Ok so chances are you have come across an autistic character while watching telly, a film
or reading a book. My question is how accurate are they.
Oh Rain Man. How much I hate you. Sometimes when I tell people I am Autistic I get
the annoying reply of 'Oh so like Rain Man'. No not at all like Rain Man. He does not have
Autism but Savant Syndrome. Google: Savant Syndrome
And of course we cannot have a post about Autism in Media without mentioning
Sheldon Cooper. Now yes he does have a lot of the well known trademarks of Autism.My
problem with the character is that he is portrayed as incredibly rude and narcissistic. I do not
like the way he treats people or the way that people treat him. Having autism does not make
you rude. Unfortunately a lot of people see his arrogance as a trait of autism it is not. I mean yes there are a lot of people with Autism who can be quite rude but he is just downright horrid to his friends. He belittles their intelligence and manipulates them into doing what he wants. Now it may be different for others but to me I do not want such a bad light shined on Autism.
Abed from Community. I love the show Community. I feel that the portrayal of Abed from
Community is an Amazing portrayal of Asperger's. He is friendly, has an obsession with Pop
culture which makes a lovely change from the usual more scientific based obsessions we see portrayed, awkward and all together a pretty loveable character.
Sherlock Holmes. More specifically the version portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Now for me a problem is in the episode 'Hound of the Baskervilles' Where John states that Sherlock has aspergers. Now when I first saw that I was ecstatic. The thought of my favourite character having Aspergers too was amazing but what I did not like was that they just left it at that. They did not delve into it further or have John and Lestrade properly discuss Autism. I mean it could have been a HUGE moment in recognition and awareness for the Autistic community but instead it was awkward and cringe worthy to just have them throw around a diagnosis like that.Ok I am going to end that rant before it gets out of hand. So whether he is Autistic or not does not matter.
Adam 'Lines in the Sand' House. What I loved about this character was that they were non-verbal.He is very 'low-functioning' (I do not believe in Functioning Labels but that is what I found on the Wiki article)House Md: Adam Kelvey, unable to speak, a very strict routine and is usually unresponsive to external stimuli . You do not get many portrayals of non-verbal characters so this was a plus for me.
Another HUGE problem I have with the portrayal of autism is that they are
pretty much all male. Where are all the Autistic Girls in Media?
or reading a book. My question is how accurate are they.
Oh Rain Man. How much I hate you. Sometimes when I tell people I am Autistic I get
the annoying reply of 'Oh so like Rain Man'. No not at all like Rain Man. He does not have
Autism but Savant Syndrome. Google: Savant Syndrome
And of course we cannot have a post about Autism in Media without mentioning
Sheldon Cooper. Now yes he does have a lot of the well known trademarks of Autism.My
problem with the character is that he is portrayed as incredibly rude and narcissistic. I do not
like the way he treats people or the way that people treat him. Having autism does not make
you rude. Unfortunately a lot of people see his arrogance as a trait of autism it is not. I mean yes there are a lot of people with Autism who can be quite rude but he is just downright horrid to his friends. He belittles their intelligence and manipulates them into doing what he wants. Now it may be different for others but to me I do not want such a bad light shined on Autism.
Abed from Community. I love the show Community. I feel that the portrayal of Abed from
Community is an Amazing portrayal of Asperger's. He is friendly, has an obsession with Pop
culture which makes a lovely change from the usual more scientific based obsessions we see portrayed, awkward and all together a pretty loveable character.
Sherlock Holmes. More specifically the version portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Now for me a problem is in the episode 'Hound of the Baskervilles' Where John states that Sherlock has aspergers. Now when I first saw that I was ecstatic. The thought of my favourite character having Aspergers too was amazing but what I did not like was that they just left it at that. They did not delve into it further or have John and Lestrade properly discuss Autism. I mean it could have been a HUGE moment in recognition and awareness for the Autistic community but instead it was awkward and cringe worthy to just have them throw around a diagnosis like that.Ok I am going to end that rant before it gets out of hand. So whether he is Autistic or not does not matter.
Another HUGE problem I have with the portrayal of autism is that they are
pretty much all male. Where are all the Autistic Girls in Media?
No comments:
Post a Comment