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Video essay on the concerning portrayals of autism in movies and the problems of its perception.
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00:00The Fanatic is a 2019 thriller directed by Fred Durst in which John Travolta plays an obsessed
00:06movie fan that turns violent. His character also has autism, which regardless of intent,
00:12comes off insulting and grossly misinformed. Film critic Brian Tallarico described the film
00:18best in his review. The Fanatic hates fans. It hates actors. It hates tourists, shop owners,
00:25and servants. It really, really hates autistic people. This is not the only film to portray autism
00:32in such a misguided light, and it's really sad to say that now. There have been numerous uses of
00:37autism for characters in media, and most of the time they equate to either a character who is to
00:43be pitied or held up as a genius savant, and now, with The Fanatic, a dangerous threat. To understand
00:50why this latest development is part of a progressively problematic issue, I'm going
00:55to go through the history of autism portrayed in movies. Before I do that, however, I want to start
01:00this video with a deeper dive into autism itself. Not just of its general definition, but its history,
01:06the controversies in its many movements, the issues within its perceptions, and the use of it as a
01:12pejorative. I feel it's important to take all this into account to gain a full picture of just why the
01:17many depictions of autism in media are troubling for a condition that has been brimming with so much
01:22confusion and contention. Let's begin.
01:34Autism involves numerous neural development disorders along a spectrum, commonly referred to as the autism
01:41spectrum. This leads into the blanket term of autism spectrum disorder. The diagnosis can
01:47range from autism, which can involve communication difficulties and repetitive behavior, to Asperger's
01:53syndrome, which is sometimes called high-functioning autism due to a difference in
01:57communication. While there is a world of difference between autism and Asperger's syndrome, I'll be
02:02referring to both as autism in this video per the 2013 redefinement of Asperger's syndrome in the
02:09Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, better known as the DSM-5. The exact cause of
02:15autism is unknown, though some research suggests correlations between genes and environmental
02:21factors. The disorder is spread genetically, and a risk factor may include the older age of the parents.
02:27The symptoms and behaviors of autism differ from person to person. One autistic person may have
02:32difficulty with verbal communication, while another may not be able to maintain eye contact. These symptoms
02:38are generally found pretty early, and diagnosed as early as one years old. There's no one way to treat
02:44autism. Therapy is the most common route, though it can be tricky to find which method works best, and some
02:51methods of coping are more damaging than others. Medication may be used to reduce symptoms of anxiety and
02:57hyperactivity, but not a lot of studies support this route as being highly effective. There's also no cure for autism.
03:05Of course, these are all modern methods, and autism has a bit of a dark history in this department.
03:11The first case of autism was discovered in 1911, with the diagnosis first being used by Ugin Blüller,
03:18as a symptom of schizophrenia. Throughout the 1920s, treatments for autism included such outdated methods
03:24of dietary restrictions and electroconvulsive therapy. It would not be until 1943 when autism was better
03:31defined by Leo Conner as a social and emotional disorder. The following year, Hans Asperger would
03:37publish an article that better emphasized the communication disorder of the condition. Most outdated
03:43therapies continued into the 1950s. One of these therapies was parentectomy, where the parent is
03:49removed from the child. Into the 1970s, shock therapy and aversive punishment became a common method of
03:55handling autism. Thankfully, the 70s also brought great strides in development of training techniques
04:01and devices for autistic children. Brought forth by such icons as Temple Grandin and Guy Berard. And going
04:08into the 1980s, autism would be better expanded to be included in the DSM. Some of those with autism have
04:14found ways to integrate with the act of camouflaging, or masking as it's often called. It's where those with
04:21autism try to copy the actions of those without the condition. While it's a fairly common practice in
04:27that a recent study revealed about 70% of those with autism use this technique, its research is fairly new,
04:34and has been discovered to cause more harm for the individual than benefits. Masking has proven to be an
04:40act that does more harm than good, as the constant denial of habits and stimuli can result in increased
04:46anxiety and depression. The easiest way to explain this, and I'm willing to admit this may not be the
04:51best example, is that imagine the face you need to put on for a job you don't like. You don't want to be
04:57there, but if you want to keep that job, you hold a role of pretending you want to be there. The big
05:02difference is that at the end of your shift, you can drop the act. With autism masking, you essentially
05:07keep that same face anytime you engage with anyone. It's exhausting, as you can imagine. It's also
05:13somewhat automatic for some in that it simply can't be turned off on a whim. It's tricky to say the
05:19least. Due to the continuous research on autism, there is much contention on this topic. Remember
05:25when I said autism doesn't have a cure? Well, there are a few people who would disagree with that
05:31statement. And when I say a few people, I mean an entire organization.
05:36The handling of autism has divided people into two movements. The neurodiversity movement and the
05:49autism cure movement. These two are fairly easy to tell apart. Neurodiversity recognizes autism as a
05:55unique state of being that can be better handled through education and tolerance. It is a much more
06:01favorable route considering it aims more for inclusion. Advocates of neurodiversity typically
06:06strive for school and work accommodations of the autistic and rail against therapies that try to
06:11mask it. They also aim to include more autistic people in more discussions on the subject. And they're
06:17against the need for seeking a cure for autism as they recognize it as a disorder. Groups devoted to
06:23this movement include Autism Network International, Autism National Committee, Autism Self Advocacy Network,
06:29and the Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network. The Autism Cure movement is sometimes recognized as the
06:36pathology paradigm, where autism is viewed more biologically than psychologically. They recognize
06:43autism more as a disease that can be cured. There's more of an external perspective to viewing autism in
06:49this light, where the traits of the autistic are seen as unhealthy and detrimental to society. Advocates of
06:56this line of thinking generally believe that autism is an epidemic and that it can be resolved either
07:02through therapy to conceal autistic behavior or with a cure to remove autism from the individual. It's not
07:08too surprising that there are a lot more advocates for the autism cure. After all, neurodiversity asks that
07:15those who are neurotypical, or those without autism, should try to work with autistic people to better
07:21understand them and integrate them into society. The Autism Cure movement suggests that those without
07:27autism shouldn't have to change, but that those with autism need to change in any way necessary to fit the
07:33societal mold. Autism, in their eyes, must either be hidden with masking or therapy or cured with a magic pill.
