behaviours came from that history and experience.

Who knows what he would have been like in a different environment with support.

Exactly what I was going to say if the Tv shows high functioning then they would just appear as regular actors?

Why does it matter to you how any NT view autism on screen, its makes no odds its just TV or film for entertainment im pretty sure most adults can understand the difference between TV and real life and won’t be judging you based on rainman.

The producers also deny that Sheldon is autistic but it is a very stereotypical portrayal of a lot of people's understanding.

You only have to see on MN how, when someone posts about a really unpleasant person in their life, it takes about 3 posts for someone to suggest autism. That's all based on stereotypes and misconceptions.

Yes Frozen. If you properly listen to the lyrics of some of the songs like Let it go and Show yourself, and the storyline in both films it’s quite obvious.

…someone can be a rigid, unreasonable, sulky, arseholes .. without ASD.

Maybe Sheldon is good at science, and also a bit of a tosser.

Writers seem overly-keen to hide shit behaviour on ASD.

We probably need more writers with experience with living with autism, or that are autistic.

I do suffer with chronic depression and I must say I feel the same about the representation of mental health on TV - but I think it’s getting better - but not everyone gets it right. Mental health conditions have always been portrayed as extreme - but it would be interesting to have shows that arnt horror or thrillers that explore mental health through that lens. It would be good to have characters that “live with” the condition, not that are defined by the condition. I wonder if the same idea could apply to more representation of neurodiversity.

I’ve noticed the same portrayal of difference - and these days I find characters “wear their trait” for example if they are a particular race or have a disability, that becomes their whole personality as opposed to them behind a character first and then their race/ability being part of them - I hope that makes sense.

In order to see this world we will need more of the neurotypical/able bodied people giving those that look and act different to them a chance.

Why does it matter to you how any NT view autism on screen, its makes no odds its just TV or film for entertainment im pretty sure most adults can understand the difference between TV and real life and won’t be judging you based on rainman.

Well firstly, You only have to see on MN how, when someone posts about a really unpleasant person in their life, it takes about 3 posts for someone to suggest autism. That's all based on stereotypes and misconceptions. That does affect us because people prejudge and dismiss.

And secondly, I don't declare it at work. That means I have no reasonable adjustments in place or even understanding. And that's because I know how autism and autistic people are perceived and it's not paranoia. My profession works with a lot of autistic people but the perception is that autism makes people 'difficult' and the last thing anyone wants is a 'difficult' employee or colleague. I feel I can't take the chance.

Yes they appear as regular actors but do appear ND, high functioning and good at masking doesn’t mean that traits aren’t visible or that masking is 100% successful. I think it’s fairly easy to spot characters that are ‘high functioning’ ASD but it would be nice if the producers actually owned this and said that they are. It would be useful for people like me to have representation in films that is known.

I’ve watched all of Bones and did not once think that we were supposed to assume that Bones was neurodiverse…

I think that's less about the TV stereotypes and ironically it's more because there is greater awareness now, so it's almost mandatory before condemning anyone to check if they are ND in some way before writing them off as simply unpleasant. The conversation happens over and over - person is a problem, are they ND?, who knows but they're arseholes regardless. The ND question didn't used to be asked and hence people got condemned when they were ND and misunderstood. On balance, I'd say it's better that the question is in people's minds now, so there's help for the kids in school or accommodations for the people at work, or understanding for the person in your family who needs it. That some people take it too far and apply it to someone inappropriately is just gonna happen while we're in this phase and preferable to the total lack of awareness there was.

I don’t think anyone has mentioned the American sitcom tv series, “Parenthood”? It explicitly features a teenage boy and adult man with autism. im no expert but it struck me as quite responsible and nuanced.

I'm only watching season one.

She's not the only character.

In one episode, there was an awkward conversation between two characters whilst another looked on and commented on seeing them pretend to be 'earthlings'.

A lot of autistic people describe having felt like 'aliens' growing up.

Even if its not explicit, it's heavily signposted.

Bones I did not give any second thought as she is SO obviously autistic to me.

Maybe that's the issue.

I hate it in media as "all the people with (any) autism act the same"

I've seen it raised before, where someone has said about a character in one of those uk soap medical drama, holby? Casualty? He was a nephew ( i think) of someone high up and came in as a porter (don't really remember all the details) and the actor playing had autism. The main question on the thread (afair) was why are all depictions of autism the same.

The response was "well the actor has autism so of course it was right."

How would they own it? It's way too much of a minefield. You probably know, hence the quote marks, that we aren't even supposed to say 'high functioning'. Certainly aren't meant to say Aspergers. Definitions are hard enough with real people, and it tends to come down to the individual to define themselves as that way no one can tell them they're wrong. To create a fictional character and give them a clear diagnosis that would then mean they represented you/thousands of others, is a recipe for disaster because they wouldn't do that accurately and would be open to a world of criticism for getting things wrong. Even things that are okay to say today can be cringe within a year. Seems to me BBT did the right thing not pinning it down - Sheldon is Sheldon, some people relate to him, others don't, but as long as they're specific to him, they can't 'get it wrong'. Just as you can't get it wrong defining your own experience. But as soon as a character is set up to represent a demographic, then the issues will arise. Hence the best portrayals tend to be specific to a real life person or authored and portrayed by someone dramatising their own experience, nothing broader.

