In a Nutshell...

I think there are a few important things to point out about the films I reviewed. One of these is that, out of the five movies I watched, four of them featured autistic savant characters. Snow Cake was the only film whose autistic character did not have savant skills. It was also the film that (in my opinion) gave the best, most accurate representation of an autistic character. This fact is particularly telling as Snow Cake was written by Angela Pell, who is the mother of an autistic son. I think this face really reinforces what we've learned in our study of autism - that the best way to learn about autism is from autistics themselves.

Completing this project was really eye-opening for me as well. Until I actually sat down to research movies with autistic characters, I never realized how few portrayals of autism there are in Hollywood. I also never realized how narrowly the film industry focuses only on autistic savants and their skills, rather than taking the opportunity to explore what is really a fascinating and yet vastly misunderstood topic. I think that this lack of visibility and accurate representation in film is directly related to the general lack of knowledge about autism in our society. Perhaps if more members of the autistic community get involved in the film making industry we will start to see more accurate representations of autism in the mass media.

Mercury Rising

The Story

Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis) is an undercover FBI agent who has to protect Simon, a nine year old autistic boy who is targeted by hit men after cracking a top secret government code.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Fascination with buttons

- Delays in development of verbal communication

- Lack of nonverbal communication

- Atypical mannerisms

What We Liked

The film started off semi-promising when we followed Simon on his bus ride home. We were given a glimpse of his every day routine and the process that he needs to go through after school and when he gets ready for bed, as well as the ways in which his parents and teachers have come to accommodate his idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately, the exploration of Simon's autism pretty much ends there.

However, this portrayal of autism is not entirely devoid of value. Simon's character provides an example of what autism can look like. It is important for the general public to understand that autism is not a narrowly defined "condition" and that every autistic is different. Too often people see one movie about an autistic person (namely Rain Man) and assume that they know all about autism. We know that this is not the case. So while the degree to which autism was explored was disappointing, Mercury Rising did provide another portrait of what an autistic person can be like.

What We Didn't

The film did not attempt to explore autism in the slightest. Simon's autism was merely a plot device to set the film in motion when he cracks the code. This was extremely evident from the fact that after we see Simon employ his savant skills, the film ceased to explore his character any further on any other levels. For the remainder of the film, Simon's role mostly consists of screaming and flailing every time someone tries to touch him.

Furthermore, the only aspect of Simon's autism that was addressed was the fact that he is an autistic savant. In fact, one character even said "Autism isn't synonymous with diminished capacity. Many of them are savants," implying that the only value autistics have is their savant skills, if they have any. As I have stated in my previous posts, the tendency of Hollywood films to only feature autistic characters with savant skills perpetuates the stereotype that all autistics are savants. This leaves no room for a realistic exploration of autism or people on the spectrum. Instead, audience members' misconceptions of autism are simply reinforced over and over again.

Overall Grade: D

Rain Man

The Story

When Charlie Babbitt's father dies, he leaves millions of dollars not to Charlie (Tom Cruise), but to his autistic savant brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) of whom he was unaware. In an effort to gain partial control of his father's estate, Charlie takes Raymond from the institution where he had been living and the two embark on a cross-country road trip. Along the way, Charlie and Raymond uncover the details of their family history and gain an understanding and appreciation of one another.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Takes things literally

- Difficulty with changes to routine

- Difficulty with social interaction

- Lack of nonverbal communication

- Repetitive behaviors

What We Liked

The relationship between Charlie and Raymond was portrayed very honestly. Charlie's transformation over the course of the film was inspiring and could be relevant to viewers who are encountering an autistic individual for the first time. While he attitude and behavior at the beginning of the film was less than acceptable, by the end of the film he had learned to adapt his own habits to coexist with Raymond's idiosyncrasies.

Rain Man was one of the first films to feature an autistic character in a lead role. As such, the movie did do a lot for the autistic community in terms of raising awareness. Many people probably knew nothing about autism or maybe had heard of it but didn't know what it was really like. It's possible that people who didn't know anything about autism saw this movie and were intrigued enough to go out and learn more about it. If nothing else, I think that Rain Man got the term "autism" out there in the public eye. So in that sense, Rain Man did make a positive contribution to the autistic community and society in general.

What We Didn't

Once again, this film reinforced the stereotype that all autistics are savants. The tendency of filmmakers to focus only on the savant aspect of autistic characters is extremely harmful to the autistic community. It invalidates the contributions that non-savant autistics make to society by implying that people on the autism spectrum have nothing to offer unless they have savant-like skills.

Seeing as this was the first major film about autism, the misconceptions that are portrayed in it reached a huge audience and instilled those stereotypes in many people's minds. I think it's highly likely that many people only know about autism what they learned from Rain Man. While I do think that the film is worthwhile and that there is definitely useful information to be learned from watching it, it becomes detrimental when people start basing their conceptions of the entire autistic community on this one not entirely accurate portrayal of an autistic man.

Overall Grade: C+

Killer Diller

The Story

Wesley, a musician and convicted car thief, is sent to live in a halfway house on the campus of a Christian college. He meets Vernon, an autistic piano player, and recruits him for the halfway house band, whereupon they form the Killer Diller Blues Band.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Difficulty with social interaction

- Lack of nonverbal communication

- Uncomfortable in large groups of people

- Characteristic manner of speaking

What We Liked

Honestly, not very much. Vernon was portrayed as a fairly one dimensional character whose only real contribution to the plot line was his musical talent. The filmmakers did not make an earnest attempt to address any of the issues faced by individuals on the spectrum. Other than his savant skills and a few general mannerisms, the film did not even give Vernon a full range of autistic characteristics. Rather, it seems more like the filmmakers used autism as an easy excuse to give the character outstanding musical talent.