07:41This is not a healthy view because no cure exists and masking autistic traits doesn't make them magically go
07:47away for the individual. It's also not surprising that a lot of frustrated parents of autistic children
07:52respond to this cure movement well. Taking care of someone with autism is not easy and those easily
07:58frustrated with their child may gravitate towards some wonder drug or therapy that would make it all
08:04just go away. Since medications merely curb some symptoms in some cases of autism, a lot of these autism
08:11cure folks have gravitated towards the flimsy logic of alternative medicine and therapies. Perhaps the
08:18most damning of these therapies is the complete elimination of autistic spectrum expression or cease
08:25therapy for short. This is a pseudo-scientific method that states autism can be treated and cured with
08:32diet mostly. The therapy involves using supplements, high-dose vitamin c, orthomolecular support, dietary
08:39restrictions, and homeopathy. There is no scientific evidence to back up any of this working, despite the
08:45therapy's proponent, Dutch doctor Tinnis Smits, claiming he has treated over 300 kids with autism using this
08:52technique. The CEASE therapy organization has come under a lot of fire for selling bogus claims of curing
08:59autism, and regulatory actions have been taken against CEASE, which continue to this very day. Even the
09:06homeopathy international organization urged CEASE to maybe not call themselves complete elimination of
09:13autism spectrum expression, because it sounds too nutty and snake oily, even for them. You know your
09:20organization is scummy when the homeopathy people are telling you to tone it down. Tinnis Smits is also
09:26a dirtbag for reasons we'll reveal later. For now, let's get into the various ineffective therapies.
09:32Chelation therapy, a procedure that removes heavy metals from the body, typically used in cases of
09:37metal poisoning. Improperly performed, the negative side effects of this procedure include more
09:43neurological disorders and, you know, death, which unfortunately happened in a case from 2005 when
09:50a five-year-old with autism did not survive the procedure. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a patient is
09:57placed in a pressurized chamber while they breathe oxygen. This therapy has been approved by the FDA
10:02as a treatment for some conditions like decompression sickness, but it does nothing for autism.
10:08Detoxifying clay baths. A bath is filled with certain elements meant to draw toxins. It essentially
10:15serves the same purpose as chelation therapy, except there's less of a chance of death and a certain
10:20chance of being scammed. And then there's an endless array of various oils, liquids, chemicals,
10:26and food that falsely advertised either cure autism or reduce autism symptoms. Many of these have been
10:33deemed unsafe by the FDA. One really terrible theory is that taking chlorine dioxide will help those with
10:40autism by reducing symptoms, as some parents have said they've seen a change in behavior after they've
10:46used this treatment. Chlorine dioxide, by the way, is bleach. And yes, parents have really tried to inject
10:52their autistic children with this stuff. There are numerous groups for the autism cure movement,
10:57but the largest and most controversial of them is Autism Speaks. Founded in 2005 by General Electric
11:04Vice Chairman Bob Wright, the organization focuses on research to cure autism. Their motives and practices
11:11have led to 60 disability rights organizations condemning Autism Speaks. Chief of those concerns
11:17being recognizing autism as a disease. Their website boasted the phrase, this disease has taken our
11:24children away. It's time to get them back. They have also become large enough to merge with such
11:30organizations as the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Autism Coalition for Research and
11:36Education. And yes, this last one is real. Cure Autism Now. In 2009, Autism Speaks debuted the short
11:44film I Am Autism and drew massive ire from the community for portraying the autistic as others to
11:50be feared and pitied. The film features images of autistic children and a very evil voiceover that states,
11:57quote, I am autism. I work faster than pediatric aids, cancer, and diabetes combined. You have no cure
12:06for me. I will plot to rob you of your children and dreams. The truth is, I am still winning, and you
12:14are scared. The only thing more gross than that kind of provocative language is that the video was
12:19co-created by Alfonso Cuaron. Yeah, that Alfonso Cuaron, the director of Harry Potter, The Prisoner of Azkaban,
12:26Gravity, and Roma. But that's not the organization's only short film. Autism Every Day was a 2006
12:33documentary sponsored and distributed by Autism Speaks. The film was particularly distressing for
12:39one interview with parent Allison Singer, who stated that at one point she considered driving her autistic
12:45daughter off a bridge to end her life, and that the only thing holding her back was that she had
12:50another daughter without autism as well. Even worse, Allison's autistic child was in the same room while she
12:59said this. Naturally, the documentary received heavy criticism for essentially the same controversies as
13:06Autism Speaks, really. It portrays autistic children as burdens on the parents and focuses more on the
13:12frustrated neurotypical parents who come off more like monsters than empathetic human beings. Before
13:18I go further, let me make something clear. A part of me does understand what these parents are going
13:23through. Raising a child is not easy, and raising one with autism requires an extra level of care that is
13:29especially draining. But the tactics of trying to address this subject with films like Autism Every Day
13:35does more harm than good. No more than four days after the debut of this film, Illinois mother Karen
13:42McCarron murdered her autistic daughter, the very action Allison had contemplated. Documentaries like
13:50this one do not help, only focusing on the darker side of raising a child with autism and being little
13:56more than a gross work of provocation, better designed for gaining ratings on a shameless daytime talk show than
14:03educating healthy views on the matter. But perhaps the most damaging thing Autism Speaks has done was,
14:10for a time, contribute to the research that vaccines may cause autism, a controversy that still has its
14:17crackpot devotees to this very day. And since this is still a problem, yeah, we might as well dig into this
14:24dumpster fire of garbage science.