I loathe the Sheldon character on BBT.

He ruins every scene he's in.
Jim Parsons is a great actor, btw, and seems like lovely fellow. I can enjoy him in many other parts.

The writers said & it makes total sense they didn't want Sheldon to have a diagnosis because they didn't want their writing to be impeded by people's expectations of what an auttistic people are like, or to be criticised as a 'bad role' model when he acted like a git (which was often).

Some People I know IRL who had ASD would give you the shirt off their back and worried a lot about relationships and not upsetting other people. My aunt declared & uncle didn't argue, that uncle had ASD... he was charming & sporty & very sociable ... and sometimes accused of being very selfish. So I feel like ND people can basically be like anything.

I'm intrigued by the Jacov character in The Archers who is definitely in some odd neurological space. yet I don't think Kate has ever noticed. Perhaps a sign of her own narcissism !!

Its usually said to try and excuse the behaviour way and encourage the OP to just put up with it or approach sensitively rather than just to say it to be nasty. I find people tiptoe around me a lot more since we've been told to walk on eggshells around everyone for fear of offending, I find it much more exhausting.

I think they should be allowed to say the character is autistic as long as they make it clear that they are not representing everyone with autism ,the spectrum is huge and very nuanced .

pinkdelight

Interesting, thank you.

I'd imagine most people's first impression of me would be a bit Belle and Hermione. When they get to know me better, I think I'm probably a bit more what people would think of as being a 'bit of a Sheldon' (without the being an arsehole element).

I know I do struggle a bit with people's perception of me. I find friendships hard to sustain. People seem to like the Hermione/Belle aspects but don't recognise it as autism so when they get to know me better and see the autism they recognise, they're not so accepting. It feels like I've become someone else.

If those 'gentler' representations were more explicit, maybe, then perhaps the other parts would just feel like they'd got to know me better than suddenly being exposed to a different person.

So I feel like ND people can basically be like anything.

In that case autistic character should be represented that way and identified that way.

Rather than it being left to speculation.

And, when I say the more Sheldon aspects of me, it's shorthand that others will understand to describe being very particular about certain things or rigid/black and white in thinking rather than being a horrible person!

I have lived alone most of my adult life and organise my life in such a way that I manage quite well. But also so that I can recover from work. It's only really when I have to accommodate or do things with other people that I realise how/where I think/do things very differently.

I kinda understand what you're saying but really it's the other way around. The PUBLIC identifies the stereotypical ones. The writers identify neither Sheldon nor Bones nor Elsa nor Belle as autistic.

This thread has me wondering about the push to include more diverse characters in tv where the diversity isn't the plot. Like a movie that features a person in a wheelchair that isn't about the Wheelchair. People that are gay where the gayness isn't the point (My Best Friends Wedding kind of necessary gay).

If autism is central to the plot, it's going to be recognisable but seen as a handicap (Rain Men) or maybe as a superpower (genius movies). Both of these are frustrating to some real life autistic people.
If autism is central to the character but not the plot, it's not recognized as autism: Elsa, D'arcy, Belle, the inventor grandfather who makes the costumes,...
If the autism is masked and the story isn't about the inner life of the character, you won't see it at all.
If the story of about the inner life, you're back to autism being central to the plot!

So I think movies can't illuminate well what people can't see in real life.

Seems to me BBT did the right thing not pinning it down - Sheldon is Sheldon, some people relate to him, others don't, but as long as they're specific to him, they can't 'get it wrong'. Just as you can't get it wrong defining your own experience. But as soon as a character is set up to represent a demographic, then the issues will arise.

Entirely agree.

Whenever 19yo ds discloses his autism he always includes 'high-functioning'. Otherwise, in his experience, people talk down to him and treat him excessively carefully. Treat him according to some generic model of autism.

Ds describes himself as high-functioning because he can navigate day-to-day life with minimal support, and that needs to be recognised.

He likes BBT and Sheldon for exactly that reason. He does not see himself represented in Sheldon, but he can relate to Sheldon. I don't think ds has ever seen a portrayal that he feels represents him, but that could be his autism: he is himself and complete as he is - nobody could portray him unless they were acting him.

We do not use ASD at home or in relation to ds. Autism is not a disorder. It is a difference. Again, BBT does not portray an individual with a disorder; it portrays an individual with a difference. Several individuals with differences, just Sheldon is the most different.

Sheldon holds down a good job, has friends, navigates life with minimal support and is often happy. What more could you want for your child - any child, ND or NT?

As long as your not saying autism is a difference for everyone, just to clarify?

There’s Erin in Jamie Johnson FC. She’s autistic and has a quirky friendship with Mason that is cute and funny to watch. It’s not the whole point of the show, just a feature. It’s a kids’ drama on CBBC about young footballers in an academy, and Erin is a great footballer who does well over the season.

Parks and Recreation (almost everyone, except Anne and Jerry, Andy is more ADHD) and I think it’s a really good example of a range of different ND personalities. Also Brooklyn 99 - Captain Holt, Rosa and Amy, Jake is ADHD.