What We Didn't

From their depiction of Vernon, the creators of this film do not appear to have a very thorough working knowledge of autism. Vernon is depicted as constantly rocking back and forth and throws violent temper tantrums at the slightest comment about his rocking. While repetitive behaviors are indeed a feature of autism, autistics are often stereotypically portrayed as constantly rocking back and forth, as is the case in Killer Diller. Vernon acts very childlike and is often out of control, flailing and throwing frequent fits of screaming. He also has trouble getting to the bathroom in time and has accidents if he doesn't.

Not only was Vernon often portrayed as infantile rather than autistic, the autistic characteristics that he did display were portrayed very inconsistently. While Vernon sometimes grew anxious when surrounded by groups people, at other times he seemed completely unfazed by their presence. Similarly, he was sometimes portrayed as having difficulty carrying on a conversation with another person but at other times he actively initiated conversations.

Furthermore, Vernon is another example of an autistic savant character. His piano skills are really the only reason anyone pays attention to him (other than to tease him) and seem to be used as a way of "redeeming" an individual who is not otherwise seen as worthwhile. This portrayal again perpetuates the myth that all autistics have savant skills.

Overall Grade: C-

Mozart and the Whale

The Story

Donald (Josh Hartnett), a man with Asperger's Syndrome, runs a self-help group for people on the autism spectrum, where he meets Isabelle, who also has Asperger's. The two begin a romantic relationships, encountering many communication difficulties along the way.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Preoccupations with numbers, music

- Dislikes loud noises (clanging metal in particular)

- Take things very literally

- More comfortable interacting with animals than humans

- Difficulty with changes to routine

- Rocking back and forth, hand flapping when upset

- Difficulty with eye contact and other nonverbal communication

What We Liked

The film gave an honest portrayal of the difficulties faced by couples on the spectrum. Donald and Isabelle in particular possess several individual qualities that they struggle to find a compromise between including sexual insecurity, a topic not often breached by the mass media. While Isabelle is rather caustic in manner, Donald tends to be more on the shy side. This also makes the film relatable to the audience as this is no doubt an issue for many NT couples as well. The juxtaposition of their personalities was very effective in conveying a sense of empathy regarding the added difficulties that ASD couples face in their relationships.

The film also highlighted the difficulties that ASD individuals face in terms of "fitting in" in a NT-centric society. One point of contention in particular centers around Donald's desire to appear "normal" to the NT population around them, particularly their neighbors and his boss. Donald and Isabelle's idiosyncrasies often clash and the two struggle to make their relationship work despite frequent conflict.

What We Didn't

While the film gave an overall positive and accurate portrayal of autism/Asperger's, it also perpetuated the stereotype that all autistics are savants. Though Donald has been fired from nearly every cab company in the city because of his inability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time, his penchant for numbers lands him a desk job checking computer-generated code for mathematical errors. Isabelle on the other hand, has an affinity for music. She has perfect pitch and transcribed the entire score to one of Mozart's symphonies while simultaneously creating an oil painting.

While there are no doubt individuals on the spectrum who do possess these abilities, savant skills are too often the focus of autistic characters in film and television. This sends the message that it's okay to be autistic as long as you have some redeeming quality, like Donald's mathematical ability or Isabelle's musical talent. Films should instead focus on the wide variety of other positive qualities that individuals on the spectrum attribute to their autism.

Overall Grade: B+

Snow Cake

The Story

Ex-convict Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) befriends an autistic woman named Linda (Sigourney Weaver) after he is traumatized by a car accident in which her daughter Vivienne is killed.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Difficulty with social interactions,

- Lack of nonverbal communication (eye contact)

- Preoccupations with flashy lights ("sparklies"), snow/snowflakes, trampoline

- Obsession with cleanliness - can't touch garbage, won't allow anyone in her kitchen

- Difficulty with changes to routine

- Takes things very literally

- Different sensory experiences

What We Liked

Sigourney Weaver does a wonderful job of presenting a portrait of an individual autistic woman without playing to stereotypes or generalities. Linda has her own set of idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes, and ways of interacting (or not) with the world around her. While avoiding many often-portrayed stereotypes, Weaver is simultaneously very believable in her role. The film presents many opportunities for Linda to interact with the community around her (or rather, for the community to interact with her) and presents an accurate picture of the struggles that autistics face when interacting with naïve NTs.

One of my personal favorite scenes was between Alex, Linda, and one of Linda's neighbors. The neighbor says to Linda, "It must be so awful losing a child," to which Linda replies, "I didn't lose her, she's dead." Alex tries to apologize on Linda's behalf but the neighbor lady explains, "Oh that's alright, I know all about autism. I saw the movie." I think it's probably safe to assume this was meant to be a snarky dig at the people who think they understand autism because they've seen Rain Man. In my opinion, it was hilarious.

While the focus of the film is really on Alex and the battle he wages with his own inner demons, Linda is without a doubt the catalyst for his eventual transformation. Alex learns from Linda's ability to adapt to her own issues and abilities that he too can confront his demons.

What We Didn't

Snow Cake actually portrayed autism in a fairly positive, accurate light. The film was written by Angela Pell who, not surprisingly, is the mother of an autistic son. Prior to filming, Sigourney Weaver researched autism for close to a year and was coached by an autistic woman. In a press interview she stated that she wanted to avoid generalizing about autism because she recognized that it exists on a spectrum. Overall I think the film did an excellent job of presenting an individual autistic person as opposed to the usual caché of stereotypes that attempt to lump the entire autism spectrum into one character.

Overall Grade: A