14:33In 1998, English physician Andrew Wakefield published in the peer-reviewed medical journal,
14:42The Lancet, his article entitled, Allel lymphoid nodular hyperphagia, nonspecific colitis, and pervasive
14:50developmental disorder in children. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? In this paper, he made the
14:55extraordinary claim that the MMR vaccine has a link to colitis and autism spectrum disorders. The study was
15:02conducted on 12 children with developmental disorders, and 8 of them were believed by their parents or
15:07physicians, that their disorder behavior was linked to recent vaccinations. Through studies of bowel
15:13symptoms, endoscopy findings, and biopsy findings, Wakefield believed that there were signs of a new
15:19symptom he called autistic endocolitis, and that further study was needed. Wakefield would go on to
15:25say that a way to curb this causation of autism would be to switch to single vaccines instead of MMRs,
15:32that breaking up each vaccine would somehow be more safe. The general public believed him as
15:38confidence dropped in the MMR vaccinations. Parents were convinced MMR vaccinations were unsafe,
15:44and this led to a refusal of immunizations for children. After all, parents didn't want their kids
15:50to have autism. Except this paper was...a lie. Wakefield's research was found to be fraudulent with altered data.
15:58Autistic endocolitis was labeled not real, and his paper was retracted from The Lancet, partially in 2004,
16:06and fully in 2010. For such a stunt, Wakefield was discredited and struck off the medical register,
16:12meaning he could no longer be a doctor. His paper was observed as one of the most damaging medical
16:18hoaxes ever. But this proof of deception was not enough to convince the already forming anti-vax movement.
16:25After all, it took over a decade to fully discredit Wakefield's damaging and unethical paper.
16:31The Gazette said it best, quote,
16:33There is no guarantee that debunking the original study is going to sway all parents. Medical experts
16:39are going to have to work hard to try to undo the damage inflicted by what is apparently a rogue
16:44medical researcher whose work was inadequately vetted by a top-ranked international journal.
16:50The continued belief in vaccines causing autism, both before and after Wakefield's discrediting,
16:56has had horrifying effects. Numerous studies of the reduction in the MMR vaccine have not shown
17:03a decrease in the diagnosis of autism. However, there has been a rise in cases of measles and mumps,
17:10as well as plenty of deaths from these very diseases that the MMR vaccine was designed to prevent.
17:15Studies continue to prove no correlation, even to this very day, with a study conducted as
17:21recently as April of 2019. Many concerns about the vaccines causing autism have been disproven
17:28multiple times. One common argument was that the vaccines contained aluminum and mercury,
17:33which could be dangerous and contribute to autism diagnosis. Except these amounts were so ridiculously
17:39low compared to how much of these elements we take in with food and drink. There is more
17:44aluminum in an antacid tablet and more mercury in a tuna sandwich than what's present within the vaccine.
17:51In fact, to appease the anti-vax movement, mercury was reduced from the vaccines, and it did...
17:58nothing. Wakefield didn't shut up about this matter either, even after having been kicked out of the
18:03medical profession. He directed the 2016 documentary, Vaxxed, from cover-up to catastrophe. The film is
18:10essentially anti-vax propaganda in the way that it criticizes the CDC for supposedly covering up a
18:16link between vaccines and autism. It's packed with bad data and site sources that have either been proven
18:22to be false or come from scientists that have since stated that their findings were never meant to be
18:27interpreted as anti-vax. It also doesn't help that the film was produced by Del Bigtree, a producer of
18:34The Doctors, a daytime talk show which has also come under fire for bad medical advice. Interestingly
18:40enough, this film was set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, but it was polled at the
18:45last minute after a review of the film concluded that it would add nothing valuable to the discussion
18:50of autism. Since the film was released through Cinema Libre, it has received harsh reviews from
18:56anyone who bothered to look into Wakefield's flawed research. Worth noting is that the film omits
19:01Wakefield losing his license after his paper on the subject was found to be a hoax. So, you know,
19:08if you didn't know that, you might actually believe this trashy documentary. Speaking of bad filmmakers,
19:14Autism Speaks' role in the anti-vax movement was more skeptical than fully convinced, but a lot of
19:20people within the organization didn't want to go ahead with funding research on the link between vaccines
19:25and autism. Many members flat out quit the organization and entertain this idea. Even after
19:31Wakefield's study was disproven, it took until 2014 for Autism Speaks to stop being skeptical and admit
19:38that vaccines do not cause autism. Also, in 2016, Autism Speaks finally dropped the word CURE from their
19:46mission. Oh, speaking of scummy organizations, remember Tinnis Smits? You know, the guy who promoted the
19:52complete elimination of autistic spectrum expression? Yeah, he's all about the anti-vax movement.
19:58Here's the very first paragraph from his website. Dr. Smits discovered in his practice with over 300
20:04cases the foundation of cease therapy and came to his hypothesis of what causes autism. In his
20:10experience, autism is an accumulation of different causes and about 70% is due to vaccines, 25% to toxic
20:18medication and other toxic substances, and 5% to some diseases. With isotherapy, a form of homeopathy
20:26using causative substances themselves in homeopathic preparation, the toxic imprints can be erased.
20:33He also wrote a book in which he essentially does more vaccine-blaming. You've most likely heard
20:38people like Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy coming out against vaccinations. And there's another celebrity
20:44who bought into this nonsense, and he actually has a lot more power now. In 2014, Donald Trump made this
20:51tweet. Healthy young child goes to doctor. Gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines. Doesn't feel
20:58good and changes. Autism. Many such cases. And then there was this tweet. If I were president, I would push
21:06for proper vaccinations, but would not allow one-time massive shots that a small child cannot take.
21:12Autism. During his presidency, Trump retained these words by stating that he was for vaccinations,
21:19but wanted to see them delivered in quote, smaller doses. To someone not familiar with research on this
21:25matter, that statement may sound fair, but this is the same reasoning from Wakefield's findings which led
21:32to the anti-vax movement in the first place. A recommendation of switching from MMRs to single
21:37vaccines. His response was followed up with painting a mental picture of a poor baby and a big shot,
21:43as though the size of the shot has anything to do with the vaccine itself. Trump seems to have walked
21:49back on his skepticism on vaccinations. It's hard to tell with his language, but not until April of 2019,
21:56and only after a massive measles outbreak. And that's the real problem here. Time. It's taking
22:04way too long for people to stop buying this nonsense argument. This type of bad science is only slowly
22:10being buried. It wasn't until the damaging and deadly outbreaks that many stopped buying the anti-vax
22:17lies. While some are starting to come around now, there are still too many anti-vax advocates that
22:23continue to believe and practice shirking vaccines. But think about how horrific this sounds. Parents
22:29were willing to forgo vaccinations that prevented deadly illnesses just so their children would not
22:36contract autism, which they would not. They'd be willing to let their children suffer and die,
22:42then have autism. That is deeply disturbing and only made worse by the fact that these dangerous and
22:48harmful skeptics still exist. In short, vaccinations do not cause autism, and there's no credible research
22:56to suggest that it does. Anyone who tells you any different is either citing disproven studies,
23:02junk science articles, or parroting false statements.
23:06If you've been around the internet for quite some time, you've most likely seen autism used as a
23:18pejorative. It's become a common insult, and although it appears that the label is being phased out,
23:24it still has a deeply troubling history for such notoriety. In 2006, Sophie Coles of Times Online wrote the
23:32following in her article, Snigger for the Chattering Classes. In the past few months,
23:37it has become fashionable among smart metropolitans to use the term autistic as a catch-all to denigrate
23:43any but the most socially adept men. And it's always accompanied by a snigger. It's in the media,
23:49it's at dinner parties, now it's at a party conference. Somehow it's acceptable and clever,
23:54though some smart metropolitans would never refer to someone physically maladroit as spastic.
24:00My son cannot help who he is, what he was born with. The most I can do is make him feel good about
24:05himself. But how can that ever be possible if, when the time has come, he's already heard the
24:11term autism used by people who should know better as a cruel joke? It is fodder for the playground
24:17bully, and it will eat away at the self-esteem of any autistic child or teenager able enough to
24:23understand that it is an insult. There is a problem with people using autism as shorthand where,
24:29even in the most well-meaning of discussions, contorts the symptoms of autism to be applied as
24:34negative labels, both directly and indirectly. And it's not just for jokes, either. Perhaps the most
24:41troubling negative use of the term has been in the realm of mainstream politics. Believe it or not,
24:46the pejorative of autism has actually been used to describe a real political movement known as
24:52post-autistic economics, described as being against neoclassical economics and for pluralism.
24:59The reasoning for this word usage, as stated by these economists, is that neoclassical economics
25:05has the characteristics of an autistic child. Thankfully, their newsletter has renamed from
25:10the post-autistic economics review to real-world economics review. In 2004, Niall Ferguson published
25:18in the Telegraph an op-ed piece entitled, America has Asperger's. The article is not about mental health,
25:25though. It's about foreign policy. And it contains this passage. A Bush reelection will look to the rest of
25:32the world like evidence that Asperger's is no longer a treatable condition in America, but has become
25:37the national norm. And then there are flat-out character assassination insults. In 2006, George
25:44Osborne once referred to Prime Minister Gordon Brown as faintly autistic. In 2009, France's Minister for
25:52Europe, Pierre Lelouch, described the Tory party's policy on Europe as autistic. These examples all contribute
26:00to the deep misguidance and misunderstanding of autism, painting the label more as an insult than
26:06a diagnosis. Autism essentially became the slur equal of retarded 2.0. It's still used as an insult
26:13online in a few corners, but mostly by the immature and is slowly being phased out as a dated form of
26:20mockery. Seeking reasons as to why someone would justify the insult usage, I found this argument on the
26:27website Change A View. The user Optimal Letterhead wrote this. I use autism pejoratively. Specifically
26:34speaking, I use it to denote stupid or irrational behavior. I don't see what's wrong with this, as I'm
26:40not actually poking fun at autism itself. Or autistic people. Besides, even if I were, autism is something
26:47that's undesirable, correct? If so, then it only makes sense for its usage to be negative, and I don't
26:53understand why some autistic people get offended. There's way too much to unpack from that statement
27:00that I doubt I have to point out the ignorance in this logic, but it should speak volumes to the
27:05warped reasoning of justifying such a usage. Also, let's be honest, it's not often that someone starts
27:10calling someone an autist as an insult or using autism as shorthand for stupidity because they're that
27:17well versed in the subject. Aside from parroting edgy jokes they've heard elsewhere, their familiarization
27:24stems from the media that plays a part in this perception, which finally leads us to the inevitable
27:29subject of this video.
27:40I'm guessing most of you clicked on this video expecting me to talk about autism in movies, and
27:45may be wondering why I'm just now getting to it in this part of the video. I wrote the previous
27:50sections because I feel it's important to point out how chaotic, divided, and confused the consensus
27:56is on autism, to better illustrate why film portrayals are deeply important and sometimes troubling.
28:03It's not just that they get certain information wrong, but that they add misconceptions to a topic
28:08already overflowing with misconceptions. The sad fact is that most neurotypical individuals
28:14experience with autism does not begin with the education at the start of this video. It starts
28:20here, at movies and television. To get an idea of how media has shaped the perspective of autism,
28:26I'm going to run through the history of autistic characters in theatrical movies and made-for-television
28:32movies. Some of these depictions are good, some are decent, some ignorantly misguided,
28:38and some grossly awful. Keep in mind that these are characters more or less confirmed as having
28:44autism, and not merely characters who exhibit autistic traits. But hang on to that thought,
28:49we'll cover that in just a bit. One of the earliest examples of an autistic character in a film that I
28:54could find was the 1986 contemporary fantasy, The Boy Who Could Fly. In the film, Eric is an autistic
29:01teenager who has trouble communicating. He lost his parents in a plane crash, and he possesses the ability
29:07to fly. He is feared by the community that wants to lock him up in a straitjacket, and pitied by the
29:12teenage girl Millie. The film embodies the two core stereotypes of autism that would follow in film.
29:18That those with the condition are either to be taken pity of for their lack of social skills,
29:23or held up high as an autistic savant. The autistic savant preconception was mostly popularized in the
29:301988 hit drama Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic adult living in a mental
29:37institution. He's also the estranged brother of the swindler Charlie, played by Tom Cruise. Raymond
29:43is portrayed as lacking in emotion, but possesses eidectic memory, meaning he is exceptionally skilled
29:48at remembering things. For Charlie's purposes, he views Raymond as a savant at counting cards to win
29:54at casino card games. While the depiction of autism through Raymond certainly brought attention to the
29:59public and helped dispel a few misconceptions, it didn't help that Rain Man was the first big film to
30:06draw attention to the subject, with little else to compare it towards. The insertion of the film
30:11into pop culture turned Hoffman's character into both a parodied personality, and generated an off
30:17portrait of autism within the mainstream. That those who have autism must be mediocre at social
30:23situations, but really smart at something else. This romanticizing of the obsession trope sets an unhealthy
30:30standard for the perception of autistic people. That they must be geniuses to have some worth for
30:36society past their mental and social issues. This perception also led to the misleading of reading
30:42an autistic character. In the 1989 film The Wizard, the young boy Jimmy has PTSD after the death of his
30:49twin sister, but because he is silent and a master of video games, his traits could easily be misread to
30:56label him as an autistic character. But shyness and savantism does not automatically equal autism.
31:04While Rain Man's initial depiction of autism had its flaws, the following portrayals were even less
31:09favorable and less insightful. You'll start to see a pattern as we go along. 1990s Backstreet Dreams.
31:16The young autistic boy Shane is seen as a burden to a crumbling marriage. 1993s Family Pictures.
31:23The autistic boy Randall also becomes a burden of a crumbling marriage. 1993's House of Cards.
31:31Another kid with autism, but because the father is dead, the single mother struggles with her
31:36daughter's behavior until a psychiatrist steps in to save the day. 1994's Cries from the Heart. Young kid
31:43has autism and marriage crumbles. Except the autistic child can only speak through a keyboard. 1994's
31:50David's mother. Another marriage crumbler with an autistic kid. 1994's Henry and Verlin. A great
31:57depression drama where an autistic man and a boy learn to connect with each other. They're split up,
32:03however, when their relationship is viewed as dangerous. 1994's Silent Fall. An autistic boy is
32:10witness to a murder and it's up to Richard Dreyfuss to get the kid to finally talk and protect him from
32:15being killed before testifying. 1994's The Innocent. Same story. Add in a robbery. 1995's Under the Piano.
32:25An autistic woman who is a savant of music hurts herself out of bitterness for her mother and doctors
32:31recommend a lobotomy. 1999's Mercury Rising. Nine-year-old autistic savant Simon Lynch is targeted
32:38by government assassins for solving a top secret code and only Bruce Willis can save him. This film
32:44also keeps the autistic kid genre going. In the original novel of Simple Simon, Simon was actually
32:50a teenager and not a child. 1999's Molly. A dramedy of a 28-year-old autistic woman, Molly,
32:57being taken in by her brother, Buck, a bachelor and advertising executive. Even though Molly is an adult,
33:04she is posed as a burden the way she chases off nurses and bursts into Buck's business meetings
33:09naked. Frustrated, Buck decides to submit Molly for an experimental brain surgery that will cure
33:15her autism. The experiment initially works and she starts speaking better and interacting with more
33:21people. Buck can do all the stuff he feels that he can never do with Molly, like take her to the
33:25theater or baseball games. Even though the film leads to Molly regressing and Buck still accepting
33:31her with autism, the film is deeply uncomfortable with its journey towards acceptance of autism posed
33:38through fantastical cliches. There's a scene after Molly is cured where she's at a ball game and someone
33:43shouts towards her, what are you, some kind of retard? To which she responds, no, I'm an irregular retard.
33:51Thankfully the portrayals get a little better from this point and even bring more women into these
34:01roles of autistic characters. 2000's Bless the Child, a horror film in which Cody, an autistic girl,
34:08possesses telekinetic powers and the ability to revive the dead. She is also sought by a murderous cult
34:14that wants to use her powers for the forces of evil. 2002's The Devils. Chloe is a runaway autistic girl
34:21who relies on her brother Joseph's commands. 2003's The Stringless Violin. Eight-year-old autistic child
34:28Diwa comes out of her shell and learns to communicate thanks to music therapy from Renjani,
34:34a former ballerina and rape victim. 2004's Killer Diller. Vernon, an autistic piano player,
34:41connects with a car thief at a halfway house. 2004's Miracle Run. Brothers Stephen and Philip are
34:48diagnosed with autism and raised by their single mother, Corinne, whose relationships suffer because
34:53of her boys. Philip has echolalia, involving repetition, while Stephen is non-verbal. They face
34:59pressures of public school but eventually become more socially acceptable. Stephen becomes a track
35:05runner while Philip develops a talent for music that lands him in a music school. Their mother forms a
35:10foundation for autism research. 2005's Marathon. The autistic Cho Won grows out of most of his
35:18autistic traits and shifts from interest in zebras to taking up the sport of running. This may make the
35:24film seem similar to Miracle Run, but there's a bigger distinction with Cho Won's mother, Kyung Suk,
35:29questioning how to proceed with her son's interest in sports. 2005's Raim. Raim is a teenager with autism,
35:37accused of murdering his mother, and it's up to someone else to prove his innocence. However,
35:42Raim ultimately discovers the man who murdered his mother and gets his revenge on his own.
35:482005's Mozart and the Whale. Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell are both members of an autistic self-help
35:55group and form a romantic bond. The similarities to Rain Man are no coincidence for being written by the
36:01same screenwriter, Roland Bass, and for once more perpetuating the savant romanticizing, as well as
36:07exaggerating autistic traits. Still, this film was hailed by some in the autistic community as a positive
36:13step forward considering there weren't really any romantic autism pictures out there. 2006's Breaking and
36:20Entering. 13-year-old B is an autistic daughter that makes her single mother's relationships crumble.
36:26Yep, we're back to that kind of film again. Except this is not so much a drama as it is a crime picture,
36:32so the whole autism ruining a relationship trope is more of a prop here. 2006's Snowcake.
36:40Sigourney Weaver plays Linda, a mother with autism dealing with the death of her daughter. She is a
36:45neat freak when it comes to cleaning her house, and she is very particular about her garbage. Alex,
36:50played by Alan Rickman, helps her cope for a few days but also gets himself into trouble. Though
36:55melodramatic and a little hard to swallow at times, the film is notable for Weaver putting a lot of
37:01research into playing someone with autism, studying alongside noted autism author and speaker Ross
37:07Blackburn. 2007's Ben X. Ben is a teenager with autism that has retreated into an online role-playing
37:16game. He is tormented and bullied at school. Ben, with the help of his parents, fakes his death to
37:21stage a fake funeral and then expose that he's alive at the funeral. This film is weird. It's a mix of
37:31relatable autism traits, horrendously cruel bullying, and a really bizarre twist for a happy ending, I guess?
37:392007's Imagination. Two girls, one with autism and the other blind,
37:45endure a tragedy but escape into their imaginations for comfort. They connect so well that they
37:50apparently have a mental connection and prophetic visions. More of a wondrous film considering how lost
37:56it becomes in establishing the girls as prodigies that may or may not have transcended this plane of
38:02reality. 2008's The Black Balloon. Charlie is the main character's brother with autism and cannot care
38:09for himself. He dresses up like a monkey, is addicted to his Commodore 64, can only communicate with sign
38:16language, rubs poop into the carpet, and masturbates at the dinner table. Despite the film being sincere
38:22as the family tries to learn and cope with Charlie's traits, it still portrays the character as someone to
38:27be pitied and has his brother admitting he'd wish Charlie was normal. Sincere, yes, but still troubling.
38:352008's Dustbin Baby. A made-for-TV movie where, for the role of Poppy, BBC searched for someone with autism,
38:44and Lizzie Clark was chosen for the role. She was the first actress ever with autism to portray a character
38:50with autism. This was progress, even if it was just a small role in a melodramatic tv movie.
38:572008's Dark Floors. A horror film where only a young girl with autism can stop the evil
39:03interdimensional monsters within a hospital. Okay. 2008's Chocolate. A Thai martial arts movie where
39:12Zen, born from a Thai woman and Japanese gangster, has autism and becomes a martial arts practitioner.
39:19She's non-verbal and kicks ass to pay for the deaths of her mother. 2009's Susie. The middle-aged
39:26and depressed taxi driver Susie takes pity on the 10-year-old autistic child Charles when his parents
39:32don't want him anymore. 2009's Mary and Max. A claymation slice-of-life dramedy where the lonely
39:39Australian girl Mary Dinkle connects with the American Jewish autistic adult Jerry Horowitz as pen pals.
39:46Artistic and quirky, the film touches on a number of different themes of addiction and loneliness,
39:52but also has a rather heartfelt explanation of Asperger's syndrome. It's especially poignant that
39:57Max wraps up his divulgence of his condition by stating that his doctor says there will one day
40:03be a cure for Asperger's syndrome. To which Max responds that he doesn't want a cure, because it
40:09would mean changing his very being. This film is both brilliant and adorable. 2009's Adam. The lonely
40:17Adam Rocky with Asperger's syndrome is trying to recover after the death of his father and connects
40:23with his neighbor Beth. They fall in love, but Beth's parents are apprehensive about them forming a bond.
40:29This is a rather unique picture in that it doesn't try to infantilize autism by showcasing a more
40:34believable portrayal in adults, while at the same time being a somewhat whimsical romantic drama.
40:402009's Triangle. A single mother plans to take her autistic son Tommy on a boat ride,
40:47but he is left behind. At the end of the film, the mother's evil clone tortures Tommy for his autism.
40:53He later dies in a car crash. 2009's Dancing Trees. Martha is an 18-year-old
40:58girl with autism who is portrayed as a mathematical genius. She must use her gift to solve the crime of
41:04the death of her mother. A very troubling portrayal, as it once more pitches the autistic character as
41:10both a savant and unable to take care of themselves. 2010's Ocean Heaven. Jet Li plays a terminally ill
41:18father that tries to teach his autistic 21-year-old son everything he needs to survive after he passes
41:24away. Lee made the film out of personal appeal for having a nephew that was diagnosed with autism,
41:30and as such, accepted no pay for this role. The autistic son is portrayed as someone who can't
41:35take care of himself, but the film does succeed in trying to portray the struggle of adults trying
41:40to raise children with autism as a noble challenge. 2010's My Name is Khan. An Indian Muslim man who
41:48suffers from Asperger's Syndrome is arrested mistakenly as a suspected terrorist in post-9-11 Los
41:54Angeles. It's a little bit troubling to say the least. 2010's Quantum Apocalypse. A disaster picture
42:02where an autistic adult holds the key to saving humanity from a comet. Not much to say here. 2010's
42:10Burning Bright. A woman and her autistic brother attempt to survive a hurricane and a tiger? Her brother,
42:17however, is placed in a hospital for his autism and she has dreams of suffocating him so she won't have
42:22to take care of him anymore. 2010's Simple Simon. Simon is an 18-year-old man with Asperger's Syndrome
42:29who is cared for by his brother who attempts to find him a girlfriend. Some meltdowns, but still a
42:36heartfelt drama. 2011's Fly Away. A single mother is worried about the future of her daughter with
42:42quote, severe autism. While this could have been just another marriage crumbler of depicting autism,
42:48the film does narrowly avoid the melodrama of past films in the subgenre. 2011's Exodus Falls. A road
42:57trip set in 1970s Texas where two siblings travel cross-country to find their autistic brother that
43:03was sent away for being a burden on their mother. 2011's Mabul. A bar mitzvah is saved when the autistic
43:11older brother returns to the family home and challenges the family to reconcile and put an end to their
43:16dysfunctional ways. 2011's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Nine-year-old Oscar Schell has
43:24autism and tries to cope with the loss of his father after losing him to the September 11th attacks.
43:30Worth noting is that Oscar does not have autism in the original novel that the film was based on.
43:352011's A Mile in His Shoes. A minor league baseball manager recruits a pitcher who has autism.
43:42More savantism. 2012's Barfi. An Indian love triangle with an autistic woman involved. A decent amount of
43:50research went into the role considering India has a rather low perception of autism. 2012's The Story of
43:58Luke. An autistic young man is forced to adjust to life in the outside world after the death of his
44:04grandmother. 2012's White Fog. Teenager Nick Young with autism struggles to overcome his grief after his
44:12older brother dies in a car crash. Nick learns to connect with Randy, a friend of his brother, and
44:17learns more about the brother that he idolized. Mushy, but well-meaning. 2013's The Odd Way Home.
44:25Duncan is a twenty-something with autism that goes on a road trip with the troubled woman,
44:30Maya. Melodramatic, but a decent enough portrayal of an adult with autism without hamming the performances
44:36up. 2013's Haridus. An officer neglects his child who has autism, but soon decides to make up for his
44:44mistakes and do the right thing for his son. 2016's The Accountant. A Jason Bourne-style thriller where
44:52Ben Affleck plays Christian Wolfe, accountant by day and hired assassin by night. Christian has autism,
44:59and the film begins with the diagnosis at Harvard Neuroscience. One shot focuses on a chart that
45:05displays different emotions for those with autism to better express their feelings. The chart's
45:10simplistic faces embarrassingly become Christian's icon, as though it were like the bath signal or
45:16something. He hangs the chart in his hideout, paints the emotional faces on his targets for practice,
45:22and uses the faces as avatars for his smartphone contacts. That being said, Christian does exhibit
45:28some autistic traits of sensory issues, anxiety, and emotional distancing that are not too exaggerated,
45:35and some of this is communicated fairly well in the film. It's rather remarkable how this film,
45:40with a plot that just flies off the rails in its laughably bad third act, somehow doesn't stumble as
45:46hard with its depiction of autism. 2017's Power Rangers. Billy Cranston, or The Blue Ranger,
45:54is a teenager with autism, but it doesn't seem to hinder his role within the secret teen superhero
46:00group of the Power Rangers. His autistic traits are not exaggerated, and has a relatable nature to be
46:06an outsider within a group of outsiders. This is a rare case of a character with autism being held up as
46:11a hero, not merely because of his savantness. 2018's Please Stand By. Dakota Fanning plays Wendy,
46:20a woman with autism living in a group home that desperately wants to see her Star Trek fan script
46:25produced at Paramount. Slightly exaggerated with some family melodrama, but at least enduring in that
46:32Wendy's desire to prove herself and conquer her shortcomings comes more from her self-determination
46:37than the pity of others. 2018's The Predator. Okay, this film's use of a child with autism is about as
46:45insane and wacky as everything else in this movie. Jacob Tremblay plays Rory McKenna, the son of the
46:52hero, and has autism. Which I guess is supposed to explain how he's able to dissect alien technology
46:59so easily. Not only that, but his autism makes him a target of the predator aliens who view him as,
47:06and yes I swear this next part is true, the next stage in human evolution and a worthy being to
47:12hybridize for their race. This is easily the most over-the-top twist of the autism child in danger
47:18trope and I'm really torn on either despising the savantness stereotype or just laughing at its
47:23absurdly goofy observations on autism. And finally, 2019's The Fanatic. John Travolta plays Moose,
47:33a movie fan with autism and a bad haircut. He stalks an actor he idolizes and drives himself crazy in fits of
47:40anxiety and rage. He kills a maid and then proceeds to torture the actor he's been stalking, who is a
47:47jerk as well. It is a very sloppy script of hateable characters and an even more hateable depiction of
47:54autism as mental illness peppering for an aimless thriller. Some may look at the odd displays of autism
48:01in The Fanatic and merely scoff at the criticism of this being offensive. One reaction might be,
48:08it's only a movie, nobody really thinks that way about autism. But nothing is just a movie. Films don't
48:15exist within vacuums and, I'm sorry but for as much as we like to deny their influence, they do indeed
48:21sculpt culture. Denying a film being representative of a condition may come from a correlation of denying
48:28the fantastical. Superman could fly in Superman the movie, but nobody really believes a man can fly,
48:35despite the movie's tagline. This is because we have enough frame of reference with human beings to
48:40know that we physically do not possess such powers. But if someone doesn't have a frame of reference for
48:45autism and their only exposure to it is through movies, a first impression might be fear from The
48:52Fanatic or pity for a tortured genius from Rain Man. And there is already enough misconceptions and
48:59social issues with autism that simplistic and confused depictions do not help. They're awkward at best
49:06and detrimental at their worst. Now, all that being said, representation of autism in media has made some
49:14great strides. PBS has certainly done their part. Both Arthur and Sesame Street have developed autistic
49:19characters that have been inserted not just to talk about autism, but they've become a part of the
49:24regular cast as well. Even when a character isn't autistic, there are certain autistic traits that
49:30those with autism can gravitate towards to hold up as relatable heroes. One popular character that has
49:36been praised by the autism community was Drax from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. He is an alien warrior
49:43that doesn't understand metaphors, is laser focused on his goals, struggles to express feelings, and is
49:49defensive about what he is and is not. We don't pity or fear Drax. He's a misfit, sure, but we like Drax.
49:57He's funny, devoted to his friends, and a skilled fighter when tackling bad guys. It should be easy to
50:03see why the autism community views him as an iconic figure of the disorder, despite not being confirmed
50:09for having autism. Kids are more likely to buy a Drax doll than a Raymond action figure. Now, will it be
50:16revealed that Drax has autism in some future Marvel movie? Well, maybe, and it would be nice to have
50:22that representation, but it's not wholly necessary. In some cases with media, pointing out the diagnosis
50:29creates a certain expectation within the audience. Those not familiar with autism may use this character
50:35as a baseline understanding, and those familiar with autism may criticize the depiction negatively for
50:41being little more. It's understandable why Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory was never confirmed either
50:47having or not having autism. There may be some positive traits, sure, but perhaps bad takeaways as
50:53well. Another example. I recently saw the sci-fi epic Ad Astra, and even though Brad Pitt's character of
51:00a conflicted astronaut isn't outright stated as being autistic, he does display a few relatable traits.
51:07He is unemotional when working on the job. He's distant from his wife, fearing both talking to
51:12her and being touched by her. He undergoes regular psychiatric evaluations to keep his unemotional
51:18state a constant, shutting out his more tragic past. His autism never needs to be diagnosed. That's
51:24not important. What's important is that I felt it resonate well enough through the performance itself.
51:29Others may not see the autism angle in this film, and that's fair. This is more of my personal
51:34perspective considering how well the film illustrates feelings that are somewhat indescribable at times,
51:40and they're read exceptionally well through this picture. Representation is getting better, and it's
51:45exceptionally crucial during a time of great misconception. It needs to keep up so that the
51:50more absurd presentations of such trash as the fanatic do not become the norm.
52:05This was not an easy video to make. I have autism, and am very self-conscious about speaking on this
52:13subject. I don't often speak about it because the misconceptions and stigmas are too abundant and
52:19uneasy to shake. But in light of all the confusion in the science, misconceptions in the media, insults
52:26online, and really misguided acts of empathy on the topic, I felt like I just couldn't stay quiet about it.
52:33I don't want another parent to kill their children because they were born autistic. I don't want vaccines
52:39refuse because of bad science on what causes autism. I don't want horrible ideas on curing autism to
52:45result in some misguided parents feeding their kids bleach. And I especially don't want Kathie Lee
52:51to sing an embarrassingly awful song to an autistic child and embarrass him on national television.
52:56I don't think one video can stop all that, but I hope that this video has shed some light on the
53:02subject, and maybe bring some clarity to why the topic of autism has a troubling history that has led to
53:08troubling portrayals in media. We've come a long way, and we're getting better, but we need to keep it up.
53:20Hi everyone, thanks for watching this video to the end. This video took a lot out of me,
53:25and I don't just mean in the extensive research and assembly. I'm not very comfortable talking about
53:31this subject, and getting through a lot of these darker aspects was not easy. But the more that I wrote
53:37and researched on this subject, the more I became comfortable with talking about this stuff, even
53:42though I felt a little fragile going through most of this. I've left links in the description to some
53:47of the articles I came across in making this video, and I urge you to look through them as well for more
53:52insight. If you liked this video, consider subscribing and showing some support on Patreon if you'd like
53:58to see more video essays in the future. Again, thank you for watching.
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